From Halls to House

In the first in a series of guest blogs we asked a student from Cardiff to write about their experiences of moving from halls to house and into the community of Cathays. Rachel a 2nd year Maths Student at Cardiff University tells us what was involved….

I lived in Talybont for my first year, and now am living in the student area Cathays. Moving into a privately rented house was really exciting but also a really scary prospect and even more daunting in reality. I don’t think you realise that living in halls is a comfy life when faced with having a home to look after and keep in order. Considerations of moving into my house started way before the actual day I moved; who to live with, what landlord/agent to go with, whether I knew if my contract was legal and if my deposit was safe, the best location in Cathays, what all of us living in the house agreed on as there was a lot that we disagreed on…. As you can see it was a definite learning curve.

When I moved in I realised how the little things in life before this move had passed me by somewhat; when bin days are, the value of knowing people in your neighbourhood, the fact that bills have to be paid and being home alone when the noise outside is pretty intimidating at 3:00am in the morning.

However, the most challenging aspect of having a home to look after have been the bills, a major stumbling block for us as it rather relies on the previous tenants clearing the bills, to ensure a smooth handover for us, this unfortunately was not the case, so we had a bit of chasing to do to resolve it.

Further problems arise when the appliances that you’ve had for a year start to pack in after being used by 7 people in halls for a year, first the toaster then microwave then the kettle, a series of misfortunate events, of which we have had to negotiate as a house of 5 how we will pay for it and whether we are all in the financial position to be able to contribute. This resulted in us setting up a joint bank account for house costs, something that requires great trust and responsibility within a group of people who have only known each other for a year.

Living in a student house is something, however, that I have adjusted to quickly. I have had to, to be able to continue my studies, living in a house is an unavoidable reality of life, taking the step in the big wide world, which I thought I did last year, but seemingly not. This year has definitely been the character builder.

It’s only when you start to write it all down have I realised the massive changes me and the rest of us moving out of halls have had to manage in a short space of time. In short I am looking forward to the rest of the year which I’m sure will bring great challenges and much delight which I am sure will make me a totally different person to who I entered student life as.

If you are interested in writing about your experiences and thoughts on student life then contact me at kmccann@cardiff.gov.uk

For advice and guidance of moving from hall to house visit:
http://cardiffdigs.co.uk/hallstohouse.htm