How To Choose Who To Live With - A Student House Share Guide

For a lot of students, moving to Newcastle for uni is a huge leap from home life. In the excitement of exploring a new city, and meeting like minded people, a lot of students jump straight into renting a house with people they don’t know very well.

Deciding who to live with is a big decision, and it’s important to consider a number of different factors when choosing who to share your student accommodation in Newcastle with for the next year.

How Compatible Are You?

In order for things to run as smoothly as possible in your new student home in Newcastle, it’s important that you consider whether or not you’re actually compatible with the people you’re planning on living with - even if you’re all best mates.

Do you prefer quiet time in your room instead of socialising in communal areas? Are you more of a night owl than an early riser? Are you messy or tidy? These are just some of the things to think about before signing on that dotted line.

As long as you’re at least vaguely on the same page about day-to-day living, then it should help to avoid chaos later down the line. It’s a good idea to get all of your potential flatmates in the same room to go through these kinds of questions.

Spend some time together

There’s no better way to get to know someone than by hanging out with them in person; it’s no good planning on living with a friend’s friend and you’ve only met them over zoom. Go grab a coffee, talk a walk, or maybe even study together, before looking for potential properties in Newcastle. By doing this, you’ll get to know them a bit better, especially if it’s one-on-one, and it’ll give you the opportunity to compare your similarities and differences.

Agree on a budget

Everyone knows that budgeting is a necessary part of student life. When it comes to moving out of university halls, a budget can be even more important as a lot of student homes in Newcastle don’t come with bills included, so you will have to take this into consideration. At Seekers, we offer a bills package that takes the stress out of finding utility providers and comparing prices

Not only this, but it’s possible that each member of your potential household will have a different budget, so you will likely have to work together and figure out a compromise. It’s also important to remember to factor in other important costs such as travel to and from campus, and any communal items you may require for the house.

Communication Is Key

The best way to ensure a harmonious future household is by being open and honest with one another from the get go. Students often fall out over minor disagreements such as not cleaning up after themselves, or not contributing to communal items like shared food stuffs, toiletries, or cleaning products. It sounds obvious, and no one likes to think of themselves as the problem, but nine times out of ten, these disagreements can be solved by simple communication.. 

Speaking of keeping your student property in Newcastle clean, you may find that setting up a cleaning rota is the way to go, just so that everyone is clear on their responsibilities. 

If you’re disagreeing on these things with your future housemates before even living with them, then either try to compromise or find people that you’re more compatible with. For quick and easy communication, it’s a good idea to share your numbers and set up a group chat, although we’d also recommend getting together and speaking face-to-face.

Where do you all want to live?

If you and all your friends want to live in different parts of the city, then again, it’s going to come down to a compromise or finding other people to spend the next year with. It’s important to take budget into consideration, since places like the city centre will always be more expensive than the suburbs, but living further away might encourage more spending on public transport. 

In addition, you should consider what recreational things your future housemates like. As yourselves, are you going to be regularly enjoying the nightlife in Newcastle, or will you be staying in and enjoying a more peaceful student experience?

At Seekers, we offer a range of student property types including student houses, student flats, and purpose-built student accommodation in Newcastle. 

Not only this, but we have student properties to let across the city of Newcastle, with student homes in Jesmond, student properties in Heaton, and student flats in Newcastle City Centre being popular choices. For a full rundown of our student homes in Newcastle, take a look at our Newcastle locations. 

Book a property viewing with Seekers

Once you’ve chosen who you want to live with for your next year in the Toon, get in touch with Seekers to schedule a property viewing. While it’s important to consider who you’ll be with, you also have to bear in mind that student properties in Newcastle go very quickly, especially in popular student areas, so it’s best to get in as quickly as possible for the best chance of finding exactly what you want. 

Renting a property in Newcastle is made easier with Seekers. Contact us today to find out more about our properties, and to find your perfect student home in Newcastle.