In my first year of uni I lived in catered halls. Believe it or not, this was actually my choice. I couldn't cook and thought that the easiest way to get out of this would be to pay to have all my meals cooked for me. Turns out that this was the worst idea possible, as a) the food was horrible and b) I was in denial that I was finally growing up and that one day I'd have to cook my every meal. In general, living in halls was not something that I loved. If I'm being entirely honest, I didn't enjoy the experience at all, and thought that I would share those reasons with those of you who may be going off to university for the first time. Hopefully your experience will be better than mine was!
i hate sundays because i hate living in catered halls and eating their DEAD roast with shit potatoes and shit gravy
— x (@khriz909) May 15, 2016
The people
So a lot of people believe that by living in halls, you'll never be lonely as you're going to be surrounded by your new best friends. Wrong. I lended up being friends with only one girl out of my entire block. It wasn't that I disliked everyone I lived with, it was just that we didn't have the same things in common. My best friends at uni have come from meeting them on nights out and other events that went on during freshers week.
There's to many people in the halls I smile at that ignore me thanks bruh ✌ Y'all are real ones
— QUEEN (@Yeezy_Nat) July 7, 2016
Isolation
Coming from a busy household, I found the halls experience to be really isolating. When people had lots of deadlines, the whole building was like a ghost town. You could literally go days without seeing another person and that was horrible. Everyone's just holed up in their rooms, and it really makes you feel alone.
it's weird how lonley you can feel sometimes despite being surrounded by students in halls
— katie ellen ivy (@p4ndaeyes) November 27, 2015
Lack of space
My uni room was quite small. Although it was expected, it was still a bit of a shock. It didn't help that my room didn't even have a carpet which seemed to make it worse, and it was absolutely freezing in the winter.
I have no idea how I had this much stuff in my tiny room in halls
— Ellie MastersGregory (@EllieMastrsGreg) June 13, 2016
Sharing a bathroom
Before I went to uni, I shared a bathroom with my entire family, but it's a bit different when you don't really know the people that you're living with and suddenly you're finding their hair all over the shower. It always felt really grimy, and I never entered the bathroom without wearing a pair of flip flops just in case.
Sharing a bathroom in halls with 4 other people is going to be a nightmare
— rubes (@_RUBYHB_) September 13, 2015
Nothing ever got fixed
At one point, in the middle of winter, the whole building ran out of hot water. This meant no heating and no hot showers. I have fond memories of a day in January spent doing work clad in a pair of gloves and two hoodies. Not an experience I want to repeat ever again!
Do you want to live in halls? Have you lived in halls before? Share your experiences in the comments below.
