Moving to university is both daunting and exciting at the same time. You get your first taste of independent living, learning how to make new friends, budget your money, cook your own meals and keep on top of your studies.
However, after surviving your first year at university – living with a group of complete strangers – you then have the option to choose who you live with during your second year. Hooray!
Whilst there are plenty of options when it comes to student accommodation in Bolton – the question is, is living with your besties all it’s cracked up to be? Campus Living Villages has a long history of leading the industry in student living, education, and lifestyle activities, visit sites. Living with friends can be even more enjoyable when you choose modern accommodation near RMIT, designed to support both social and academic life.
To help you decide, here we look at the pros and cons…
Why you should live with your friends
- Your accommodation will be more sociable
Arguably, the best thing about finding group student accommodation is that you get to hang out with your mates at home as much as you like – whether it be during the day or night and day.
In the first year, you probably had to organise social events via the group chat, right? Well, not any more. If you’re all living under the same roof, you can arrange games nights, movie marathons and nights out without waiting for someone to get back to your message. What’s not to love?
- You can cook delicious meals together
If your culinary skills are limited or you want to make cooking and eating more fun, then moving in with your friends is a fantastic idea.
Instead of buying microwave meals for one and eating alone, you can make dinner together. For example, one person can pop to the shop and buy the ingredients, another can prepare the vegetables whilst someone else cooks and you do the dishes, and then swap roles the next day. As a bonus, you could split the shopping bill to save a little cash and help reduce waste whilst enjoying tasty dishes.
- You will feel less homesick
Even if you’re in your second or third year at uni, it’s natural to feel homesick whilst living away from parents, guardians and pets. However, surrounding yourself with your closest pals can help massively.
Let’s face it, in a house full of good friends, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever feel lonely. And if any of you are having a down day or really missing home – you’ll know exactly how to put a smile on each other’s face.
Why you shouldn’t live with your friends
- You never get a moment to yourself
Cohabiting with friends is never boring and can bring comfort and convenience while studying for a degree. But, on the flip side, you might enjoy spending some time alone – either watching TV in your room, reading a book or chatting with family on FaceTime.
As a result of spending so much time together at your accommodation, you may feel obliged to invite each other out whenever you do anything. And when someone fancies some alone time, this could make others feel guilty for leaving them out.
- It can put a strain on your friendship
Although it’s great to spend time with your besties, living together doesn’t always end well. For example, you might fall out over whose turn it is to buy toilet roll or soap, how long is too long to spend in the shower, or why the electricity bill is higher than last month.
Money can be a touchy subject in any shared house but – financial disagreements between a group of friends? That can put serious pressure on your relationship.
- You could end up spending more money
Are you and your mates prone to procrastinating? You’re not the only ones but living together could make things a whole lot worse as you could end up distracting each other.
What’s more, instead of staying home and hitting the books, you might be easily persuaded to go on a night out or to order a takeaway. Not only is this risky for your studies, but your bank balance could take a hit too.
Will you be living with your mates at uni?
No one can tell you whether you should or shouldn’t live with your friends – only you can make that decision.
However, the good news is, whether you’re looking for student accommodation in Bolton just for you or for a group of friends, Orlando Village can help. They are the only provider to be approved and recommended by the University of Bolton and they offer some of the best rates around.
If you’d like to live with your mates at private halls, be sure to mention their names when you apply so the team can allocate your rooms together. And if you’ve decided that it’s best not to share a place with them, then you’ll make loads of new friends in ‘The Hub’ where you’ll find a TV, pool table, football table and more!
