What Living In Student Halls Has Taught Me

Hello again,

I’ve been living in student accommodation since September and thought I would fill you in on all of the wonderful, and not so wonderful, things about living in a huge building with hundreds of other students.

To set the scene, I live on a floor with other girls, although there are floors that are mixed. I share a bathroom and kitchen with the girls that I live with.

OK…

Girls are by no means any tidier or cleaner than boys

It’s a myth! If anything, living with other girls has led me to think that girls are messier and less hygienic than boys. Before living in student halls I would have never believed someone if they said that to me. There’s always hair left in the showers after they’re used, there’s dirty dishes on the kitchen counter from September (we’re now in January – let that sink in), no one cleans the oven after they use it and sometimes the toilet isn’t even flushed. Living with other girls is definitely not as glamorous as I thought it would be. Once, I went into one of our fridges and found a drawer full of fruit and vegetable that were two months out of date. TWO MONTHS.

There’s no point in putting labels on your food

If you leave something in the fridge then you are putting that food at risk of being stolen. Regardless of whether you have your name plastered all over your milk, someone is going to use it. Also, don’t expect everyone to respect the privacy of your fridge shelf or your freezer drawer. Even if you all have a shelf and a drawer each, there is always someone that will want to share your fridge and freezer space. Failing that, they’ll just move your stuff without asking you. A while ago I thought that someone had stolen some of my food. No one had, they’d just moved it to the other fridge. I have no idea why.

Some people have strange living habits

While we’re on the topic of food, it reminded me of the strange things that I’ve found in my fridge. For some reason, there’s always someone that will keep food in the fridge that doesn’t belong there. For example: bananas. You don’t keep bananas in the fridge. You just don’t. Who is teaching people that the fridge is the correct place to store bananas? Also, the bananas I see in the fridge are always left there until they go off. It is only when the bananas turn completely black and disgusting that the owner of the bananas decides to remove them from the fridge. I’ve also see pasta in there. Uncooked pasta has no place in a fridge. Put it in your cupboard.

Living with your friends is so convenient

Need milk? Need bread? Your friend just down the corridor has some to lend you. Need someone to talk to? Your friend just down the corridor will be in their room. Need to go shopping? Your friend just down the corridor will too. You can’t possibly feel lonely or upset when you live with your friends – they just won’t let you.

Not everyone you live with will want to be your friend

OK, so 90% of time the girls I live with will actually talk to me, say ‘hi’, smile – the normal things. However, there are a couple of people who, no matter how hard I try, will not speak to me. There’s one person in particular who I’ll say hello to and smile at, who won’t respond. She’ll just ignore me. Also, sometimes people will do anything to avoid conversation. For example, walking out of the kitchen when someone else walks through the door. Why would you live with a bunch of other students if you’re not even willing to tolerate their company?

Having cleaners is an absolute God-send

This is something that I really appreciate about living in student accommodation. Without the housekeeping team, I guarantee that no student would be willing to scrub toilets, clean the oven or change the bins. I have so much respect and appreciation for them because, without them, the state of the fifth floor would be much much worse than it usually is. Also, it means that we don’t have to buy hand wash or toilet paper – winning!

Students don’t cook meals together

Before I moved into student halls, I imagined me and my housemates going food shopping together, planning meals together, and sitting round the table to eat the meal we just cooked together. Wrong. Although I do sometimes cook in my friend’s kitchen, no one ever wants to cook food with anyone else. Maybe it’s because everyone eats different foods.

Thanks for reading!

After reading back the points I’ve made I realised that I haven’t made living in student halls look very appealing. I actually love living in halls and would recommend living in them. It’s fun, convenient and you get to live with your friends – what more do you want from your accommodation? There are some annoying things about halls, but nothing that is unbearable.
Let me know about your experience in student accommodation too!

Ways you can reach me:

• Email: courteneynoonan@hotmail.co.uk
• Twitter: @courteneyjn
• Instagram: @courteneynoonan

Bye for now,

Courteney x