The Student Room Group
Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh

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Thanks very much!

I found pics of CW on a hostel website where they rent out the accommodation over the summer. Darroch Court it is then, despite the fact its that little bit extra!
Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Reply 101
Ok y'all I'm another American student looking to come to Edinburgh. Going to be starting at the vet school so I'm looking for a private flat. What are some good neighborhoods to look into? What are bad ones? And which ones should I outright avoid? Budget would be about 400 pounds / month for rent (and utilities if possible but I don't know how much they run over there) but coming in under that is always a bonus.

Also is having a roommate a common thing over there? It is here to save money, which I imagine would be a fairly ubiquitous goal, but it sounds like single rooms are more common. Is that just for dorms or flats as well?
Reply 102
Hey!

If you're going to the Vet school you want to be in the areas of Marchmont (directly opposite), Newington and Bruntsfield. They're all very student-y :smile: Hmm there's not really any places to avoid (apart from the suburbs but I doubt they'll come up in any of your searches). I think you'd have no bother finding somewhere in the 3 above areas. Check out www.gumtree.com and click on the Edinburgh page, that's where everyone advertises their rooms/flats to rent etc.

It's the same over here with regards to sharing accommodation - however you have your own bedroom, just share the living areas such as sitting room, bathroom, kitchen. £400 p/mth - you'll def get somewhere for that amount of money! If it's above it, it's way too expensive! (Also students are exempt from paying a certain tax which we call 'council tax' so don't let anyone make you pay it!!)

Hope this helps :smile:
Ag-E, see post #2 of this thread which has all the information you need on private accommodation in Edinburgh.

You might like to consider the convenience of university accommodation in first year though.
Reply 104
Yah I saw the second post and the 'main student areas' but it didn't really answer the question about 'good' and 'bad' neighborhoods. Maybe it's not like it over in the UK but here in the states there's DEFINITELY places you don't want to live if you can avoid it at all. And with a city the size of Edinburgh, I kind of expected the same thing.

Oh I should note that I'm 23. I've been through undergraduate and, while not opposed to drinking and general merry making, rabble rousing, stirring **** up, I've been through the binge drinking contests and all that good stuff of undergrad, where as I know that vet school for y'all is straight out of our high school age (college, I think y'all call it) so about 18 or 19 I guess. Also vet school is pretty strenuous so I was thinking some where that might be a bit quieter than the main student hot spots. I don't want to be isolated from the city/other students, but I don't want to be kept up at all hours of the night by blokes screaming outside my window either.
Reply 105
cat1992
x


your question would probably be best answered in the official accommodation thread.
Does applying for accommodation earlier give you a better chance of getting the halls you applied for? Or do they do all the applications together?
Expectations
Does applying for accommodation earlier give you a better chance of getting the halls you applied for? Or do they do all the applications together?


No it doesn't. However, reading the first two posts of this thread before posting a common question like that will stand you in good stead in life.
Ag-E
Yah I saw the second post and the 'main student areas' but it didn't really answer the question about 'good' and 'bad' neighborhoods. Maybe it's not like it over in the UK but here in the states there's DEFINITELY places you don't want to live if you can avoid it at all. And with a city the size of Edinburgh, I kind of expected the same thing.

Oh I should note that I'm 23. I've been through undergraduate and, while not opposed to drinking and general merry making, rabble rousing, stirring **** up, I've been through the binge drinking contests and all that good stuff of undergrad, where as I know that vet school for y'all is straight out of our high school age (college, I think y'all call it) so about 18 or 19 I guess. Also vet school is pretty strenuous so I was thinking some where that might be a bit quieter than the main student hot spots. I don't want to be isolated from the city/other students, but I don't want to be kept up at all hours of the night by blokes screaming outside my window either.


We're not gonna tell you to live in a bad area of the city - if you trust the advice given by nearlyheadlessian, artorscience and I (plus the other Edinburgh students) in this thread then you won't go wrong, basically... I don't want to blow our own trumpets, but having lived in Edinburgh as students for several years we do all know what we're talking about :smile:

Anyway - the places to live are covered in the first post. The city centre of Edinburgh doesn't have any "bad" areas as such - everywhere is fine and populated with students. Equally, unless you get a flat on Cowgate (not listed as one of the areas to live) you're not going to get people screaming outside your window. Unless you happen to chose a flat outside a pub. Marchmont is probably the quietest of areas as its mainly residential whereas Newington has a main road and bus route running through it, but the off roads are fine. However, somewhere on a bus route or close to one will be ideal seeing as you need to get to Easter Bush for classes, so take a look at www.lothianbuses.com for the route.

£400 a month including bills is more than enough money and will get you somewhere really nice - £350-370 including bills is more average, particularly for someone new to Edinburgh/a first time renter. I pay less than that now because I have cheaper rent than most people, but this is average.

Jlass
x


I'm pretty sure Summerhall is closing (the vet school by the Meadows play park) this year meaning everything is fully moving to Easter Bush, so the comments about it being close by are irrelevant due to the change in location.
Reply 109
I know this is super, super early to be thinking about this, but when I got my offer my friend bought me a bunch of posters of films and shows and stuff we both love.... and I'm jsut wondering if accommodation places are strict on posters and stuff being up?

