Housing! Panic! Where am I going to live? Who am I going to live with? Do I like my current housemates? Do I want to be in Penryn or Falmouth? Shall I just stay in halls? I like living in Falmouth but do I want to live with different people? Do other people want to live with me? How many bathrooms are suitable? Can I bring my goldfish? What’s a protected deposit? And who’s protecting it? How much rent is normal? How much do I pay for bills? How much is my loan? Have I got my mum a Christmas present?
Working out where you’re going to live can be really stressful, however it is far too early to be panicking! In the new year there are lots of really useful sessions coming up while will address most of the questions above (you’re on your own for the Christmas present though… maybe some nice flowers?). This year there’s a new system for finding a landlord through FXPlus which is really exciting and I’ve been testing it out. With that system you can get exactly what you want; if you want cheap and cheerful accommodation where you pay for what you use… you can! If you want inclusive in Penryn… you can search for that! If you want a six-bed mansion by the sea… you can search for that too! (Let me know if you find that by the way!). But you’ll have to wait until you get back to see that (late Christmas present)!
If you don’t like your current housing provider then vote with your feet and look at the alternatives.
Finally, don’t panic. There are plenty of houses and you deserve to get exactly what you will feel happy in. There are empty houses in the area right now… because they didn’t get filled last year. See…. no panic! You’re not going to end up living in a box, unlike this pretty happy cat.
Frankie Boyd, VP Welfare