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regretting getting a house

I am now in 2nd year of uni, my uni/student area is 25 mins from my home. I lived in halls last year and didn’t really enjoy it because I didn’t become great friends with anyone in my flat, it was a dirty flat and I didn’t have the best mental health generally and regretted not moving further away ( but that wasn’t reason enough to drop out) , so I came home quite a lot. I decided to get a house with some friends outside of my flat (who I do really get on with and probably my closest friends) because i wanted to give the experience another go with friends i know i get on with . But i’ve recently moved into the house and I’m questioning if i’ve wasted my money because I live so nearby and my parents let me do what I want in terms of nights out, smoking, having friends and boyfriend around. I probably will have a slight bit more independence, in terms of not worrying about waking parents up or having to tell them what i’m doing but i feel as though i’m solely paying rent for the year (6k) to experience living with friends and have a good social life. I can afford the rent as I can keep my job and parents help me out with money but I still question if it’s worth it when I could save my maintenance loan. Is the social aspect really worth it?

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

I think it's worth it. Bear in mind that were you to live with your parents, your maintenance loan would be diminished so you would actually save a fair bit less than £6K. And while from your post, it seems like your parents are awfully nice people and that there's no inherent reason to not live with them, living away from them will help you to grow up and be a more independant adult (even more so than halls, which are in the end like an adult-lite version of renting and living and not quite the real thing). Plus, there's not a whole lot you can do about it now, so no point in worrying about this. Be glad that you're living with friends and becoming more of an adult, and be happy that your family isn't too far away either :smile:

Reply 2

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

Anon,

Now that you have signed the contract, it might be more hassle than it's worth to pull out now!

Also, you took the decision to move into halls last year despite living close by, so it sounds like it's important to you to experience different aspects of university life. It's good that you have had the opportunity to live in halls and that you now have the opportunity to live with friends. It might not have been the most positive experience in halls but it was probably a useful learning experience e.g. learning to share a kitchen with strangers.

Everything is a learning curve. You might love living with your friends this year and choose to do the same next year. If it doesn't go so well, you know that you can always move back home for third year. Both are good options : )

Yes, financially you could save money by living at home, but again if it's important for you to experience what it's like living with friends, then maybe this is the best time to do it, as you might all head in different directions after university and depending on where you get work, you might find yourself living with strangers (though hopefully, they will be less messy!)!

All the best,

Oluwatosin – 2nd year student – University of Huddersfield