Location, Location, Location

It’s that time of year again when Warwick students in their thousands flock to the often sleepy town of Leamington Spa or the raucous city of Coventry to seek accommodation for their next year of university.

For many, these are the first hours of daylight they have spent in Coventry or Leamington. You may fall in love with a particular area of town for its proximity to reputable nightlife venues, supermarkets or bus routes. This is normal.

Prospective residents will have to stray into little ventured territory.Exotic sounding names like ‘South Leam’ and ‘behind-the-church’ or ‘Earlsdon’ will soon become part of your everyday lexicon. It can be daunting to enter these new frontiers, but do not fear, these areas are full of delights for the would be student resident of Leam or Cov.

Student house hunting is by and large a horrific experience. You turn up at some unsuspecting students’ house, knock on their front door with your gaggle of future housemates expecting something reminiscent of Location, Location, Location.

Firstly your student tour guide is unlikely to be any Kirsty or Phil.They will most likely be hungover, in their dressing gown and a little perturbed that their misdeeds from the previous nights session are now on display to a bunch of strangers.

Secondly it is unlikely that you will be entering a show home, with flocked cushions, tasteful wall art and the aroma of coffee. Instead you will be met by empty cans of Oranjeboom, ‘Keep Calm’ posters and the lingering scent of bins.

Expectation management is a critical part of the house hunting as a student. For the price you are looking for you are unlikely to find somewhere that is perfect. You may not all get double beds so there may have to be some awkward conversations.

[pullquote style=”left” quote=”dark”] There may be some persistent mould, but this could be easily fobbed off as natural foliage.
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Don’t be afraid to ask your current student residents questions. “Where is the best place to get food after a big night?”, “Where can I get some booze at 11pm on a Sunday evening?” or perhaps more meaningful questions like “What is the landlord like?” or “Have you enjoyed living here?”

Saying everything that I have said, everyone has been through the slog of finding a student house so don’t hesistate to knock on doors or ask questions.

Househunting is rarely easy, but more often than not it pays off in the end and you can look forward to a year of freedom to clean your own toilet, deal with central heating and eat an inordinate amount of fast food.
Good luck pioneers!