Student

London is probably the most expensive place to study in the UK – according to UCL, you need to budget around £100 a week for your accommodation alone. Add to this your travel costs, food, bills, books, tuition fees and of course entertainment, and a year in London can easily cost over £10,000.

What a lot of students don’t realise is that your accommodation doesn’t always follow the university terms. When I rented a room in an intercollegiate hall, I had to take it for 40 weeks instead of just the 32 or so term-time weeks. This meant that I could stay in London over the holidays, but I also felt that I had to stay because I’d paid an extra £800 for it.

With accommodation being such a large chunk of your budget, it’s important to find the best type to suit you.

If you’re a first year student from outside London, taking a room in halls will give you a safe base from which to get to know the city and make new friends. You’ll also get meals taken care of which is great if you’re not used to cooking. Beware however – some halls offer shared rooms. If this is an issue, apply to halls of residence that only have single rooms.

If you’re on a budget, look outside central London and think about renting privately. North and East London in particular are cheaper areas to rent, and university is still easy to get to on the tube or by bus. A good tip is to look for a room in a shared house. A lot of old townhouses in London have been converted into multiple-occupancy rental properties – this means that the house may be shared by several people, but the rooms are all good sizes and you may find yourself with a lot of shared living space.

It’s common in London for every single room (including the lounge) to be used as a bedroom, but if you have to live somewhere long-term it’s nice to have another room to use. Look for properties with a shared living room and you won’t feel cooped up with your roommates.

A final point about private renting is that it may be cheaper, but you’ll often have to sign a 12-month contract. Make sure you can cover 12 months’ rent. If you want to stay in the city all year this is the best way to go because halls of residence will kick you out over summer.

My money-saving tip for renting cheaply in London doesn’t actually cover renting – if you need somewhere to live you tend to take what’s on offer. I saved money by opting out of tube travel and walking everywhere instead. It’s good exercise…and it’s free!

Written by Zoe from Bethemiddleman.com, the property portal for private house sales.