Renting in Southampton- advice please!

Bella01

Hi,

I am going to uni this year, and I need to find a place to rent in Southampton. My max budget is about 550 per month before bills. That would be the absolute tops.

I need some advice on what kind of areas to look into. I saw a nice place in St Mary's for 470 a month, but apparently this is bad area??

I'm also interested in a place in Ocean Village, ( which is apparently a good area,) which is going for 595 a month, furnished with gas and water all inclusive. However, there is no washing machine in the property. Instead it has a private laundry room for residents. I'm assuming that this operates like a launderette. Does anyone know whether private laundry rooms tend to be cheaper than launderettes, or they much the same?

I have also seen this student accommodation on offer.I'm not allowed to post links because I'ma new user, but the website is called 'lifehub'.I'm sceptical about it though. It's cheap at 500 a month, all bills, plus broadband and communal laundry room. However, it's down Bevois Valley Road which I hear is in the red light district.

One last question. How much should I be expecting to pay per month for electricity, gas, and water for a one bedroom flat or large studio?

Any help with all of this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Running_Horse

Yeah, St Mary's is a bit rough and ready, as are quite a few areas.

If you don't mind being further out Netley is quiet and on the railway line.

gggareth

Keep away from St Mary's and Beer vois valley.. Mutant mile ( Shirley) is best to avoid.

Portswood ok ish lots of Tax dodgers..
Highfield good
Polygon mmm OK depending on which street..
Swathling... poor but close to the Uni ..

Chilworth is quite nice :rotfl:

Ocean Village is ok bit out of the way for the Uni though Guess there are lots of flats down that way empty now though

Richard_Webster

Have you got transport? Ocean Village is a long way from the Uni.

Do you want to have a social life with other students or keep yourself to yourself?

Keep away from St Mary's and Beer vois valley.. Mutant mile ( Shirley) is best to avoid. Shirley is way off for a student.

Portswood ok ish lots of Tax dodgers.. Portswood hardly exists for estate agents - it's all Highfield because it sounds better - they only call Lodge Road and the top end of Bevois Valley Portswood as it is stretching things too far to call it Highfield!
Highfield good Depends whether you mean "real Highfield" around the Church and leading up the Common or roads like Kitchener Road and Sirdar Road which are full of student houses!
Polygon mmm OK depending on which street..
Swathling... poor but close to the Uni ..estate agents call a lot of this Highfield or Bassett!

Chilworth is quite nice but very expensive and not a place where a student would find an affordable flat

Ocean Village is ok bit out of the way for the Uni though Guess there are lots of flats down that way empty now though

You could try Bitterne Park, which I think is the best part of Southampton - I am very biased because I live there! It isn't that far from the Uni and not much further than the Wessex Lane Halls of Residence. Problem is crossing Woodmill Bridge if you go to the Uni in the peak periods - queues to single lane pinch point 4 cars each way at a time if done properly.

I don't know what rents are like - certainly house prices in estate agent "Highfield" are artifically high because of the money to be made form letting to students but over the river in Bitterne Park prices are slightly lower, so possibly this could affect rents a bit.

PasturesNew

Bills for self-contained would be about:
£40 electricity/gas
£15 water if on a meter
£12 TV license
£15 contents insurance
£15 broadband
£12 phoneline
===
£109

cuthbertlilly

main student area is Portswood, which is absolutely fine - as is Bevois Valley. there is excellent student nightlife around these areas.
swaythling is also fine, I lived in Mayfield Road (SO17).

don't bother with st mary's, newtown, nicholstown or northam (all near the football ground) as these are a bit rough.

shirley is not great, although there's a Fitness First gym there and some shops.

you should go for a house share, it's great fun and much cheaper than renting a flat solo. are you going to the main uni or solent uni? as this helps recommend the best area for you.

patricia..xx

Can I jump on this message too as we are in the same position, moving to Southampton end of the month for uni. We are actually looking to buy after renting for 6 months. Higher budget (I have a job) of about £700-800 for a 3 bed house.

Where would you chose? Husband is looking at Bitterne, not Bitterne Park (is there a difference?) and somewhere in Upper Shirley today.

Then on Friday looking at houses to buy, one in Lordswood Road and one just near Bassett/Shirley border - Dale Valley Road the eastern end. Are these OK areas?

Thanks for your help. Good luck with your studies Bella, maybe we will run into each other

Pigmy

I lived in Bitterne Park for a few years - its a nice area though it can be a bit quiet. If you are a student you might like to be a wee bit closer to the action! Bitterne and Bitterne Park are 2 separate neighbourhoods, but they are next door to one another. They are both OK - you might say that BP was slightly nicer but you'd be getting down to a street-by-street comparison. Bitterne is closer to the city centre, BP is closer to the Uni.

I also lived in Bassett/Chilworth - I lodged there for a year. Lovely house, fantastic area, but can be pricey and getting the right property can be like looking for hen's teeth!

Bevois Valley is pretty lively, but take that at face value. Its got lots going on so you don't have to travel far and its got everything on your doorstep but that also brings the usual problems such as noise, hassle etc.

If I were looking I'd probably concentrate on Highfield/Bitterne Park/Bassett, possibly extending to include Bitterne and Portswood. As a rule of thumb I wouldn't look west of the common.

Richard_Webster

and somewhere in Upper Shirley today.

Then on Friday looking at houses to buy, one in Lordswood Road and one just near Bassett/Shirley border - Dale Valley Road the eastern end. Are these OK areas?

Southampton traffic is constrained by crossing the Itchen if you are coming from east of the river, although this is not a major problem if you can use Northam Bridge or Cobden Bridge. As I have said, there is queue in peak periods to cross Woodmill Bridge.

However there is also the major constraint of the existence of the Common. If you around Lordswood & Upper Shirley (inc Dale Valley Road) then to get to the University you have to crawl along the single carriageway western end of Burgess Road to go east. You can do two sides of a triangle by doing Winchester Road and Bassett Avenue/Bassett Crescent East to Burgess Road and University Road, but I suspect in the mornings Winchester Road is going to be clogged with people tryng to get out of the City to go north. So, all in all, I wouldn't think that North West Southampton was necessarily good transport wise if you are working/studying at the University. The exception would be if a medic and spending a lot of time at the General Hospital.

IntlGirl

Just to add in case people get the wrong impression from a previous post, Shirley is perfectly fine but I wouldn't live there as a student because it's really not great for travel to the Highfield campus (perfect for the city centre tough).

patricia..xx

Thanks for the advice on areas. Will see how we get on. Wouldn't dream of driving anywhere in a city cycling is definitely the way forward (for journeys under 5 miles anyway!). Have investigated cycle routes to uni and ocean village where I will be working and they look fine.