International Student Wonders if 7k College accommodation is necessary?

Dear Clonedmemories,I'm an international student on scholarship with an M.Sc offer from Durham and I'll be receiving appx £1k per month for the duration of my M.Sc. program. Considering the cost of accommodation at Hilde & Bede (single standard part-catered £7680), I was wondering if staying in college was the best option for living (comfortably in Durham). I read about your "terrible" experience living out of college in your 2nd year and I was wondering if you could advise me better on the pros/cons of living out of college and an overview of the avg. weekly costs of everything (food, rent e.t.c) so I can make a more informed decision. I really expect to save during my time at Durham because I'm from a developing country I was hoping that the max i'd have to spend would be $400 per month (covering all costs). Thanks for your anticipated reply.PS: I'll also be creating a thread on this to elicit more responses but your opinion is very much valued.

I'm going to add to this the message you left me so I can address all the points in both threads as much as I possibly can.



Starting off, the worst part of my living out experience came from the people I ended up living with. One pulled out due to serious illness, and the other I just found very difficult to live with. This has probably clouded my judgement a little as to what living out is like, though I would advise you to choose carefully who you live with if you do. It can make the world of difference to your experience.

I reckon you could probably do about £400 a month so long as you were relatively careful. I lived in an accommodation with very high rents, but there are plenty of places in Durham you can live with lower ones (£80/week or less). Try looking at areas like Claypath, Gilesgate or Neville's Cross, which are a little further out, but much cheaper. I would tend to spend between £10/£20 per week for food (though bearing in mind I was also dealing with anorexia for a good deal of this period, but it wasn't much different to when I was living in as a self-catered student). Anything else you have left you can save or else spend on socialising or just doing nice things (like a trip somewhere, especially if you're coming from abroad!)

Having said that, there are lots of advantages to living in college. You don't have to worry about who you'll be living with as you'll have your own space, you're right near a whole host of amenities and support should you need it, and if you're keen to get involved with college life/societies/sports, it can be beneficial. Having said that, being at Hild Bede, you're right near Gilesgate anyway so you wouldn't suffer too much should you choose to live out there!

I'm an international student on scholarship with an M.Sc offer from Durham and I'll be receiving appx £1k per month in stipends for the duration of my M.Sc. program. Considering the cost of accommodation at X college (single standard part-catered appx £7500), I was wondering if staying in college was the best option for living (comfortably in Durham). I would love to learn of the pros/cons of living out of college and an overview of the avg. weekly costs of everything (food, rent e.t.c) so I can make a more informed decision. More so, I really expect to save during my time at Durham and I was hoping that the maximum i'd have to spend would be £400 per month (covering all costs and leaving me with appx £600).

PS: I must make a decision in this regard before 6th August so I will greatly value any useful advice before then. Please also pm me specific places in Durham city where the rent is within the budget stated above so I can decide more firmly.