Life in student halls can be a magical adventure. You’ll probably be living independently for the first time and will be meeting many new people from all sorts of different places. Yet, the magic can quickly fade if you fall out with your new flatmates. Quite often, these tiffs tend to be over some unspoken etiquette. Knowing these the unwritten rules of student living can help you keep your stress levels down and to be a good person to live with.
Have a look at our infographic above to learn what the secret rules of living in halls are.
Be Social
The better you get on with your flatmates, the better your time in halls will be. Try to strike up conversations with them on first meeting and get to know them over the days that follow. You could invite them all to your room for a film or gaming night.
As you are all different people meeting for the first time and being put in the same building, you might not all get along. Yet, you’ll never know if you don’t try. If you follow the other rules listed, this should help too.
Follow food rules
Food can often be one of the biggest things to cause arguments among students who live together. The best way to avoid this is for you and your flatmates to work out the rules on food kept in the kitchen. If you are all buying your own groceries, someone could get pretty annoyed if you take some bread without asking.
Some students prefer to do their shopping together, so they would be happy to share all food. However, if you buy anything separately and don’t want to share it, make sure you hide it in your room.
Don’t bring the noise!
Late-night parties tend to be part and parcel of university life, so loud music will often be playing at all hours of the day. However, it’s important to be mindful of your flatmates’ schedules when blasting your tunes out.
If someone has a morning exam or needs to be up early for a work placement, they’ll want to get a full night’s sleep. They’ll be annoyed if you’re blaring some EDM at 2AM!
Clean it up!
Frequent points of contention among flatmates tend to be things like whose turn it is to do the washing up or take the bin out, so you need to do your bit to keep your flat clean. If there’s a cleaning rota for the communal areas, obey it!
A lot of students prefer a more flexible approach to chores, though. This is not an invitation to put them off though! Do your dishes, take the bin out and try not to leave too much of a mess in the communal areas.
Lock Up
Always lock your door whenever you leave your flat to avoid getting robbed. Burglaries do happen in halls and your flatmates will be angry if this happens because you left the flat unlocked.
It might also be worth buying student insurance, so that you are protected in case you are unlucky enough to get burgled. As part of The Insurance Emporium’s Student Insurance, we offer cover against theft for the contents at your student address. Stop by today for a quote!
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