House vs Halls

Now that I am in second year I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both living in halls and in a house. There are definitely benefits to both but, on the other hand, plenty of downsides too! 

I think the biggest upside of living in halls is the ease of seeing everyone. Being in halls definitely appeals to the lazy side in all of us, as if you want to visit a friend all you have to do is walk outside your door. Whereas when you are living in a house, that five-minute walk down the road and outside in the cold, is often just too much for us to handle. Time to prioritize your friendships…

Halls are also slap bang in the middle of campus, making the library and lecture theatres a stones throw away (not that it makes much of a difference to attendance!) Another upside is that there are so many people in halls; you can’t get too bored of anyone and there will always been someone up for hitting Wednesday TP with you.

Look how sociable you can be in halls! And what fantastic bedspread you can have…

When winter comes, those in halls will be laughing at all of us in houses as they have all the heating they want and don’t have to worry about the costs or buying a lot of blankets to keep warm! I feel that every house has that long-awaited date when the heating can finally be switched on and you don’t have been be waddling around in three layers and four pairs of socks. Until that sainted day, you’ve just got to make do with a pile of blankets and a lot of cups of tea!

Depending on what halls you are in, catered halls guarantee food on the table after a long day of lectures (or sleeping and playing FIFA). Just like being at home! However, the food isn’t always up to Mummy’s homemade standard and you could be left with a lesser of two evils choice. This definitely is a perk of living in a house; you can cook the food you want and when you want it, so you don’t have to be eating dinner at 5:30 and find yourself hungry again at 9!

Are you more satisfied with your student digs?

Living in a house definitely has it’s positives. First of all, and most importantly of all, the house parties! Not only is it a nice change from Arena or the Lemmy, but there always seems to be so much more gossip after a good house party. The only downside is the cleaning up the next morning! You’re also more likely to nab yourselves a living room, some comfy sofas and a TV; a distinct absentee in halls. They joy of being able to watch ‘Made In Chelsea’ live on a Monday definitely puts the days of waiting for 4od to upload in halls to a long gone memory.

Finally, having lived in Penny C last year, and getting a knock on my door at some ungodly hour on Wednesday mornings, a great benefit of a house is that you will never get woken up by a cleaner wanting to vacuum your room whilst you are wanting to go back to sleep! Only problem is, will you ever actually get round to doing it in a house?