Be prepared for a walk. (Accommodation in general)

Name: davemar

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Product:	Accommodation in general
Date:	18/04/01 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can find cheap places that are quite decent.

Disadvantages: If you want to close to Uni, you'll pay.

I was at Brum Uni from 91-94, so this might be a little outdated, but still
should apply.
The various halls are spread over quite a large area. The bulk of them are
in The Vale area, and are quite a fair walk into uni. If you are lucky then
you might get into University House which, back in my day, were reserved
for posh people as far as I could see. This one was right next to the Uni,
so very convient. I lived in Manor House, which like Griffin was out towards
Northfield. These were about 40min walk, or a 15 minute bus ride away
from uni. Griffin were the big self-catering blocks where a lot of the
foreign students lived. Manor House was the old home of the Cadbury
family and was in a very attractive setting, and had quite a cliquey
atmosphere of its own. I enjoyed my time there and met a lot of people too.

After the first year, you'll probably have to move out of halls and find your
own place. A lot of students opt for the area opposite the main entrance,
in roads such as Alton Rd, etc. The rent in these places is a little higher than
further out due to the proximity to the uni. The houses are pretty tatty too,
and it is a very studenty area. Another downside is (well it used to be) that
burgurly was rife in the area and it was very difficult to get house insurance.
Despite this, the area was safe.
I lived a little further out in Selly Oak near Sainsburys. The rent is cheaper
up here and the houses are bigger and nicer. It is worth checking out this
area, the downside being a little longer walk into Uni.
I also lived in Balsall Heath which was very cheap at the time. The houses
vary a lot in quality, but are often spacious. Back in those days it was a
red-light area (not sure about it now), which puts many people off. But
it was actually a safe area to live in, plenty of girls to keep a eye on things,
so your car never got broken into! It also had qui
te a community feel to
the area, and a few decent pubs which rather liberal opening hours.
The downside of the area was an even longer trip into Uni, but you were
closer to town, Canon Hill Park, and the cricket ground.

So if you want to live in a nicer house with cheaper rent try looking a little
further afield. You'll have to walk/cycle/drive/bus a little further, but sometimes you might want to walk off a hangover!

Summary: