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The closest accom to campus!! About 10-12 mins from Highfield, and 20 from Avenue. The U2B bus runs up to Chamberlain which is part of Glen which is super helpful with shopping, and you can catch the U2B at Cenotaph (big sculpture) in the town centre and get dropped off at home! They don't run as often as other buses though.
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Really great facilities - My friends and I booked the cinema room out every Thursday for a catch-up, and it's always clean and well-maintained. However you can only use DVDs there, as the device pairing does not work. We also used the BBQ (there are 3 on my side of Glen) and were given a fire blanket and a little safety sheet. There is also a study room (which during my time was very quiet and a great resource! A lot quieter and easier to get a seat in than Hartley library, which is great but gets SUPER crowded on the lower floors during the day) and a music room. They are all free to use, but everything apart from the study room needs to be booked by QR code and pop to reception before you use it to activate your key fob! There are also bike sheds I believe, but I never used them. Same goes for the gym and squash court which is behind the laundrette!
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Absolutely gorgeous - a lot of thought has been put into landscaping and making it a really pleasant and homey place to live! I'm aware it's not high on everyone's list, but it really put me at ease in a new environment with so much green space and fresh air.
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Site staff - there is a manned reception the vast majority of the time, and I believe also a 24-hour hotline for problems and noise complaints. The security of the site is really good, and while people such as pizza delivery drivers were allowed on site, it feels like a very private area, and I had no trouble with non-students wandering around the site as some accommodation (such as Archers Road being on a busy public street - they do have extra door codes and security though!) have had this year.
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Planon - Planon is the service on which you report any problems with your accommodation, and also how you book spaces on site. The QR code on the posters did not work for me, so I would recommend you report things on Planon through SUSSED (you will get this login when you join the university). I reported my door lock which gave up the ghost in my final term, and within 24 hours a workman came to fix it.
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Rooms - I chose an enhanced shared bathroom, and I had a very beautiful and large room on the ground floor with windows on two walls. I can't speak for other accommodations, but I had a much larger room than my friends who chose en-suites, and the shared bathroom was cleaned alongside the kitchen weekly. It has lots of room for stretching out, hosting parties and little late-night dance battles!
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Halls activities - Every term there are multiple halls activities sessions which are mainly held in Glen Eyre Main Hall/common room (they're in the same building). I did the Nintendo Switch night and the Easter egg hunt, but there are heaps more like Taskmaster and pumpkin carving. They're all free and are a great chance to meet others in your accommodation block, although the ones I went to were not very well-attended - I reckon this is because they're not very well-advertised and you've gotta check the 'What's On/Halls Activities' on the MySouthampton app! They are run by second and third-year students, and so if nothing else are good for advice and a break from your room!''
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Definitely bring Febreze AND a room spray/electric wax melter/reed diffuser - making your room 'not smell' and 'smell nice' are two different things! Also don't forget to open your windows in the morning - it'll help freshen everything up as well.
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Definitely bring a dehumidifier - I bought the little plastic box ones rather than an electric machine as they can get quite loud. I found there was a lot of condensation on the windows, as RN is a very old block with very old windows. I brought an airer for laundry but didn't use it - a wash and dry cycle in the laundrette is £2.70 if I remember right, and although it's expensive (don't forget your laundry pods!) I smelt a lot of mildew in lectures from people not having dried their clothes enough (completely understandable in Winter and also it's everyone's first try at living alone! Not judging at all, but it's defo something to avoid). Your room may not get warm enough or aerated enough to dry clothes in, especially if it's humid outside. Don't forget to scoop the lint out of the dryer before you start it, bring some tissues so you don't have to touch it The Circut Laundry app takes payment through PayPal, and you need a minimum top-up of £5. Near the end of the year, top up enough for maybe 3 washes with the exact amount so you use all the money on the app and none is left over that you can't use or get back off the app.
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Laundry baskets for dirty clothes, and something to take them to the laundrette in. RN is one of the furthest blocks from the Glen laundrette, but is mostly downhill on the way. The laundrette is 24hr (the one in Chamberlain is not, so we got a better deal there!) - I found evenings from 8:30/9 to be quieter, but I am a night owl - make sure you don't fall asleep before picking it up! I think a wash is 1hr and a dry is 35mins? You've gotta change machines to dry though - washers on the bottom, dryers on top.
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Bring something extra to sit on - and not a plastic box you used to move in, you'll break it! You're given a desk chair which is pretty comfortable, but I'd suggest a bean bag or similar for when friends come over or for having a read on! Also have an air mattress - your home friends might come and visit for a night, they're helpful to sit on if you're hosting, and you can take them with you if you're visiting a friend in a different Uni town.
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Might be a bit late to say this depending on how much shopping you've done already, but BRING FUNKY CUTLERY. Everyone's got the IKEA/Tesco/Sainsbury's set and you'll lose your forks to people! I bought an iridescent rainbow one from TKMaxx and the whole set made it back home with me.
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Bring things to put on the walls - use blu-tack not command strips! I don't trust them after ripping some paint off of a wall at home, and the walls in RN are semi-gloss so blu-tack came off easily enough. If you're hanging white posters, bring the white blu-tack to prevent it from getting blue greasy splodges. Alternatively, RN is generous with corkboard space - I had one the full length of my bed, and another behind my desk.
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An over-the door coat rack!! There are two hooks in the room (or at least were in mine) but I didn't find it to be enough - you're better to have more than less.
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Bring a bin - you'll be surprised at how much you use it, especially if (like me) you're fond of snacking while working. I'd suggest a pedal one with a lid so you don't get any funky smells and don't have to see your trash all the time.
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