There are 8 types of second year flats and I’m about to tell you which one you are

Please don’t be the flat parent


Moving out your first years halls is never an easy feat. Are you going to get on with your new flatmates? Are you going to manage to keep a kitchen clean? Who will be dealing with the first mouse drama?

It can be overwhelming for sure. But soon enough, you get into the swing and start to develop your flat persona. If you’re confused as to what yours is, I can guarantee it’s one of the eight below.

1. The Edi boujees

Straight out of Pollock, the old pair of flares that can be found in every wardrobe are the least basic thing about this flat. Probably a Marchmont or New Town top floor flat, the girls that live here sit on their sheepskin rugs, drinking out of their Chilly Bottles while watching their History of Art lectures.

Of course, it wouldn’t feel like home without the gap yah tapestries, fairy lights and ivy plants. God forbit however calling these girls basic when all their new living room décor is actually from charity shops. Very one of a kind. Not basic at all.

2. The boys house

Saturdays are strictly for the boys. What else? Sadly, these boys live in an alternative reality and don’t quite understand that they’re not a frat party. After a night at the pub, they manage to take home a group of girls and impress them with their beer pong skills, only to have them go home an hour later after talking about Fifa 21 just a little bit too much.

These boys may seem cool and edgy but at the end of the day boys will be boys, offering you a drink in their sports direct mugs and stolen Guinness glasses.

3. The drug den

With not much in common but your love for the sesh, you thought your life would be all fun and games attending a lecture a day and living it up with your flatmates at night. Now Covid has destroyed all your plans and you’re stuck in a flat with people you lowkey dislike when you’re sober.

Thank God disco lights exist so you can sit in your living room doing Ket at 2am, thinking maybe you’re actually friends now until you wake up in the morning and realise you still hate them.

4. The wholesome flat

Besties living together, everyone has matching slippers, dressing gowns and fluffy blankets. Fluffy socks in this flat aren’t just a way of keeping warm, they are a way of life. To all their friends’ annoyance, they are fully content hanging out as a flat 24/7.

Who wouldn’t be though with all the cute things they do together? Movie nights, wine nights, Sunday brunch. Whatever wholesome activity it is this week, you can be sure it will be all over the gram.

5. The course flat

You probably met on the first day of Uni when you were equally confused about where to sit in your first lecture. Now you find yourself having cute study dates followed by a flat dinner with a bottle of wine each to drink away the pain your course causes you.

It all seems fun and games until its exam season and you are collectively falling behind, bumping into each other in the kitchen at 4am, making late night coffees. Whether you thrive together or fail together, at least you’re reassured that you’re all in it together.

6. The mash-up

A random collection of people no one would have put together. Every bedroom could not look more different and bring out the clashing personalities of the people that live there more. You tell all your friends how it is the best decision you have ever made because you learn so much from each other while secretly drowning in regret every night.

Luckily everyone’s expectations are so low that when you actually do hang out as a flat and have fun, it always turns into a fantastic night. However, wouldn’t it still be nicer to live with people that are like you?

7. The neat freaks/the mess

Two ends of the stick, there’s no in-between. Whether this is your whole flat, or your personal quality, your flatmates are likely to hate you for it. If you think you may be a little bit too obsessed with cleaning the bathroom twice a week, you may indeed be the neat freak of the flat. Although this may seem like the most desirable flatmate, they also tend to forget the fact that they probably shouldn’t be acting like parents.

Alternatively, the messy flat is probably mixed, characterised by messy boys and girls refusing to clean after them. Whether there is a banana peel on the sofa or you’ve lost the battle to mice, you now seem to be immune to the notion of mess.

8. The 90s babies

‘Yeah so I was definitely born in the wrong era because although I was born in 2000, I just feel like such an old soul.’

Our 90s babies drown in self-sorrow when they realise that no one seems to get them quite enough to listen to their indie music with them while talking about the horrible political climate these days. Mental breakdowns are blasting Nirvana at 2am, making vegan curry because if they can’t live in the 90s, they might as well save the planet by not eating meat. Movie nights include watching ’10 things I hate about you’ on repeat while playing Pac-Man on your Nokia brick just for the aesthetic. So different tho xoxo

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