Mature Student Needs Advice On Where To Live During 4 Year University Degree

Rallya

Hey all

I have just had confirmation that I have a place at Durham University studying Applied Psychology with Foundation Year (4 years) starting October 2007.

At present I am on benefits and get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, I live alone in a 1 bed flat which costs £62 per week to rent (I pay £10.13 of this myself). I should get full grant of £6,045 per year plus £3,000 per year bursary from Durham University making a total of £9,045 per year.

The university I am studying at is local, so would stay in the flat I am in now, but...and heres my dilema....

1) Do I stay in the flat and pay £62 per week rent plus all other expenses. It doesnt have central heating and costs approx £15-20 per week to heat in the winter. I would also have to find my rent and living expenses during the summer vacation etc.

2) My retired parents live near me and have said I can move back in with them for the forseeable future, pay £25 per week room and board (all food) and house has central heating.

3) Move into a shared house with other students? Bit wary of this as I will be alot older than them at 38, plus they might not want "an old fogey" living with them.


I am having a real hard time to decide...not sure I want to live with my parents again at my age, but it would be soooo much easier.

Just wondering what you would do in my situation, please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you!

A_Nice_Englishman

Assuming you don't have any tax or tuition fees to pay you will have £9045 / 52 = £174 a week to live on, which on the face of it seems sufficient to stay in your flat. If not, could you get a job during the vacations and/or a part time one during term?

freebie_junkie

as englishman says above- a pt job possibly going full time in the hols will really help, you could also apply for the access to learning fund or perhaps your uni (like many others) has a designated mature student halls of residence?

lovelyjay

I'm kinda in the same postion and I am going to keep my flat on.

I'm 27 and I couldnt face going home and or living with younger students and also where you going to live in the summer when all your 18yr friends have gone home??

You'll be spending time and money looking for digs again!!

Get a part time job during term.

Not being funny but i take it ur single........ no lady/man wants to bump into ur Mum on the stairs or having your student mates giggling when you try to impress your "new love interest".

Trust me you'll enjoy your space and home conforts.

Gingernutmeg

Pesonally, if it were me I'd keep the flat on - even with your heating expenses in the winter it's likely to still be cheaper than a room in halls, and you've still got your privacy and (barring anything untoward) you've still got somewhere to live during your holidays and you'll have somewhere to live once you've finished your degree.

I lived in halls for two years as a mature student and I didn't really enjoy it - yes, it was nice to live on campus but the lack of privacy, the noise and the mess really drove me mad. Also, because I was put in 'mature' halls which seemed to consist of undergrads and international students, it was hard to make friends as the postgrads all left after a year and the international students, understandably, tended to only hang around with people of their own nationality. My partner and I moved into a flat this year and I've been so much happier - I have my own space, the house is clean and tidy and it's been so much easier to get on with my work (important in the third year). I found living on campus very 'intense', and coming from the working world with my own life and friends it was difficult to get on with people whose whole life revolved around uni. Also, I know a lot of people who are finding it hard to rent somewhere now that they've finished their degree, it's a relief to know that I've got somewhere to live for the time being. Equally, having some experience/good references from private renting is making finding a new place MUCH easier for me. And finally lol ... it was a real pain moving all the time - fortunately we didn't have to move at Easter and Christmas but we had to move twice every summer, firstly into a 'temporary room' and then into the room we'd been allocated for the new year, even though I was on a 52 week contract. I hated it as I felt like you were always living out of a box and you were never really given the opportunity to settle, even though the halls were technically your 'home'.

It *would* be easier to live with your parents again but I know that I would have found that really stifling. If it's feasible then I really would suggest that you keep your flat on. Obviously you're going to have to make a bit more of an effort to join in with uni stuff, but I know lots of people who've lived independently off campus for the whole of their degrees and they haven't missed out on anything. They're also adjusting to life after uni a lot better as they've always kept their 'outside' life going, IYSWIM.

mummytofour

I would stay where you are and if it does not owrk out you do have the fall back of your mum and dad.
Good luck.