By Annabelle Minnis, Second Year, Philosophy and Theology
You’ve finally made it through freshers, and you catch yourself wondering what was so scary to begin with. You’ve learnt how to make it back to your accommodation from the Triangle after a night out, stopped checking Google Maps every time you leave your flat, and you’ve got the U1 timetable down to a T. Things are going well.
And then, about five weeks in, the conversation takes a turn. Instead of asking ‘Which event did you go to this weekend?’, or ‘What was your social theme?’, you find yourself dropping increasingly subtle hints about who might want to live together next year. Everyone tiptoes around the topic until, after an agonising wait, someone ultimately pops the question.
Do you live with that nice girl from your Friday morning seminar who you always go to coffee with beforehand? Or that loud funny girl who you always do pres with? And then there is your best friend from home, the girls from Wednesday socials, flatmates, course mates, and in a moment of complete anguish, living alone starts sounding like the most sensible option.
The whole process seems to sneak up on you, and no one wants to make the mistake of shacking up with fresher friends who you have been too scared to ditch. Before you know it, November hits and you must categorise your friends into those who are reserved exclusively for a night out and those you can actually see yourself spending the next year of your life with.
Choosing who you live with in second year is made out to be one of the most pivotal moments in your university life. Somewhere along the way, November became an unofficial ‘deadline’ for deciding who your friends are, and I am not convinced it needs to be. In fact, I think this imaginary pressure overlooks one of the best parts of the housing process: searching for second year housemates can be just as much an opportunity to make new friends, as it is an opportunity to solidify your old ones!
I remember scrolling through TikTok last year and constantly seeing students take to social media in search of an extra housemate. Whether someone had dropped out of an existing group, or they simply hadn’t found the right people to live with yet, groups would post photos and share their interests to give an insight into what living with them would be like. Social media can turn what feels like a daunting search into an easy way to meet people and find someone you might never otherwise have crossed paths with!
Furthermore, I recently discovered the student housing app Housr which has a ‘Find a Roomie’ feature dedicated to helping students meet potential flatmates. You create a profile and add a picture, your year of study, your course and a bit about yourself, and you get matched with potential housemates based on your interests. It’s like Tinder, but instead of finding your next conquest you are searching for someone who won’t leave their washing in the machine for three days! This app provides a good way to meet people with similar interests (and budgets) and means you can avoid all those awkward conversations and just get to know each other!
Sometimes having to rethink your original housing plans can be a blessing in disguise. It can give you a chance to get closer to people you already know who you might never have thought to live with otherwise. Rather than treating second year housing as the point at which your friendships become fixed, perhaps it can be an opportunity to expand them.
Of course, you want to avoid signing a contract with someone who treats the kitchen sink as a long-term storage solution. But while choosing your housemates can feel like a high-stakes decision, it is just a house, not a permanent life sentence! The Bristol social sphere is massive, and you are not automatically ostracised from it when you pick your housemates.
Once you have figured out who you want to live with, there is another question to
tackle: how much can you actually afford? Bristol’s rental market certainly doesn’t make the process any easier. Bristol has recently overtaken London as the least affordable city for renters. With the average rent reaching £1880 a month and renters spending an average 45 per cent of their salary on rent, waiting around is not exactly an option.
Ivy Nicholls
Speaking to Epigram, one student searching for a second-year house described it as a struggle. She stated, ‘My friends and I were cold calling letting agencies and refreshing Rightmove every morning. We requested viewings for over 30 houses - we didn’t even look at the pictures, as long as it had seven bedrooms it would do.’ So, while there is no pressure to have your entire friendship group figured out by November, I would definitely advise you to start thinking about your budget, location and what you’re willing to compromise on.
So, as November swings round the corner, and the annual Bristol housing Hunger Games begin, spare a thought for those of us paying £6300 a month for black mould and one working fridge. My advice to you: grab as many viewings as you can, interrogate your friends about their washing machine habits and work out your budget before someone else does. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour!
Featured Image: Annabelle Minnis
Have you found your housemates for next year already?
