Bristol University Accommodation

[AstroLoco]

Ds has an offer for History at Bristol university. He has been looking into accommodation options and has an idea of what he likes, although I'd love the know the reality from people who have experience from there.

Can anyone recommend accommodation and let me know any positives / negatives for each one please?

He is aware that it can be difficult to get your preferred accommodation at Bristol (or even to get accommodation at all), so any advice on this would be gratefully received.

Hello - my son will be going into his 2nd year at the University of Bristol. We're looking for accommodation from September '23 for the academic year 23/24. He's been staying in UOB halls during his first year which has been great - however UOB will not confirm for next year (even though he applied). He's had an ensuite room in a shared flat - which has been great - but am getting pretty desperate now as everything seems so expensive. We've looked into private lets with agents, etc and he's been to see a few that were not suitable. Any advice from anyone would really be appreciated. Many thanks!

I don't think they offer halls to second year students (and would he want to be with freshers in 2nd year in any event!)
Usually they get a flat or house share with others, does he have friends to do this with?

Have you tried

www.bristolsulettings.co.uk

It is run by the university’s Student Union

Hopefully you can find something suitable this way.

@Dem1975
They don’t hebe enough accommodation for year 1 at Bristol never mind your 2. Did he not notice others were looking for year 2 accommodation? They have an accommodation office at Bristol. See them. If he’s on his own it will be really expensive so he needs to find mates. Accommodation office might have leads on this.

Has he looked at the Bristol Uni find a flatmate Facebook page? It often has groups looking for 1 or 2 extra people for a house share. It’s still not cheap, but cheaper as you move further away from the Uni, which he might need to do anyway as it’s been really hard to find houses in the usual student areas like Redlands and Clifton this term. My daughter spent a month trying and was missing seminars just trying to find somewhere, but has now settled on a house in Bishopton which looks nicer and cheaper than the closer ones if you don’t mind a 30 minute walk to Uni. It’s not easy for them.

My daughter and friends used Abode which appeared much better than other letting agencies.

@WhyAreAllTheGoodUserNamesUsedUp how much is the rent there ? I'm intrigued how much cheaper it gets going further out.

Not exactly cheap but my daughter has got a big double room in a nice looking house ( no mould, decent kitchen and lounge , 2 bathrooms between 5 of them and a garden ) for £140 each a week. This is in Bishopton which is walkable to Uni and close to lots of shops and restaurants on the Gloucester road. Ashleydown is another area around here with similar prices, slightly cheaper if you compromise and go for places with some single rooms etc. If you go another 10-15 minutes up Gloucester road in Horfield and Fishponds you’re looking more around £125 each. Probably a bus ride or bike ride to Uni here and more popular with Uni of west of England students here, but still worth considering on a budget. You can get the odd place around the uni for this sort of price but likely to be pretty grotty and/ or already snapped up.

I assume that's without bills?
DD is paying £150pw plus bills for whiteladies road. The flat looks lovely but it's only small - the location meant compromises.

For many Bristol students, location means a lot. If they have been at Stoke Bishop they have already been a bus ride away. Many now want to be a short walk away. Paying for that has always been quite expensive or you take the grotty house if you are on a budget. Being out of the Bristol bubble isn’t necessarily what Dc want.

The main issue my daughter was having was with availability. She applied for multiple houses in the student areas, including mould ones, but even getting viewings was difficult and for the 10 or so she did manage to get viewings she applied for all of them but with no luck. She said there were multiple groups filing out applications on the doorsteps, and it was missing seminars as a result, hence the decision to go further out. The slightly cheaper price is a bonus, but she would have loved to have been in the student area. It may have been a particularly bad time to be looking ( January/ February) and it was a house for 5 which I think is quite popular, but I was trying to help her and the situation was getting really stressful and out of hand, so I’m just relieved she’s got somewhere.

Mine secured a house for 5 for next year back in November- had barely got to know the people she was sharing with but thankfully she seems to be getting on with these people who she is in halls with at the moment.

Its one of the rare times that she’s listened to popular advice, in this case to find second year house before Xmas!

@WhyAreAllTheGoodUserNamesUsedUp - Good that your daughter found a good place.

Feb is definitely late. It used to be early Jan. Before Xmas in these times of fewer places available. Somewhere is better then nowhere.

@Dem1975 did you find something?

NCTDN my son used Abode too (although in year 1 and 2 they found somewhere in the first term of the year before - before Christmas)