The best and worst student accommodation – guardian.co.uk
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This week the money section of the Guardian newspaper (guardian.co.uk/money) lead with an article entitled “The best and worst student accommodation – Our practical overview will give you a wide range of information about accommodation location and cost”
The Guardian did its research and provided some great information on costs forfood and going out in addition to housing costs on campus housing and off-campus housing.
The Guardian have estimated that living on campus can cost up to £1,000 more each year than living in private rented accommodation where you have more control over your costs (including heating and power).
Around Town Flat’s primarily operates in the Manchester and surrounding areas so let’s take a look at that breakdown. From the research we see that cost of university accommodations runs, on the high end, around £144.00 per week and private halls cost near £133.00 per week. Depending on which hall you stay in the accommodations vary but can include a shared bathroom and shared washbasin. Others are fully furnished although these are at the top costs in rent.
For a two bedroom, fully furnished, kitchen, bathroom suite including secure parking we find comparable examplesof cost at the time of writing this article ranging from £92.00 to £137.50 per week. Some of these even have more bedrooms which can then divide the cost of rent again.
So there you have it. We here at ATF are happily thanking the Guardian newspaper for doing all the heavy research for us. At the end of the day, depending on your university or school, it’s cost effective to do a little bit of research into your local property agents because not only is it cost effective for parents it can also offer a better quality of life for your children.
Related articles
- The best and worst student accommodation (guardian.co.uk)
- UI offers off campus housing to accommodate record freshman class (gazetteonline.com)
- A-levels results: arranging student accommodation (telegraph.co.uk)
Posted on August 25, 2010
Coming soon – TwiTrip to Manchester | Travel | guardian.co.uk
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Coming soon – TwiTrip to Manchester | Travel | guardian.co.uk.
Recently I stumbled across a really great idea on the guardian newspaper. The article is titled “Coming soon – TwiTrip to Manchester. It would seem that on this upcoming Wednesday Benji Lanyado is “heading to Manchester armed only with a mobile phone – and ready to go wherever the best of your tweets take him.”
Benji Lanyado is a travel writer for the guardian newspaper (guardian.co.uk). On completing his final year at Manchester University in 2005 he specialises in budget travel and blogging. He is a West Ham fan who is waiting for Acid Jazz to come back into style. At least this is the information provided about him on the Guardian website. Ben is obviously a big twitter fan (twitter.com/benjilanyado) with thousands of followers.
Based on the teaser for his TwiTrips (found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/aug/13/twitrip-manchester-twitter-uk) it seems he selects a city and then receives tweets from his adoring fans guiding him through the city. In short, the tweets tell him where to go. This is a fantastic use of social media and we here at Around Town Flats thought it was well worth posting a brief blog article regarding his efforts.
In the past Benji has visited sites like Oxford, Nottingham and Leeds. In Leeds he was instructed to visit sites such as Sella Bar, Skype Lounge at the City Inn and tea at Ellington – Leeds’ first 5 star hotel. In Nottingham he checked out the Exchange, the Screen Room (the smallest cinema in the world) and the Space City exhibit. Lastly in Oxford he visited the Christchurch grounds, the Summer Eights and Ben’s Cookies.
We here at Around Town Flats intend to send Benji a few tweets and see if we can’t steer him towards some of our lovely locations in and around Manchester. Feel free to follow the links and check out the original articles and if you have any questions, or suggestions for locations to tweet to Benji, go ahead and leave them in the comment section of this blog post.
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- Coming soon – TwiTrip to Oxford (guardian.co.uk)
- Society Daily: 09.08.10 (guardian.co.uk)
- Roberts named Guardian national editor (guardian.co.uk)
Posted on August 15, 2010
Survival Guide in Manchester – from Asian Perspective
Manchester is a great place to live, study and work. It’s a major city with a diverse population of more than two million, and a reputation as a friendly and warm welcoming place which best described as “Northern Charm”. What’s more, it has been rated as the best student city all over United Kingdom, as you could find Manchester University and Metropolitan University are among the best educational establishments here in England.
However, these are things that you need to know if you’re coming to Manchester :-)
Do and Don’ts
- If you’re coming from a hot country, you should get a duvet to keep you warm at the winter time. And a portable heater would be very useful as well.
