aberdeen accomodation

[raz]

good grief im so confused!

i have no idea where to live! i know i want to go self catering so thats a start i guess. can anyone give any answers to the following?

is there much difference between the uni halls and the student village flats?

where is most of our time spent in first year? The uni or the med school?

where did u guys in aberdeen live in first year and what did u think bout your accom?

does it make a big difference if you have a porter/security people in ur halls?

what halls do recommend for self catering?


ive been in the sites for a while, but its hard to decide without personal opinions and stuff.

i hope they send out the forms soon, i want to apply asap for more chance of getting my first choice.

thanx, razeena

[raz]

yey im a blether now! :D

[Damien]

Hey Raz,

I lived in catered halls for my first year so I really only know about life in those. However, as I always say to everyone, it is best to stay in the catered halls as they are far better for meeting people and having a good time.

As far as I know, the best flats are the North and South Houses in Hillhead. Elphinstone is also quite popular but these places are all generally more popular with older students and foreign students. It is not unusual for a first year to move in with two second years, a third and three post-grad Greeks!

Porters make no difference really - if anything they can be annoying. They spend most of the day sitting around doing very little and, in Johnstone halls, make it very difficult for you to bring a friend in at night.

Damien.

[correctomondo]

Hi,
I'm applying in september but hopefully if i do get a place at med school or ne uni that is i'm like a 80% certain that i'd go 4 self catering - 20% doubts. I just think SC wud b beta in some ways cos u'd get more space 2 work n relax privately then bein just stuck in ur room then if u were in halls of residents. U wudnt meet that many ppl but then u'd make closer friends wiv the ppl in ur flat or house. But then u might hate them all. Also if ur in catered halls if u miss ur meal that u've paid 4 inadvance u jst end up buying more food - so it wrks out more xpensive, rite? Tough decesion.
Do u hav enough space jst in ur room in catered halls? or do u feel trapped in?
Hope i make sense ive had my 'oh my god 1st exam in 2 wks 3 days mst revise like hel' hat on.

[correctomondo]

Damien - do u know of ne gud hotels, caravan sites, travel lodges in Airdrie?

[elliottsimpson]

Damien - do u know of ne gud hotels, caravan sites, travel lodges in Airdrie?
Holiday Inn has travel lodges in Strathclyde Park (J5 on M74) and New House Hotel (just off J6 on M8) has them, too - both about 5 or 6 miles from Airrie. There's a caravan park at Strathclyde Park, too.

[Devlinator]

there is a holiday inn on coatbridge main street that is quite good too

[elliottsimpson]

there is a holiday inn on coatbridge main street that is quite good too
which is within walking distance - if you recommend walking in Cote du Bridge

[correctomondo]

Thanks every1.
Already tried the caravan park - fully booked.

[Hayley]

My apologies for deviating slightly off-topic - but Elphinstone is SUCH a cool name.

Sorry.

Hayley :chute:

[elliottsimpson]

My apologies for deviating slightly off-topic - but Elphinstone is SUCH a cool name.

Sorry.

Hayley :chute:
Isn't there a hotel in Biggar called the Elphinstone?

[raz]

lol, i just think of elves and pixies and other creatures from books like 'the magic faraway tree' when i hear the name elphinstone.

im thinking north and south houses in hillhead area are looking quite good. i really couldnt hack catered halls, well i could get by, but id definitly prefer having my own food and own wee flat set up, it would feel more homely. i have no idea what the ones in the aberdeen student village are like coz they dont do pictures of rooms and kitchens. ive scored some out coz of location, but are hillhead not quite far out from city centre and stuff? they say 15 mins from hillhead to uni. i think. hmmmm i better hurry up....

thanx for advice all. im sorry bout my complete lack of use of upper case letters but my pinkie really cant be bothered stretching to the shift key right now.

razeena xxx

[Damien]

Hillhead is a good 40 minutes walk to the city centre but there is a very regular bus which costs around £1.

Regarding halls - the food is not great but, trust me, after a 9 - 5pm lecture day the last thinkg you can think about is waiting in a kitchen queue in a self-catering flat for your five other flat mates to make their dinners with all the pots and pans in scarce supply. Catered halls means you just joina queue for less than five minutes and get what is typical canteen food but is always there and you didn't have to make it or walk the fifteen minutes to the nearest shopping centre (which is the not so cheap Sainsburies!). Catered halls means you get more privacy than in a flat too as it is your own room and it is socially acceptible to close and lock your door whereas in a flat is usually 'more secure' and therefore more open-door. Hillhead self-catering would be the best option if you really want to cok for yourself. However, very few medics go there as 90% if not higher go to halls and usually end up close together (you get 'medic floors' or even entire blocks) which is great so you can meet them all before lectures start. After first year you will be cooking for yourself in a flat anyway - no doubts about it. SO why not do halls for just one year - it is an experience you can't miss out on and as I said, only one year.

Hope that has given you food for thought.

