10 things you’ll only understand if you’re living in an all girls’ flat at York

Either the best or the worst experience you can have…

4 hours ago

The October half term coming up marks the end of the Freshers’ Week honeymoon period. Don’t lie, all York students have experienced this. Suddenly, the flatmate who was the life of the party on your first night out, won’t let you get any sleep. The flatmate you thought was cute is now much less so and the girls you met on your first day are now either your best friends or your mortal enemies.

In my opinion, living in an all girls’ house at uni is a life blessing and I loved it – but it is definitely a rollercoaster. So whether you’re in a college flat with people you don’t even know the last names of, or in a house with people you’ve lived with for the past three years, here is the ultimate run down of the girls’ flat (trademarking that ASAP)!

1. The weekly sweet treat run

While this is definitely not exclusive to the girls’ flat, I think it is more encouraged. It’s like living with five little devils on your shoulder, whispering to you that you NEED an ice cream after your tea. Except each of those little devils has their own devils too, and they’re all also fighting over whether to eat healthy or just commit to the chocolate craving. If I had a pound for every time I’ve been convinced to trek over through campus to Nisa in my PJs, or more embarrassingly, order from the Co-op on Deliveroo – I would be a very rich woman. The girls’ flat will always at least have an infinite supply of hot chocolate and almost out-of-date oat milk!

And the classic phrase of the girls’ flat: if you’re paying for it in cash, it’s not real money. In this case, I am always a supporter of the sweet treat mission.

2. The designated bug catcher

I honestly think that being afraid of bugs isn’t a girls thing but an all students thing. Something about being an adult and living on your own, especially when you’re in student housing after first year, makes any bug ten times scarier. The tarantulas that come out in autumn, moths, and dare I even mention silverfish… very few students are brave enough to battle these bugs.

The girls’ house always has their very own bug catcher – because let’s be honest, landlords are having none of it. Phoning my flatmates to come and rescue me or scope out my room for bugs before I move back in for the semester is a very common activity. There are screams, there are tears, but I’m definitely a lot braver than I was before I had to hoover up a silverfish (sorry, Henry). The nominated bug catcher in the girls’ house is officially the MVP.

3. The official girls’ night activity

You know what I mean – cute date night activities that are all over TikTok. Pottery painting, wine glass painting, normal painting… the girls’ flat has tried them all! I’m not a particularly creative person but somehow it becomes a battle to see who can decorate the most artistic shot glass (I did not win that one). It’s not only a fun experience in the moment, but they make the best decorations for the house.

And being a uni student at York has so many opportunities to get involved! Fresher’s week schedules will offer trips out to Bish Bash Pot, college events in the nucleus, and societies such as Crafts Soc or Art Soc, so this time of the year is really perfect to get involved with your new best friends.

4. The girls’ night out

This may be just us, but a girls’ night out is very different from a normal night out.

7pm: you start the rushed process of getting dressed knowing you agreed on pres at 8. You undoubtedly have a crisis over your clothes and end up hating what you’re wearing. 8:45pm: you start pres with your drinking Jenga blocks and have your flatmate make you all baby Guinness shots. 10pm: you leave to get the bus and someone has thrown up a little bit already. The night then descends into running away from any guy who tries to speak to you at the club, losing the one girl who does want to get with someone, and then leaving at a time far too early to be socially acceptable and getting a Maccies.

Maybe that’s a niche experience, though.

5. The weekly group meal

Now, a warning for all the aspiring girls’ flats: this will become far less often than weekly. It’s a cute idea, yes, but an unrealistic one. It leads to too many questions. Firstly, you decide pasta is the best option for bulk cooking, but then you’re at a crossroads for every week after that. What can ever beat the pasta from last week? Pizza? You spend 40 minutes making pizza dough and then decide next time you should just buy the bases. But pizza becomes more difficult when half of the girls don’t eat meat and you don’t actually have any food in the cupboards to use for toppings. And don’t get me started on the state of the kitchen afterwards. Whoever said girls were clean is a LIAR. Now, who’s on washing up duty?

The group meal is for the most logically minded of girls’ houses – I aspire to be like you. Soon enough, you’ll be turning to a weekly takeaway instead (sending thoughts and prayers to my bank account).

7. The hungover debrief

As a third year, this is less hangover and more hangxiety. As a fresher however, the Thursday morning debrief was genuinely one of my favourite times of the week. From all gathering in the freezing kitchen, to waking up in one of the girls’ rooms after not making it back to your own, the debrief is a bonding moment that the girls’ flat is perfect for! It doesn’t matter if you’ve embarrassed yourself the night before if the girls can have a laugh about it. And you KNOW they’re friends for life after they see you at your worst (drunkest) and will still go out with you in public.

You might make friends in Salvos, but the real ones will gossip with you about it in Salt & Pepper three hours afterwards.

8. The bad telly binge-watch

As soon as it hit autumn, my house whipped out the Twilight boxset and got to work. We watched them all over three days straight. Now that we’re properly into the semester, we need something more casual and arguably more hilarious, so we’ve restarted Riverdale entirely from the beginning and are committed to all 7 seasons of it. So what if I think seasons 1 and 2 are actually really good? Maybe this isn’t the best use of my time as a third year, but downtime is important – and so is figuring out who killed Jason Blossom.

This activity will vary a little bit depending on your housing situation. Very sorry to the freshers whose accom doesn’t give them a telly, and even sorrier to the second or third years who don’t have a Fire stick and are stuck watching whatever happens to be live at the time. At least then your telly will always be guaranteed to be bad!

9. The excuse to dress up and take photos

York is a beautiful city and the girls’ flat is ideal to celebrate this! If you’re not living with people willing to dress up posh and take photos of you at any and all events, you’re living with the wrong people. As a York student, you have so many opportunities for this that you’re spoiled. My house went out in entirely matching clothes for the Invades races, we all bought dresses from Primark for our college formal at Thor’s Tipi, and we recently took a trip down the river on a tour boat. I’ve never had so many photos taken of myself than by the girls I know at uni.

This doesn’t even have to be a fancy day out! We went on a canoe at Knaresborough, all wore matching birthday sashes for a Wednesday Salvos, and dressed up disproportionately nicely for a student discount at Toby Carvery. If worst comes to worst, just go out for photos by the Minster on a sunny day. Some of the best days out are local, after all.

10. The wardrobe mix and match

Living with girls at uni is like living with sisters, and stealing each other’s clothes is a vital part of that. Whether you’re sick of your entire wardrobe or need a costume for a social that you KNOW your flatmate has, each room in the girls’ house has a 50-50 chance of containing someone else’s clothes. Many a last-minute breakdown has been solved by simply stealing someone else’s top.

A few honourable mentions to the other items switched and swapped around in the girls’ house: fake tan, umbrellas, shoulder bags, belts, dry shampoo, portable chargers, and socks. Whoever’s socks are in our living room, can you please get rid of them?

This time of year is also home for the frantic search for next year’s housemates. If you’re anything like me, your second year (and third) house will be made up of the first people you met in your flat when you didn’t know anyone else. If you happen to be moving into an all-girls house, get ready for at least a few of these experiences!