I only ask because when my brother applied to uni, one of the places (I think it was UEA?) banned posters as they're a 'fire hazard', while others had a lot of anti-blutack paint, and some were totally okay.
Reply 110
oxymoronic
We're not gonna tell you to live in a bad area of the city


Oh I know, and didn't mean to imply that y'all would, but if I'm looking for a flat and it comes up in an area outside of the ones provided by y'all, I'd like to know whether to avoid it or to go ahead and check it out.
Rosie0914
I only ask because when my brother applied to uni, one of the places (I think it was UEA?) banned posters as they're a 'fire hazard', while others had a lot of anti-blutack paint , and some were totally okay.

Sounds magical. How does that work then?
Ag-E
Oh I know, and didn't mean to imply that y'all would, but if I'm looking for a flat and it comes up in an area outside of the ones provided by y'all, I'd like to know whether to avoid it or to go ahead and check it out.


Ask us at the time when you've found somewhere and then we'll tell you. To be perfectly honest there isn't anywhere you're going to consider living as a student which would be a "bad" area when we consider things like location of the library/city centre etc. You're not going to end up considering anywhere else. Edinburgh is a really small city - the city centre (the area I describe below) is walkable as the furthest points are less than 3 miles away. The majority of people live about 20 minutes walk apart at the most meaning all of the areas merge into one - its not London and huge.

Basically get a map of Edinburgh and find George Square and the Meadows. Students live all around this sort of square: Lothian Road and surrounding off streets to the west of the city, Dalkeith Road/Pleasance and surrounding off streets to the east. To the North people live as far as Queen Street area past Princes Street then to the south, as far as Strathern Road/Morningside Road. Anywhere within this area is totally fine... there are no "bad" areas :smile:

Rosie0914
x

Everyone has stuff on their walls, its fine. I had ridiculous amounts of crap in first year! I used drawing pins and blue tack. If you live in s/c flats the only time someone from the university enters your room is during an inspection about midway through first year. The cleaners stick to the kitchen/bathroom, but we had stuff all over the walls in there too. On your inventory at the start of the year just add in some extra information about "obvious blue tack marks and drawing pin holes on wall" then you can do what you want and it implies the marks have been there from previous occupants.
Hey, this is my second post, forgive me for not trawling through this for a possible answer lol.

I'll be applying for catered accommodation at Pollock Halls soon... anyone got any reccommedations/warnings? Any houses worth avoiding? I'm ideally looking for a single room, but not too bothered about the bathroom situation, so long as the water's hot XD

Thanks! :smile:
Reply 114
I'm trying to get a twin room at Chancellor's Court because I've heard from my friends who've been to college that having a roommate is a really good experience. Unfortunately, I've heard the university randomly chooses who lives with who. I don't want to live with someone I can't stand for the next year but I do want to have a roommate. Is there a way to find a roommate on your own?
Reply 115
kimmyish
I'm trying to get a twin room at Chancellor's Court because I've heard from my friends who've been to college that having a roommate is a really good experience. Unfortunately, I've heard the university randomly chooses who lives with who. I don't want to live with someone I can't stand for the next year but I do want to have a roommate. Is there a way to find a roommate on your own?



But living with a pot-luck roommate is kind of part of it. You learn to deal with other people who're different from you.

And if y'all are just complete antipodals of one another, you can always transfer to another hall.
Ag-E

And if y'all are just complete antipodals of one another, you can always transfer to another hall.


Not really gonna happen - transfers only happen as and when there is space somewhere else so even if you wanted to move you probably wouldn't be able to until towards the end of semester one at the earliest.

I've got no idea at all why anyone would ever want to share a room -- I know its the done thing in the US, but its really not here.... I wouldn't even entertain the prospect of sharing a room with someone else, particularly given that at Edinburgh the "twin room" comes in the form of bunkbeds! :smile:
Ag-E
But living with a pot-luck roommate is kind of part of it. You learn to deal with other people who're different from you.

And if y'all are just complete antipodals of one another, you can always transfer to another hall.


As Oxymoronic has said, transfers aren't allowed at first - the transfer system doesn't kick in until Week 6, which is a bit useless because by then everyone will already know everyone else and you'll be "the new guy", which might well be worse than living with "the devil you know"! So if you do risk going for twins you pretty much have to accept your pot-luck roommate.
Reply 118
oxymoronic
Not really gonna happen - transfers only happen as and when there is space somewhere else so even if you wanted to move you probably wouldn't be able to until towards the end of semester one at the earliest.

I've got no idea at all why anyone would ever want to share a room -- I know its the done thing in the US, but its really not here.... I wouldn't even entertain the prospect of sharing a room with someone else, particularly given that at Edinburgh the "twin room" comes in the form of bunkbeds! :smile:


Eugh :P I'm actually really glad roommates aren't the norm in Edinburgh, I'm happy enough sharing a flat!

Anyway, my question: is there a way to see the s/c flats? I know there aren't post-app open days ( :frown: ) but is there a tour round certain flats or something? I'm going to be there in a couple weeks and wouldn't mind having a look at some before applying.
Reply 119
Is it possible to get a bus from somewhere near Pollock Halls to Easter Bush at around 8:20am?

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