Bristol Uni housing crisis

[RosyCheekedBird]

Are any of you concerned about your DCs applying to Bristol Uni, considering the massive student housing crisis?

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/temple-quarter-campus/ may not be relevant but new accommodation for the uni may help alleviate things a little, whenever it’s ready.

My DNephew is at Bristol in his second year. He's in some crappy 5 way house share that is costing DSis more than I pay to rent a 3 bedroom house in the SE. And they REALLY struggled to get that.

Current student rentals as of this morning, in one area of Bristol. In case anyone not signed up for Sept yet.

As I've said, one of DDs friends looked in July and now has a lovely 2 bed flat just off Whiteladies Rd. £650 a month.

The pre Xmas panic seems to drive up costs so much. If they can hold their nerve and wait more properties become available.
But it's an expensive city to rent in. Why so many have jobs while studying I suppose.

Arg sorry bit tangential but it’s Redland not Redlands! Where did that come from as so many have it wrong?! (I live in Redland so protective of its name 😁)

It’s because posters don’t really know Bristol!

The 2 bed flats are not what most students want though @mumsneedwine . So it’s irrelevant for most. Vets used to end up near the vet school eventually!

Ha, I was lazy and copied the poster before me. What an embarrassment as my child is living in REDLAND!

If they are willing to live in the north or east rents are more affordable in Bristol. The problem is that Clifton and Redlands are super expensive, no way could we afford it on very good money! Another cheaper option is shirehampton even avonmouth

@TizerorFizz lots of 5-8 bed houses available today. It's scary not to pick early, but things do come up later on, that's all I'm trying to point out. That the pre Xmas bun fight has become a thing, because people say it is. But, still expensive compared to some other cities.

And 90% of vets move to near Langford for 4th/5th year. Which is a bigger house fight as there is a limit to how many houses there are in small sleepy Somerset villages. They are building accommodation at Langford to help with this. They all squeeze in somewhere in the end though. And soooooo much cheaper !

@mumsneedwine I agree getting sorted before Christmas is being a lemming! I’ve no doubt looking at the start of this term is ok. DD went looking on behalf of 6 students in January as properties were listed- but a while ago now. It should be heartening to know they aren’t all listed in December! I know nearish to the uni is expensive but it’s an expensive and desirable area. Other areas are less desirable but cheaper.

My dd has offers from Bristol, Manchester, York and Leeds. Having read this thread I'm definitely going to gently steer to Leeds!

@TizerorFizz slightly surprising that you consider yourself such an authority on this when your experience must be about ten years old? Calling DC lemmings is a bit mean.

I was echoing the fact that there’s property for students available now and they don’t have to all follow the rush in December. It’s a rush of their own making. It is lemming like! Whether my dc was there sometime ago is irrelevant. You don’t have to worry if you don’t have a house before Christmas. I’m not an authority! I’m sharing my opinion.

Was going to say the same.

Yes, my daughter’s friend found a lovely place in Warwick for her second year. No rush or stress!

Yes, agree. Of course new first year students are going to be anxious and try and secure accommodation when their peers are doing the same, and estate agents collude with the sense of urgency. It is widely reported that Bristol has a student housing crisis. It would be more foolish to ignore those reports.

‘Lemmings’ implies mindless following without engaging brains. These students are largely bright and using their common sense to try and snap up decent housing in a difficult market.

DS at Bristol. In one of the so called dated halls in year one but with a great student atmosphere and the rooms were large compared to some of the swisher newer halls where there were complaints from parents on here that there kids weren't making friends.

Shared a large house of 10 in year 2 and a house of 8 year 3 (Redlands and Clifton). Larger houses tend to go before Christmas. Smaller ones just after.

Good tip is to speak to older students at societies they belong to and see whether they are getting different accommodation the following year. If so ask for an intro to landlord. DS did that both years for private accommodation.

There is a lot of scaremongering about Bristol- much of it is unnecessary. The vast vast vast majority get sorted. But we of course hear the loud voices of those who are very unfortunate or who don't get their "house in order".

They do

If she highly fancies her Bristol course and she likes the city would you really want to steer her away?
It may be more frantic finding a place but unlikely that she won’t find somewhere.
Dd2 is considering Bristol having visited her sister who’s there. She’s more scatty than her older sis but I trust that even she would find something!

@SeasonFinale Unfortunately parents get worked up and students don’t think logically because they believe the noisy people who don’t get what they want. It is following a trend and not really making logical decisions. I’m obviously not allowed to comment but DD found smaller flats after Christmas for 6 and 3 students and never wanted a house for 8 or 10.

The students do get accommodation ant Bristol and although they might be intelligent, common sense isn’t always to the fore. Plenty do ignore the scare stories and seek accommodation a bit later. Sadly parents advise dc based on something they are panicking about before dc get near Bristol. My DD at least was there! It seems about the same now.

MaggieTheCat fear not, she is - quite rightly - not going to be steered by me! What I will do, though, is talk through cost of living issues as one of many factors to consider.

I am glad you have had a change of heart.

It would be bonkers to steer her away from excellent choices because of misinformation on the Internet.

My current year 3 had no issues at Bristol and he doesn't know anyone who did and he plays for 2 sports teams and has a very wide friendship/acquaintance circle.

I think you do need to factor cost in. It’s all part of uni experience. If we went back in time my son and we would consider this more carefully.

@Dontmisslifewaitingforcloudstopass - that is a good reminder that there are so many variables to consider when making choices.
It’s easy to think that what worked for each of our dc will work for another child.
There are a range of situations, circumstances, personalities, preferences to consider and that’s why it can be useful to come on here for a flavour of the range of experiences and bearing in mind that it’s not one size fits all.

Costs for some mean a lot more than they do for other families. Families with one child might be in a very different financial situation to a family where there are three or four dc but where parents have an ok income but DC still get minimum loan. Those students on bursaries and full loans more or less puts any uni within reach. Where parents make up the shortfall, the gap has widened by a huge amount as costs have escalated.

For me, it would depend far more on the degree being studied. I noticed the IFS now says 58% of graduates in Lincolnshire don’t have graduate level jobs. No doubt their degrees cost the same as everyone else’s and if they studied out of Lincolnshire, living costs would be payable by parents too. Not paying back loans also costs the tax payer so investment has been made for not a great return. So, for me, I would want dc to choose a course at a uni with decent job prospects and go somewhere to mix with students who have ambition. If you don’t earn more, uni is a hugely expensive 3-4 years.

Hi my dd has found a place for next year which is 160pp pw, does that sound expensive or the going rate?