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Finding my home away from home

Student Rebecca Shaikh shares her story of finding the perfect accommodation for her first year of university.

Rebecca sitting on a bench
'The best thing about living in University accommodation was having our own little student haven away from the city.'

Rebecca is a student on the MEng (hons) Chemical Engineering course at Bath.

Choosing a new home

I’d watched some accommodation videos from the University website, and from them, Eastwood looked the most homely. I think this was because, unlike the other types of accommodation on offer, Eastwood came as houses. This really makes you feel like you’re living in a home away from home and helped me settle in better.

Each house was shared with twelve other people and, in this sense, living in such close proximity with so many people makes you feel like you’re with a second family. This worked well for me because one of my biggest worries about coming to university was feeling lonely.

Life on campus

The best thing about living in University accommodation was having our own little student haven away from the city. It made me feel as though I was part of a tightly-knit student community as well as part of the wider Bath community.

The proximity to everything else on campus is useful too. Not having to get a bus to campus every morning really saves the time and effort of a commute. What’s more, there’s a gym on campus which means you can fit a workout in without having to walk for more than a few minutes from your accommodation.

On top of that, just the general atmosphere in halls is great, particularly for socialising as there’s such a big concentration of students in a small area and you form such a tightly-knit community.

Support from staff

The University Accommodation and Security teams were definitely up there as one of the best things about living on campus. It’s so convenient to have someone on call whenever you have a problem that needs sorting and, in my experience, any issues I’ve had have never taken more than a few days to get fixed!

As for the Security team, they’re on hand 24/7 which makes you feel so safe and secure. I chose to stay on campus for Christmas and there were times where I got scared by living on my own, but they were always there for me whenever I needed them: a great, friendly, and approachable team.