- Getting an annual bus pass would be very essential for studying in the off campus university. A price of £165 will be worth it. Trust me!
- Everyday Essentials – Don’t bother bringing all you favourite’s toiletries along. In fact, you could find a lot more here in Manchester and pretty cheap as well.
- Stationeries – Personally, I would recommend bring some of them from your country, it is because of the currency exchange rate would make you think twice before you buy them here.
Craving a taste of your home country?
Witnessing Rusholme’s “curry mile” as the largest concentration of Asian restaurants in the UK, would be an opportunity that you don’t want to miss. Over 65,000 diners per week came down here, wanting to sample the award winning Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cuisine on offer.
However, as a Malaysian born country-boy, sometimes I miss the taste of the home-made mum’s cooking. Fortunately, I found Manchester as my second home as I could feel the Malaysian atmosphere when I visit the Lotus Restaurant. Where I could find the Nasi Lemak Rendang, Roti Canai and Laksa here and the price is affordable too. There are several numbers of Restaurants that offer a Malaysian cuisine as well, such as NING and RICE. These are my favourites.
Experience a Living
Studying in the off campus university gives you various options to stay. Most of the university halls are readily available for the new students. However, living in a hall could be very hectic where there are always people around which can be annoying sometimes, especially in the examination period. There is always an option, house-shares are very popular in Manchester, and it’s a lot cheaper and fairly comfortable too. Why don’t give it a try??
Earn While You Learn
If you are looking to earn some cash & gain some skills whilst studying, here in Manchester there are various kind of job they could offer, from kiosk work to office work. Why don’t experience that “northern charm” while having some money in your deep pocket.
Syed has lived in Manchester nearly three years, he graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University and now he is working with AroundTownFlats as a Purchase Ledger Clerk.
Posted on August 10, 2010
Top list of university life necessities for on & off campus living
Obviously before heading off to university there are a wide number of things you need to bring with you so you are fully prepared for university life. Many of these may seem rather mundane and obvious but at the end of the day they may be overlooked just for that reason. These aren’t necessities but they really should be taken into consideration.
Being prepared is by far the most important step to getting off on the right foot of your new university life. You’ll also need a means to organize and store all your goodies. Most of the time you’ll have some closet space, a space under your bed, a desk and a set of drawers. I find that plastic bins, organizational trays and even a shoebox can go a long way to keeping all your incidentals together and out of the way. The goal is to maximise the amount of space you are working with. The original list came from an article by Maria Tulio of howtodothings.com but we felt the quality of the list and the advice offered was valuable in it own right so we decided to post it here as well.
Desk supplies:
1. Pens, pencils, highlighters, and erasers
2. Stapler and staple remover
3. Ruler
4. Scissors
5. Paper clips
6. Post-its
7. Calculator
8. Push pins
9. Hole punch
10. Computer
Laundry, shower, linens:
1. Laundry bag, detergent, bleach, stain remover, and dryer sheets
2. Basket to carry toiletries into the bathroom
3. Flip-flops for shower
4. Sheets, duvet, pillows
5. Cotton padding or other cover for mattress
6. Towels and washcloths
Toiletries:
1. Soap, shampoo, conditioner
2. Toothpaste, toothbrush, floss
3. Moisturiser
4. Deodorant
5. Brush and comb
6. Razor
7. Hair gel/mousse
8. Nail Clippers/Nail File
For snacking:
1. Miniature refrigerator
2. Microwave
3. Mug, glass, plate, bowls, utensils
4. Dishwashing liquid and scrubbing pad
5. Can opener
6. Kitchen towel
7. Rubbish bags
8. Your favorite snack foods
1. Desk lamp
2. Floor lamp if the room doesn’t have overhead lighting
3. Lamp for your nightstand or a clip-on lamp for the headboard
1. Screwdriver and small hammer, small nails (if allowed)
2. Swiss army knife
3. Hooks of all sizes for the walls and doors
4. Power strip/surge protector
5. Extension cords
6. Duct tape
7. Shelves and brackets (if permitted)
8. Bookshelves if there is room (consider a bookshelf on top of the desk if it doesn’t already have one)
9. Closet organizer
10. Hangers
11. Under-bed storage boxes
12. Shelf and drawer liners
13. Curtains and curtain hardware
14. Light bulbs
15. Storage containers of various sizes
1. Band-Aids
2. Antibiotic ointment
3. Tweezers
4. Bandage tape and gauze pads
5. Hydrogen peroxide
6. Rubbing alcohol
7. Thermometer
8. Paracetemol, ibuprofen, Benadryl, aspirin, cough drops, sore throat drops
9. Alka seltzer
10. Bandage
11. Freezable ice pack
Paperwork and important documents:
1. Driver’s license
2. National Insurance Card
3. Passport
1. Shoe bags (one in closet for shoes, and one to mount on wall or side of dresser to use for holding things you need to grab often, like your brush and comb, makeup, deodorant, etc.)
