Student rented houses have changed SO SO much ....

[Ta1kinPeece]

I moved DD into her 2nd year rented house today.

Landlords had put in new kettle, toaster, mattress covers, vacuum cleaner, hard floor cleaner
washing machine, fridge and mattresses are less than two years old
outside smoking area and bike locks are provided

its all so CLEAN and CIVILISED

I was a student in the 80's
when did it change from the Young Ones to Friends ?

[bbpp]

Definitely not the case where I am. Moving into my house share this Saturday!

[LadyinCement]

Gosh, yes, I can't believe the difference. Back in the 80s it was a badge of honour to have a truly dreadful student house. You actually competed to see who had the nastiest accommodation. I remember people who had no door on the bathroom - that was the worst.

And retainers - what happened to those?! You only paid half rent in the holidays as you weren't there.

[GrumpyOldBag]

I was a student in Bristol in the 1980s.

My flat (in Clifton) had no central heating - just electric bar fires. There was sometimes ice on the water on cold mornings, and i had to jump out of bed to switch on the fire then jump back under the duvet until the room had warmed up sufficiently to get up. The rent was £17 a week.

I remember friends living in a flat which had actually been assessed as derelict and unfit for habitation. They gave great dinner parties with rabbit stew!

But my tuition was paid for and I got a full grant as well!

[ChampagneSocialist1]

It was a rite of passage as a student in 1980's to live in an absolute s*hole as it was considered character building

[ILoveScrabble]

My stident rent in Manchester between 89-93 varied from 32 to 45 per week!

One of my DCs was only paying £55 (plus bills) last year. It was a basic house with a small kitchen and living room but it was alright. There was no damp or disrepair and it was clean. The fittings were all very cheap but ok. Northern city not super close to the Uni but not too far.

My kids all agree that the absolute most important thing about student accommodation is your flatmates.

[MrsMontgomerySmythe]

Glad to hear Manchester prices are still reasonable as I am off to visit it in October with my DS as a possible choice for his UCAS form.

Looking forward to driving past my old shared houses - wonder if students still live there.

[alltouchedout]

I'm not sure of the costs of uni halls in Manchester but when looking for houses I'd always recommend manchester student homes- there's a huge range from the £55 a week ones right up to the eyewateringly expensive luxury stuff.

[MakeItStopNeville]

Not UK but my sons halls were amazing! Brand new, incredible facilities and the rooms were like hotel rooms. Now he's in a house and, again, so much nicer than anything we ever had. Leather sofas, new beds, wooden floors, modern kitchen and bathrooms (bathROOMS!!). DH and I just tease him and tell him he doesn't know what he's missing, not having mould growing in dark corners.

[ILoveScrabble]

MrsMontgomerySmyth

My sons cheapo accom was in Sheffield bit Manchester - It was cheap even for Sheffield though . I think he is paying £70 plus bills this year but it's still a bit gritty.

[ILoveScrabble]

Sorry for typos

[BizzyFizzy]

My DD has a free washing machine in her uni flat, and access to a free drier. How amazing is that?

[Ta1kinPeece]

Rooms in halls - yup, they have modernised

but its the private rental house market that has changed the most

frogs under the kitchen sink and rats in the ceilings seem to be less accepted now

and landlords are less happy about pet goats and piles of bongs in every room

[hellsbells99]

My DD counted 9 slugs in her kitchen/living room on Saturday night! Not sure that her house share is very luxurious

[lljkk]

In 1990s the local Uni started to severely vet anyone who wanted to use the Uni accommodation service to advertise to students. So the standards soared after that.

[Ta1kinPeece]

Could be that
could also be the introduction of tuition fees ....

in my day we got grants and housing benefit

DD will leave Uni with £50,000 of debt at 6.1% ......

[lljkk]

True private student rentals, that still have nothing to do with Uni Accommodation service, can still be dire. Have heard a few stories from colleagues with adult offspring studying in London.

[SuburbanRhonda]

I was at Leeds 1980-86 and the houses I lived in were all shocking.

In one, I shared with 7 others. It had one bathroom and one toilet - in the bathroom! The hot water took an hour and a half to heat up so we had to put our name down on a white board to book a bath (no shower).

Luckily there were free baths and showers in the student union so I used those.

[GetAHaircutCarl]

I was in college at university but had a boyfriend at another university who had some form of mushroom in his shower.

They also had an escaped gerbil who lived off the crap on the floor ( and gnawed any clothing or books left around).

[ChampagneSocialist1]

I went to university in a northern city 1987-90 and the rent for a room in a 5 bed shared house was £16 a week excluding bills. My full grant was just over £2000 a year and I could sign on for unemployment benefit over the summer holidays if I couldn't get a job.

[ChampagneSocialist1]

Most students in my day were pretty frugal and tried to live within their means a few I knew left with a couple of thousand on their overdraft. I think nowadays students know they will have a big debt from tuition fees and student loans so the mentality is they might as well live well now and deal with it later plus this is fuelled by universities and landlords. I fear for this generation that they will never know the freedom of living a debt free life

[TeenTimesTwo]

Can't believe your DD is in her second year already!

I think students expect so much more these days, as things that were unheard of / luxury have become the norm.

So 30 years ago things like en suite bathrooms in private houses weren't common, neither were dishwashers. More people took clothes to the local laundry etc. Also people in general didn't have take out coffee every day, take-away meals once a week etc.

The current generation have been brought up to expect these as standard. So this has leaked through to their expectations of university life too. While I was doing my degree I think I went to the cinema once in the 3 years. I did have the occasional meal out, I don't remember stuff like McDonalds, occasional pastie takeaway or similar.

[purpleleotard]

New student halls in Portsmouth are £500pm for the smaller rooms and £600pm for a larger, plus you have to buy internet extra at £32pm.
Really close to the uni you can get a room for £9000pa

[Oldie2017]

Well one of my son's room looks like a film set from a film about life at university in 1920 even down to the wardrobe - not changed since than other than a radiator so I am not sure that goes for all halls...... and it's about £7800 a year.

[GrumpyOldBag]

My favourite phrase, which I invented, is "50 shades of awesomeness".