Hate my accommodation - stay in a hostel instead?

I'm a finalist and hate my accommodation. I've come back from a year abroad so I've just been dumped in a flat with strangers who just stay in their rooms all the time.

I'm only in uni 3 days a week, so I'm thinking I could stay in a cheap hostel 2 nights a week instead of actually renting a place full time. I'm much happier at home and will be far more productive academically. The hostel I've looked at has a kitchen and I'm considering renting out a self storage unit so I can store things like clothes, toileteries etc.

Opinions? Also has anybody ever done this before?

Thanks

I stayed in a YHA for freshers week while the uni sorted out halls.

tbh flat mates staying in their rooms wouldn't bother me (unless they come out at night and munch all your food)

I don't think they like having 'residents' very much - where would you go during the day?

Decent idea tbh, if you're only in 3 consecutive days I don't see the issue. Apart from it being expensive, but it doesn't sound like you're concerned about money.

Wouldn't it be cheaper? Say 20quid a night, so 40 quid per week - I have 9 weeks of teaching a term and Term 3 is exam period so I don't even have to be there much, just to take exams. If you add it up it's only just over £1000 for the whole year. I wouldn't be paying over Christmas and Easter.

What about the cost of getting back home? Unless you're at uni in your home city.

Make your flatmates your friends and get them to socialise. Why not cook them dinner one night and get everyone to come out of their shells.

Although if it is £10 max each way what distance is that? Could it not be cheaper to commute if you definitely want to move out. Would be cheaper in the long run than a youth hostel plus self storage? A girl on my course would commute 3 days a week for her modules from Sheffield to Leicester.

It's final year, so nobody really wants to socialise or make new friends, that's the thing. If this were first year, it'd be a different. Thanks for the idea.

My uni is in Coventry and I live in London, so by megabus or by train (with a railcard discount) it's fairly cheap, normally about £10 peak time or £3.50 off peak each way.

Commuting would be tiring, I have considered it. I have 9am and 10am lectures - even though the tickets are cheap the journey is long - the commute would be about 2 1/2 hours each way. I'm not sure if I can do that 3 times a week! The girl on your course - is she not knackered all the time? So yeah, it'd be cheaper but more convenient and less stressful to youth hostel and do self storage perhaps.

Though the money saving is just a bonus really, I just know I'll spend most of my time at home as I can't do any studying here cos I'm not happy.

You mentioned that you are a finalist? This year is really rather important for your degree, so you need to ensure you are in the best environment for studying. Depending on your course, you may need access to the library pretty often - so living fairly nearby would be convenient in case you need to visit it during on of the days when you have no lectures. How long is the journey back and forth from home? How much time/ stress is organising taking your stuff in and out of storage each week? Do you want to be more independent from your parents? Make sure you have really considered the issues with what you are proposing (although it would be much cheaper than halls, from what you have said...).

You might want to check your accommodation contract. You may well still have to pay if you decide to cancel now.

It was years ago now but she was fine with it. Could be that she never had 9 or 10 start.

Are the others in their final year? If so it could be you are all in the same boat and so know noone. If so they might appreciate your attempts to get them to socialise even more!

Yeah, she probably never had early starts. The whole flat is final year undergraduates, but the flat is either empty or people just stay in their room and don't want to socialise. I go in and out of the kitchen (the only common area) between 6pm and 9pm (i.e. dinner time) and nobody is there! How do these people eat?

Well I made an effort the first night and invited them out for drinks, they were all "busy"... A first year flat wouldn't be like this at all.

Your situation is rubbish, and I also understand it since I'm going through a similar experience after coming back from a year of work. I'd suggest doing what I'm doing this year - join some societies and meet people that way. I've been to three different events so far this week and I'm really enjoying meeting some new people. It's disappointing that when I go back to my halls it's deadly quiet but it has its benefits for working and sleep. Haven't worked out my social calendar yet but I'm going to be fairly busy most evenings during the week because of societies. This also happens to freshers when they don't get along with students in their halls (or they're all quiet).

I wish I'd made the same effort I'm making now during my first and second years. I'm 99% sure I'd have had a better university experience and made better friends if I'd become involved in societies from year 1.