2. Removable adhesive for hanging posters.
3. Wall decorations
4. Photos of family and friends
5. Area rug
6. Door mat
7. Cork bulletin board
8. Small dry erase board
9. Wastepaper basket
10. Mirror
11. Small fan
12. Sewing kit, safety pins
13. Torch
14. Batteries
15. String
16. Broom and/or dustbuster
17. Alarm clock
18. Camera
19. Hair dryer
20. Phone
Posted on August 10, 2010
Delightful Deposit-friendly Decorating
A brand new room is always a very good excuse for decorating and there’s nothing better than creating the feeling of home away from home. To help you get started, here are our top five cheap and cheerful tips on decorating.
1. Starting Point
Take photographs of your property when you move in, especially the rooms you plan to decorate. This and the inventory act as guidelines on the condition it needs to be when you move out. Contact Around Town Flats to find out exactly what your boundaries are and if you would need written permission from the landlord. Now, you’re ready to begin!
2. Painting and Decorating
Most of our properties are decorated in a neutral scheme so they’re easy to work with. In our properties, you can request permission to paint rooms but we ask that you please return them to their original colour before you vacate at the end of your tenancy.
If you do decide to paint, consider having just a feature wall. They’re the easiest way to make statement without overpowering the rest of the room. The secret to an effective feature wall is to pick a wall that’s as plain as possible. We don’t recommend wallpapering a feature wall as wallpaper is more difficult to remove.
3. Re-arrange your furniture
Re-arranging your furniture makes such a huge difference to the appearance. Space could be created instantly by changing the position of the bed, moving your desk or other furniture. You could also bring in your favourite furniture with you for a personal touch.
4. Bedding, curtains and artwork
Never underestimate the power of bedding to transform a room. Cushions add a lovely touch and curtains could make a huge impact. Why don’t you your hands at making your own? It’s a cost effective way of decorating and no one else will have the same stuff!
Pictures and artwork are the most common way of adding to a room. If you use blue tack or nails on the walls, we ask very nicely that you get rid of them by using filler and painting the walls to their original colour before vacating.
Poster sales held in September by the university main campus and Owens Park Halls of Residence in Fallowfield offer a great selection of affordable posters to choose from.
5. The end…
At the end of your tenancy, bring out those pictures you took at the beginning of your tenancy and start returning your property to its original state. Ensure you start in plenty of time for painting and moving furniture around. When painting, it is a good idea to use a primer on the wall before painting to ensure that there is no evidence of the changes you made.
Posted on August 6, 2010
Tips on choosing a University to attend
Choosing a College or University
Deciding on what school to attend can be a tedious and frustrating process because it is reliant on so many different factors. You’ll need to select the subject to study, whether or not you want to partake in any extracurricular activities, the location of the university and of course the expenses, wow the expenses, and that is just to name a few of the factors that require investigating before you can make an educated decision. There’s a very possible chance that you might end up selecting a university for the wrong reasons, perhaps you’ll make a decision based on a reputation whereas you should make your choice based on your academic intentions Ultimately it’s best to select a university after researching a handful that you feel best suit you and check out what options are available to you beforehand. It’s alright to ask friends and family for advice but at the end of the day the decision is yours and yours alone to make so don’t let others convince you one way or another.
What courses do you intend to study?
