Around December time in first year, you’ll want to start thinking about second year accommodation. The key is, don’t panic. There always seems to be a mass hysteria that all the houses are going to run out, they’re not, and they never do, and you’ll always find nice people to live with.
There are two main places most people chose to live, both with an abundance of houses, Jesmond, seen as hip and happening, modern, close, however, fairly expensive (£70-£90 per week), or Heaton (£60-£75 per week ), which is slightly further away, doesn’t have the bars of Jesmond, but generally, is cheaper. I live in West Jesmond, and cycle in, it takes me less than 10 minutes, to walk, about 25.
You’ll also need to decide who to live with, don’t rush into this decision, obviously if you completely gel with certain people, go for it, if you’re not too certain on some people, wait a bit, as you may actually not like them by the end of the year (it happens). Don’t feel pressured to go house hunting with a group because you’re worried you have nobody else to live with, you actually will do, such as people on your course, in your halls, or in the clubs apart of, do a bit of asking around, and most of all, be selfish, you’ll be there for a whole year!
Finding houses can be stressful, and you don’t always know what to look for. In first year I went to some accommodation talks put on by the university, designed to help you look for danger signs, dodgy landlords and what to look for in your contract. These was extremely helpful and I recommend it to everyone, plus the Uni has services all year round in the King’s gate building to help with this.
When looking around an accommodation, definitely ask the current tenants what the place is like to live in, how expensive are their bills, how cold is it, are there any issues, and most importantly, what is the landlord like, a good/helpful landlord is crucial!
Obviously, unlike most courses, dentistry is 5 years, not the usual 3, so I’d be prepared to live with course mates at least in 4th and 5th year.
Will, Dental Student