Everything you experience when you move into a student house from halls

Moving into your first student house after a year of living in halls can't quick enough for many people. There are no more fire drills, no more kitchen inspections, and no more living with complete strangers. Moving into a student house brings a lot of change, but somethings also stay the same:

No more security

Arguably the greatest thing about moving out of halls is having the freedom to live comfortably without strict supervision… Unless you live next to a family who call the police on you. You no longer need to fall out over failed kitchen inspections and you can play your music after 11pm without security putting an end to your party.

More space

Thinking back to life in halls, I am reminded of the days I spent in a sweaty little dungeon of a box-room that wasn't worth £50, never-mind £132 a week. Not only are halls claustrophobic, but the way they are decorated gives off a hospital waiting room vibe. Living in a house means that you are no longer essentially confined to a single room, you have the space to walk around, walk upstairs and generally just relax.

Moving into a house also means you are sharing your space with good people, people you have CHOSEN to live with, rather than the questionable mix of people you were forced to live alongside in halls.
It takes a full year to really be sure of who you will be comfortable living with as you meet new friends, but once first year is up and you've filtered out the bad people, you then dictate who you want your company to be in second year and are therefore guaranteed to have a nicer living experience.

You go home less

Whilst a student house isn't home, it's comes pretty close. When you live in halls no matter how much you try the room just doesn't feel like yours, it's literally a bed to sleep in. When you live in a house the rooms just have more a homely and personal feel, and that's enough to ease home-sickness.

You start to grow up more

First year is just a a practise run.

You think you grow up but really those all-inclusive bills and rent still shield you from adulthood as you sit in your tiny little bedroom. When you move into a student house you grow up just a little bit more, you actually have to watch your rent and bill money, and you become a lot more conscious of the people around you and how you treat them; as you're going to be seeing them more than you would if you lived in halls. In general, you begin to wise up.

The hermit

Hermit, snitch, shy person – call them what you want; but every flat/house has one, if you haven't its probably you. That one person who you see maybe once every two days as they pass by the living room door, sometimes they'll whisper hi and scuttle off or sometimes they'll just glare at you. If you're in halls, they're probably the reason security came up and told you off for having a party. In a house they have no security, so they probably just never speak to you. You try with these people but they give nothing back and it's best to leave them to their own devices. After all…you can only begin to wonder why they spend so much time in their room.

You're still always skint

Your rent will be at least twenty percent cheaper than last year but your money will probably run out even quicker. You don't even go out as much so how has this happened? You start to think there's some mysterious forces working against you until you finally come to the realization that you're shit at budgeting, and probably always will be.

You stay true to yourself

Call it cheesy, but no matter who you're around or what your environment is you stay true to your own nature. You might grow up somewhat in second year, but your perception of what is right or wrong and how you treat people doesn't change.

The good times roll

The memories you make in second year are just as good, if not better than first. When you're a student living in a city of students, strange but hilarious stuff are bound to happen. We take the good times for advantage, unaware that the leisurely laughs we share at this very minute are shaping our futures for the best. Cheers to that.