Sleepless in the South (Accommodation in general)

Name: gollygumdrops

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Accommodation in general
Date:	21/07/00 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of choice

Disadvantages: You can find yourself homeless during exam time

Bournemouth has tons of accommodation, think about it, this is a holiday town, there are loads of holiday flats, B&Bs, Guest houses and so on with extra capacity during most of the academic year.

Sadly the word <b>most</b> means that at the beginning and end of the academic year hoteliers and other property owners can charge up to four times as much to tourists as they can to students.

This can really leave you in the lurch. Several of my friends were thrown out of their accommodation just weeks before their exams, despite having agreed a fixed term with their landlords.

The university accommodation office did blacklist those landlords but as Bournemouth has a very fluid population it can still happen.

Do be careful if you sign up with a guest house. You may find yourself paying for breakfast and dinner. There are no refunds for meals not eaten and it is highly likely that you will not like the food. Also you do not want to be tied down to getting home for your dinner at the allotted times which are usually strict.

The more optimistic student will also worry about not bing home for breakfast! Even if you are home, if you have a live in landlord/lady, they are rarely happy with overnight guests and parties are a non-starter.

The University provides very little in the way of halls of residence so after the first year, or ometimes the first <i>term</i> you are on your own.

My recommendation is to get some friends together and rent a house if possible. Charminster and Winton are the best spots, within walking distance of both the campus and town, with plenty of other students around, all night stores and student friendly pubs.

Landlords letting out entire houses are far more reasonable about the dates which you need, and it is often possible to keep the house through the summer. If some of your term time friends go home it is not difficult to convince others from school to com
e down and spend their vacation in a seaside town with loads of summer jobs and plenty of scantily clad folk!

Summary: