There used to be a time when accommodation for students was limited to the on-campus or official residences associated with that particular university, with the culture of sorority clubs and the likes spreading across English-speaking countries, mainly. Initiations, house rivalries, codes, etc… All of these formed a huge part of what it means to be a student.

To a certain extent, these still apply, but accommodation for students has been required to expand beyond the still sought-after residence allocations. There’s simply not enough space at the different house residences, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You may not necessarily have known that life in a university house residence just isn’t for you until it’s too late and you’ve been fully assimilated into what can very well be a toxic culture. Typically you have to pay in advance for such student accommodation and you pretty much have to pack up all your stuff and leave with it each time a term ends.

So whether or not you missed out on a place at res, what are some alternative student accommodation options?

Home-stays

Today, all manner of new accommodation options are popping up all over the show, with universities teaming up with local families to offer what are referred to as homestays. Homestays are actually nothing new, but the term has been given some kind of official ring to it in recent times because it goes beyond just the accommodation of students.

Backpackers, whose ultimate goal is nothing more than covering as much of this earth as possible, swear by homestays, but they’re perhaps the best source for the information for students seeking to go the same direction in terms of student accommodation.

Homestays can indeed make for great alternative in student accommodation for uni students and they basically have you taking up an offer to stay with a kind family that opens up its home to you. There are many reasons why people would do so, most of which are steeped in the natural human instinct to just help others. I mean the saying “as poor as a student” doesn’t stem from absolutely nowhere, does it?

One of the ways through which your mind can be put at is with regards to homestays is the fact that it can make for somewhat of a fair exchange, in that you essentially assume the role of housekeeper in the event that the family you’re staying with might be comprised out of frequent travellers who might be away often.

Serviced apartments

If you’re still not quite comfortable with effectively “invading” someone’s home, although they’ve invited you to stay with them out of their own goodwill, you can always simulate something of a homestay by staying in a serviced apartment. It does cost a little bit more than any traditional student accommodation option, but at least you have all the comforts of home without having to worry about overdoing things, like raiding the fridge for a midnight feast every day. With all the comforts of home, you are free to focus on your ultimate goal of getting your qualification.