Where do Queen Mary students live in second and third year?

Hi i'm an offer holder for September and i'm i've got on campus accommodation so halls sorted for next year, but i can't find any decent info online about where people live once they've moved out of all halls (if not commuting)??? As far as i'm aware in London they aren't any "student areas" where all the students live and it's just a load of like 4-6 bedroom houses all in the same area which students rent (fallow field in manchester and clifton in bristol are some examples) Can anyone who went to qm tell me where they ended up living after halls?? are there many student house-shares available around mile end or will you have to look further out?? and how much did you pay in rent per month? I'm a bit worried about finding housing if i do go and considering maybe just going to a "uni city" in the north or midlands instead but i really would rather be in london

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Anonymous

People tend to do one of three things here at Queen Mary:

1. If they have the money, they go for one of the private halls that are abundant in London and the local area. The big ones are Scape, IQ East and IQ Aldgate. They are wildly expensive though - think £300+ a week - so definitely not for everybody.

2. You find a group of people to rent with - to make it somewhat affordable, you will need at least 3 people, although 4 is nice too. 5 is doable although it starts being more of a struggle to find a place for 5 or more people. The rent can vary wildly although with a little bit of patience and planning, it is possible to find a place around the £200-250 a week mark. During Covid, a lot of the places available to students in the local area were sold off and so it is a bit of a struggle to find flats in the immediate vicinity of the university, although still possible. People traditionally end up in Mile End, Bethnal Green, Bow, Whitechapel (wouldn't personally recommend Whitechapel), Stratford or even the Isle of Dogs, all of these areas are very close to the university. But some people just choose any place in London from which they can easily reach Queen Mary - usually along the Central line.

3. They move back home. Because the process of finding a flat in London is stressful, you will often find asking prices which should be, in all honesty, illegal, and finding guarantors might be a struggle... so they save themselves the headache and live at home.