Meet Hannah: one of your Uni Life Bloggers

My name’s Hannah and I’m a full-time physiotherapy student at my University. Like most students coming to university for the first time, I chose to live in halls where I would be able to meet and socialise with new people who were all in the same boat as me. Before applying for halls, I was lucky enough to be able to view a couple of them at an open day in the summer before I moved in - I would definitely recommend viewing beforehand if you can to help you decide where you want to stay!

Of course, I decided I liked the most spacious, modern en-suite rooms the best. I applied for 5 different halls all within walking distance of the main university campus. I chose not to apply for any on campus because I’ve always thought it would feel too much like being at university constantly and never having the space to de-stress away from lectures.

The halls I was eventually allocated was the most expensive compared to the others I applied for so was not necessarily my first choice, however, after living here for my first term, I wouldn’t rather live anywhere else.

It is right in the city centre, a 10-minute walk from main campus and close to all the shops and entertainment.

When September came around and it was time to move in, surprisingly I wasn’t nervous at all. I was more excited to meet everyone and, more importantly, decorate my room with an abundance of cushions and fairy lights. Moving in was a very positive experience; I had already met most of my flatmates thanks to social media and everyone was extremely welcoming. Before I had even finished bringing my belongings from the car up six flights of stairs in the rain (definitely pack a coat on moving day!), I was getting to know my new surroundings and had already logged on to the Wi-Fi on every device possible. There were even friendly student ambassadors on hand to bring my stuff up for me!

When I had settled in and my parents had gone home that evening, I only had one day to relax and explore the city before my induction lectures started so I made the most of that Sunday afternoon by having a wander around town with one of my flatmates. There’s lots of ways to meet other students in your halls before you move in, so definitely try and do this and it will make the whole process a lot easier.

So far, I’ve settled well into university life and have got used to living independently.

I’m now at the stage where I’ve started thinking about accommodation for next year.

At the moment, I’m looking into getting a studio flat in a new block of student housing that has recently been built just a short walk away from where I am now. Although I’ve enjoyed living with flatmates this year, most of my flatmates are looking to move out of the city centre. As I’ve neglected to mention, healthcare courses aren’t taught on the main University campus but instead a 40 minute bus journey away. Therefore, moving out of the city centre with my flatmates would make it more difficult to get to uni as it’s further from the bus route. So I’m choosing to move elsewhere in the city centre and stay close to some friends also studying healthcare courses. I also feel that I would enjoy the extra bit of freedom that comes with living in a studio flat!

This post was written by one of our Uni Life Bloggers, Hannah. Hannah is part of a year-long study into student life, and you can follow his posts here.