Your final choice for a university should be based on your academic interests and the future career that you think you would like to start. Now deciding the topics to study at university isn’t going to be a complete surprise to you. After you take your GSCE and A-level subjects you should have a fairly good idea of your future plans. You should definitely know what it is you enjoy studying and what you like about school or what you want to focus on, whether it’s math, science, history, etc and you should also know which of these subjects for which you have a natural flair. Look at the subjects which you enjoy and for which you have a flair. By deciding what subjects fall into these categories you are already ahead of the game when trying to select your university. Now, of course, speak to your sisters, your brothers, your parents, guidance counsellors and see what they have to say. With your knowledge, their advice and a topic of study your are ready to start looking into which universities off programmes that match these preferences.
What about things to do when you’re not in class?
Despite what your friends and family think you will not be in class or studying every moment you are away at university. When you pick a university you need to make sure that it offers different activities that you might be interested in, whether that is sports, music or otherwise. Universities offer a wide range of clubs, hobbies, groups, etc that you can sign up for and get a lot of experience doing, such as the school radio, cultural clubs, gyms for exercise, athletic teams, drama and dance clubs. It’s always good to find at least on activity the school offers besides the classes towards your degree. It will give you an opportunity to meet new people, learn new things and may even provide real world experience in your future career.
So how are we going to pay the bills?
Obviously every parent and student needs to consider just how they are going to afford going off to school whether you live on-campus, off-campus or commute. It’s sad to say that in recent years the cost of school has gone extremely high and a small job, part-time, simply will not be enough to meet these needs and cover the costs. Now, of course, there are the school fees for attending classes but there are also fee’s for meal plans, cost of rent, school books, clothes and dorm room necessities, travel, any events you may plan to attend, and so on and so forth for what seems to be an unending list. When selecting your school be sure to consider all of these costs in and above the generic tuition. Some schools may include certain activities and others may not so it’s very important to do the proper research!
So where exactly do you plan to attend? Not the school, but the location.
Some students hope and pray that they can get away from Mom and Dad and start their own life of responsibility and growth. Other’s prefer to stay close to home and commute to school. Sometimes the reasoning is to get out of a small town and other times just the opposite. Regardless of where you hope to attend be sure that the environment meets the requirements that you have in mind. The best way to get familiar with the area is to take a day trip, with or without your parents, walk the school grounds and go for a stroll around the local town or city. You can even take a full day trip, night and day, so that you can make sure everything you feel you need is available to you, person I would like 24 hour fast food! It’s best to follow your instincts and if you have a funny feeling about something it’s good to address it right away.
Selecting a university is by far going to be one of the most crucial decisions you can make in your life. It will guide you to your career, create a new social network and may even be the place where you meet your boyfriend or girlfriend! Regardless where you attend will play a massive role in your future. With that said, don’t let the degree of importance scare you into staying close to home if you would prefer not to and don’t get overwhelmed with all of the options. Take you time, research the angles, and get good advice!
Aside from the information here you can contact us on our Facebook page and if you find this article helpful please tweet it or share it to your Facebook friends and fans.
Posted on August 4, 2010
Manchester University off-campus living for students – an observation
If the prospect of living off campus sounds slightly scary, here are a few reassuring reasons as to why living off campus is better than living on campus.
Choice
One of the biggest advantages of living off campus is being able to choose where you want to live. You have the freedom to choose how close to university campus you would like to live, freedom to choose who you would like to live with and freedom to pick kind of atmosphere you would like to live in. It also comes with a sense of self-fulfillment because you have the responsibility of keeping and maintaining your own flat.
Practicality
Another benefit of living off-campus is quite practical: space. If you’re getting comfortable and plan to have a long stay at the university then you may want to bring some of your personal or private belongings with you. In a dorm, typically, there can be anywhere from 2-4 people in very limited and cramped space. If you have a TV, stereo, and a laptop and so do each of your roommates you will be stacking electronics in the corner of the room to try and make space for everything. Living off campus gives you a choice of a full size property where you can live a less cramped lifestyle and not find yourself using the stereo that you brought from home as a footstool.
Rules
If you live off-campus there aren’t nearly as many rules that you will have to follow in comparison to on-campus. Residence halls require you to oblige with the rules and standards of the school. While these rules are often designed for the protection of the residents within the halls they also limit your options and freedoms. You are truly independent and you set your own rules and requirements.
