Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Which of these two are better for a postgraduate?

Poll

?

1. A 1 bed flat. Pretty basic and not modern at all but everything is just for you.

2. A room in a 5 or 6 bed modern apartment. It's brand new and built for postgraduate students but the bathroom and kitchen are shared and you don't know who will be in the other rooms.

Same price, same distance to university. Which would you pick?

Reply 1

smorga30

Flat for myself def!

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Reply 2

Klix88

It's a personal preference really and dependent on a number of factors.

Personally I'd choose the flat, but then I've been living alone for the past twenty years and the thought of sharing living space - even with people I like - fills me with horror. The downside is that round here, the rent on a 1 bed flat would be significantly higher than a room in a house/flat share.

Reply 3

chikane

I would choose a 1 bed flat as i wouldn't like to share with other people, i have a friend who i shared a room with on a uni trip and she rarely washes her hand after flushing even when i tell her and i find it disgusting so can't live with people like that thinking what else have they touched so i can get my wipes out and clean everything.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

aeterno

Definitely the 1 bed flat for me :biggrin:

There are only so many people I can deal with living with :colonhash:

Reply 5

pmc:producer

Shared. If it's all post-grads you should all be on the same wave length. Good networking opportunity and a good way to make new friends. For me it's a no brainer.

Reply 6

smorga30

Still would take flat.

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Reply 7

345rty

Shared, lived alone for years till this year and have found being able to readily discuss tricky bits of work with other people (even when they know nothing of it) has been very valuable.

Added perks are that generally speaking sharing is massively cheaper. I've never lived as cheaply as this year by quite some margin.

Reply 8

Klix88

Original post by macromicro

What if I said the 1 bed flat was £1,000 more expensive for the year?

Then it just depends whether you can afford it or not. If you already have that amount of money spare, then go for it.

£1000 a year is just over £83 a month or just over £19 per week, which could be funded with a part-time job. However, that will depend on a) whether you can get a part-time job, and b) whether that job will be reliable enough to guarantee the income year-round (or in time to build up a lump sum, if you have to pay up front).

In that situation I'd be too nervous to commit to the extra expenditure, in advance of getting the job. I might start asking around the family for a loan that I could pay back "as and when". Failing that, I'd take the shared accommodation. But that's just me - I'm naturally cautious, especially when it comes to finance.

Reply 9

aeterno

Original post by macromicro

What if I said the 1 bed flat was £1,000 more expensive for the year?

If I can afford it, I'll still take it...it really depends more on the individual figures, whether I have a part-time job, etc.

Reply 10

poohat

entirely personal preference.

I'd be inclined to go with 1) if you are doing a Masters, and 2) if you are doing a PhD. WIth a PhD you will be in the city for 3+ years so meeting people is important, and a purpose-built postgraduate block will be fun to hang out in for your first year and lets you meet lots of new people. Whereas with a masters you are only there for 1 year so you would probably want to prioritise having a quiet home environment over making friends.

5-6 people seems a lot though, I'd go for a smaller 2-4 person flat.

edit: if you aren't moving to a new city then the above doesn't apply of course, and I would go with 1).

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 11

DollyG

I would be thrilled to have 1 bed flat for the same price as a room. Unfortunately, I am going to be in London so the chances of that happening are pretty much 0. :frown:

Reply 12

redferry

Original post by macromicro

What if I said the 1 bed flat was £1,000 more expensive for the year?

Shared house. I'd much rather have that money to do other things. I only took a 1 bed for my PhD because I'm living with my partner so it worked out slightly less in the end than taking a room in a shared house on my own.

Reply 13

redferry

Original post by DollyG

I would be thrilled to have 1 bed flat for the same price as a room. Unfortunately, I am going to be in London so the chances of that happening are pretty much 0. :frown:

Having just been 1 bed flat hunting the cheapest you'll find a flat for is 850 pretty much, down to 700 for a studio.