Damien :evil

[raz]

yeah u did give me lots of stuff to think about!! :confused: lol really difficult this! thanks so much for ur advice, coz the leaflets really dont give u as good insight! aberdeen uni should have a message board where people post up opinions on halls. well, then that could leave some without any applications made to them i guess!

the 40 mins thing concerns me a bit, loooooooooong walks back at 3 in the morning come to mind or expensive taxis! would don street flats be better? mind u that means 2 separate applications doesnt it, one for uni and one for village?

Im used to random eating, but i see ur point about shared pots and stuff. do alot of people not work on a system where everyone cooks a meal a night or is that too tricky?

The privacy thing sounds good for catered.

Your point bout being with medics is an interesting one, i dunno if im an odd yin for thinking this but i kinda would rather NOT to live with medics and whole hall of them would drive me bananas. id much rather live with a wide variety of people, plus i think id be in danger of becoming cliquey otherwise. one other medic would be good tho, to help each other with stuff and just to have that in common.

thankyou again, its much appreciated. ill make a few calls on monday.

razeena xxx

[elliottsimpson]

i see ur point about shared pots and stuff.I remember when my elder son hit the shared self catering flats - he was horrified to find he was the only one who cleaned pots (don't recall his doing it a home, mind you). One guy would offer to buy his stuff in the fridge so that he could throw it out and make room for the stuff he'd bought - good way of getting rid of the opened packs and the past-sell-by stuff!

[crumpet]

try your hardest for crombie johnstone coz hillhead can be really minging. i paid for meals but didnt eat at crombie - theres an ok kitchen so you can cook for yourself and some have an ensuite bathroom - well worth it as it can double your room size. its less than 20mins to walk home from town to crombie johnstone and u can usually find peeps to share a taxi ~£2.50 so can be as little as 60p to get home. some clubs now run free buses from their club to different campuses (you can be a bit sneaky and take the bus but not go to their club!) the commute to marischal college isnt so bad coz theres usually lots of peeps walking with u and they dont really mind if ur late! we had a 9am lecture this year then anatomy at 10am and they didnt care when we crawled in at 10.45! but if u want good accomodation u MUST!!!!!!!!!!! send ur form away the VERY DAY u get it or no chance! peeps sent it on the same day as me and still didnt get crombie!

[mryan86]

Is Hillhead really that bad? Im quite worried now because I sent my form away for Hillhead the day I got it, thinking that was the best choice and i've had confirmation of a room in North Court. Now everyone's sayin to stay away from Hillhead! I don't want to send away the contract and then realise when it's too late that it wouldve been better to go for Crombie Johnstone. Should I try and change?

Martin

[crumpet]

crombie johnstone sells out within 2hr of the post being delivered so you have no chance of changing. they only do catered so if u wanted SC then no worries. its not that hillhead isnt nice its just that CJ is very much above average for uni accommodation and hillhead is normal so you notice the diff but its not like its a slum! i prob didnt like the look of it coz i is lazie! the pros are a choice of accommodation its a whole we village in its own right n ucan walk to the beach easily :surfing: and get away from it all but at CJ ur stuk on campus! and a flat (prepares u for the next year but u can get stuk with peeps u dont like but u can always request a transfer) i heard that there was a waiting list of 34 peeps when i moved into CJ that had requested a move already but its mostly peeps who want to live with their friends - quite a good thing not to! nothing worse than 2 peeps who went 2 skool 2gether and have never separated wole point of uni is to meet new peeps! anyhoo its no disaster just depends what type of person u are!
kdx

[Damien]

Is Hillhead really that bad? Im quite worried now because I sent my form away for Hillhead the day I got it, thinking that was the best choice and i've had confirmation of a room in North Court. Now everyone's sayin to stay away from Hillhead! I don't want to send away the contract and then realise when it's too late that it wouldve been better to go for Crombie Johnstone. Should I try and change?

Martin

Its not that bad at all - North Court is really nice and in a very nice location overlooking the river. I often walk or cycle there. If you want self-catering then it is definitely a good place. The only downfall is the distance you would have to walk but get a bike like I did. CJ is honestly not as nice as hillhead - the halls are darker and dingier and there is hardly any showers. Distance is the main factor for your decision if you hate walking/cycling.

Raz - I would love to see you try and not become a medic cliche :jestor: You will spend all day with them, then dinner, then go out with them. You'll probably go out with one of them too! The good thing about being with medics is that when it is exam time you all work and keep quiet. Its intense but all exams are.

Damien :evil

[mryan86]

Its not that bad at all - North Court is really nice and in a very nice location overlooking the river. I often walk or cycle there. If you want self-catering then it is definitely a good place. The only downfall is the distance you would have to walk but get a bike like I did. CJ is honestly not as nice as hillhead - the halls are darker and dingier and there is hardly any showers. Distance is the main factor for your decision if you hate walking/cycling.

Thanks for your help! I feel so much better about it now, and I sent away the contract today so my accomodation's sorted. Aberdeen here I come! :D

Martin