Privacy
You have far better privacy in comparison to what you would receive if you were to live on-campus. Communal bathrooms in halls tend to be such a nightmare with morning queues and being compelled to wear flip flops. Not forgetting that no one ever wants to clean. This is also the case with kitchens and common rooms. There’s also something unpleasant about 2am parties when you have a final the following day.
Responsibility
One of the biggest benefits of living off campus is the sense of responsibility gained. Learning how to manage your own utility suppliers, rents and property paperwork are all valuable skills for life. They set you up for another scary prospect. ADULTHOOD. Unfortunately we don’t have a guide for that.
Posted on July 27, 2010
Simplifying the search
Finding a student home can be really stressful, especially when looking for somewhere for six people, and six girls for that matter! To make it worse, it seemed that homes were being snapped up in days and we were worried we’d be starting our second year at university without anywhere to live. The stress and worry all changed however, when we walked past Around Town Flats on the way home from a viewing.
We saw details of a home we really liked in the agency’s window, so popped in to see if we could book a viewing. We also had a chat with Stuart from Around Town Flats, who quickly put us at ease. Stuart told us that it was important to take our time and find a house that we like -this went against the advice of other landlords and letting agents we’d viewed with who were looking for us to sign up almost there and then. Once we explained what we were looking for, Stuart made appointments for us at two properties, so we headed off the next day for a look round.
At the viewings, we were met by Winnie, a fellow student who works for Around Town Flats. Meeting Winnie was great because she could really relate to our position and gave us some great advice on what to look for during a viewing. She said we should look at whether a home has double glazing or exposed exterior walls – all things that will make a difference to our heating bills and extremely important for students on a budget!
It was on our second viewing with Around Town Flats that we found a home we loved, so our next job was to reserve it and put down our deposit. As it was the first time any of our group had rented, this was quite a scary prospect, but again Around Town Flats made the process so easy. We completed our paperwork in record time, and even got given some Nando’s vouchers for doing so.
Around Town Flats made finding a home simple and I’m sure moving in and enjoying it will be just as much fun.
Posted on March 19, 2010
10 out of 10
Just like Paolo Nutini, we always strive for top marks, and we’re pleased to say that in our last survey, that’s exactly what we achieved.
In our latest questionnaire of tenants moving in or moving out of Around Town Flats’ homes, 100% said they would recommend us to a friend. Plus, when asked about our moving in service, 100% of people rated it very good to satisfactory.
It’s important to know how we’re getting on, so thank you to all those who took the time to complete the survey. As always, if you want to feedback on our service or would like to suggest how we can improve, please email us on info@aroundtownflats.com
Posted on February 9, 2010
Dealing with Damp
Damp can be caused either by water seeping into a property from the outside or through condensation created as a result of normal, everyday activities.
Excess moisture can come from leaking pipes, wastes or overflows, rain leaking through the roof where a tile or slate is missing, or from water spilling from a blocked gutter.
These causes of damp often leave a ‘tidemark’ and if this is the case, you should contact Around Town Flats, who’ll carry out repairs to remove the source of damp.
If you do not think the damp comes from any of these causes, it is probably condensation.
Condensation occurs when there is an excessive build up of moisture in the air inside the home. There is always moisture in the air, but people create additional moisture in their homes by:
- Cooking or boiling water
- Taking baths or showers
- Using paraffin or bottled gas heaters
- Drying clothes inside
Warm moist air condenses and forms water when it cools, for example when it touches a cold surface. In your home these are outside walls, mirrors, windows, wall tiles and even on clothes.
If this condensation cannot dry out, it will cause mould to form on any of the surfaces on which it settles.
Preventing mould
There are a number of things you can do to limit condensation forming:
- Ventilate to let the moisture out, by opening a bathroom or kitchen window for a while to let the steam escape, or using an extractor fan
- Cover pans and turn down the heat when boiling water
- Switch off boiling kettles
- Dry clothes outside, or in a well ventilated room
- Do not use unvented tumble dryers
- Wipe down surfaces where moisture has settled
- Never cover up airbricks or ventilators
Did you know?
- Each person gives off around ½ litre a day in water vapour through breathing
- Washing up produces 1 litre of water vapour a day
- Washing clothes (if not in a washing machine) creates 2 litres a day
- Drying clothes indoors can produce up to 6 litres a day
Posted on December 10, 2009