The struggles of living in Northfield

Northfield is one of the most expensive accommodations on offer at Sussex, and with that comes high expectations and plenty of judgemental comments from those who were unlucky enough to have put Northfield as their first choice but ended up being stuck in East Slope and Park Village. But believe it or not, being a Northfielder comes with the same struggles as the rest.

The beautiful aesthetic of Northfield

The Porters

Just to make one thing clear, being a Porter in Northfield reception mustn't be the most thrilling job in the world, and on the whole they're pretty efficient. However when it comes to repairs and maintenance, don't expect anything you report to be fixed during your time here. Take Elliot for example, who in December had an unexpected visit from the Porters to fix his extractor fan. Elliot never reported that his extractor fan was broken, the tenant before him did.

Thumbs down for the reception

And you better not loose your key, because they take no prisoners. Unless you have a spare £40 lying around, you must guard it with your life.

It's miles away from everything

Don't get me wrong, having your living space separate to the main hustle and bustle of campus can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. It means that it's a whole lot quieter and you don't have the whole university staring into your bedroom watching you get dressed as they walk to and from their lectures.

That doesn't hide the fact that you are miles away from everything. 9am's rarely happen because you can't face the reality of walking 10 minutes to the other side of campus, and the constant sounds of angry cows 30 seconds from your front door remind you that you really are in the middle of nowhere.

Also, ordering a take away takes at least double the time because the poor drivers have to navigate themselves through the maze of campus and finding the right block is a whole other struggle in itself.

You can never host a house party

One of the major struggles of Northfield is that hosting a house party is virtually impossible. Just don't even bother. Not because there isn't enough space (we basically have too much of that) but because the family flats round the corner will ensure it's shut down by 11pm latest, and that's if you're lucky. Of course, the sound of their screaming children going to school at 7am is exactly what we love to hear too.

Smiling at 9pm whilst the party is still underway

Struggles of parking your car

With approximately 5 car parking spaces to share between multiple blocks in Northfield, to say parking is a struggle would be an understatement. They don't even let you buy a parking permit, but they certainly don't hold back on dishing out the parking fines. So basically car owners in Northfield rely on the generosity of other accommodations to share their free car parking spaces with them.

Don't bother thinking about cycling as an alternative either because your bike won't last in the bike racks longer than a few days before the yutes come and steal it away from you.

Social Space

I have yet to meet someone who visits the Northfield social space to socialise. In fact, besides bumping into your pals when going to pick up parcels and do laundry, the social space really isn't that 'social' after all.

A regular sight of an empty Northfield social space

Fire alarms

How unfortunate that we actually have fully functioning fire alarms that like to detect even the tiniest bit of evaporated steam from your dinner. Luckily for us, none of the fires have been real because by the time that security decide to roll up, the block would be burnt down anyway.

Make sure your extractor fan is on when cooking… Always.

Transport

You really are a true Northfield trooper if you made it through the pain of the removal of buses coming up to Northfield. Nights out were questioned due to the tretorus walk in the sub zero temperatures from North South Road back to your warm bed in Northfield.

It's bloody expensive

Let's be real, the main struggle is the price. Northfielder's pay all this money and don't even get double beds. Life's not fair. The bed's are hideously squeaky and the mattresses are guaranteed to mess up your spine (and don't even get me started on the kitchen sofa's). Northfielder's don't need to be reminded by East Sloper's and Park Villager's that paying Northfield rent is ridiculously expensive. It doesn't mean we're all rich and obnoxious. Trust me.

Despite all the struggles us Northfielder's face on a daily basis, it's not all bad. The walks up to the South Downs are a great escape from the 'uni bubble', the view of the endless fields are pretty picturesque, the noise from neighbours is minimal and if 6am corridor D&B raves are really not your thing, then Northfield is definitely for you.