What is it like living in The Green?

Hi, I'm Tahsin. I came from Bangladesh to the University of Bradford to pursue my Master's in Digital and Strategic Marketing.

I have been living in the Green, the University's recommended student accommodation, for almost a year now. In this blog, I'm going to share my experience of living in The Green, and how I adjusted to student accommodation and budgeting for my meals.

Living in The Green

Before coming to University, I had always lived in my family home and my relatives would visit now and then. Moving to a new country and living completely by myself came as a shock and presented a challenge. It is an experience that needs a lot of adaptation.

I live in The Green, which is only a couple of minutes' walk from campus. It's filled with other students from the University of Bradford and as a result of that, I really got exposed to student life in Bradford.

I live in one of the townhouses with 12 other girls and we share one huge communal kitchen. While my room is completely private, I do share a bathroom with one other person. Since leaving Bangladesh, I have been lucky and have made some wonderful friends in my student accommodation.

Sharing a kitchen

Sharing a kitchen with 12 people has its perks but it can demand a lot of organisation. My flatmates and I all have our own separate compartments to store our food. In our townhouse, there are three hobs/ovens and three fridges and we had to work out a plan on how we were going to share those amongst ourselves.

Here are a few tips on how we organised our kitchen and food:

Establish rules

To create clear expectations for sharing food and keeping the kitchen clean, clear rules were necessary.

We decided to clearly label our food and create a cleaning rota. If food is shared amongst each other, we make sure to distribute it evenly in terms of budget and portion size.

Since the kitchen and communal areas are huge, there are lots of bins that get dirty easily. To avoid this, two of us will clean the kitchen each day on a rotation.

Open communication

When you are living with people who come from different parts of the world and have different cultures, miscommunication is bound to happen. If something doesn't seem right, address it calmly and respectfully.

We have a group chat that we use to keep everyone updated on any particular situation. For example, it's really handy to say, “Hey, my milk is out. Can I use a bit of yours?”.

Kitchenware and food

I found it useful to have my own set of utensils and cutlery to avoid conflicts over the use of them. I would also recommend labelling your things and stick to your designated shelves to avoid mixing your items and getting them confused with someone else's. This one goes without saying: avoid taking other’s things without permission.

Budgeting

Student life can be a lot easier when you share with your fellow flatmates.

Initially, I found it hard to do my groceries on my own. I would forget things and have to go to the store all the time. It was a challenging task having to walk miles carrying heavy bags of groceries. When I began to notice common eating habits with my flatmates, we began sharing grocery trips and the task became a lot easier.

Here are a few tips.

Budget shopping

Groceries can be expensive if you don’t know where to get them from.

We look for the cheapest deals in each shop and we've found that buying in bulk is so much cheaper than buying in small portions. So each month, we shop in bulk and split everything amongst ourselves.

Be transparent

There can be times when you struggle with your finances and are not able to contribute to the shared budget. Make sure you communicate that to your group so they can plan accordingly.

Always remember that the University can support you in these times. It's worth reaching out to the Money and Welfare Advice Service for help with finances and budgeting.

Use budgeting apps

Sometimes we may need help from our friends and might ask them to get something for us whilst they're out. Or vice versa. Apps like Splitwise can help maintain and organise shared expenses.

Living together

When you share a common space, it's important to make some rules regarding having your friends around. It's important to know your flatmates and be prepared to compromise and show respect towards the shared space.

Here is how we maintained that:

• Be honest and openly communicate your feelings. It's important to know each other's expectations and preferences. It also helps to solve any issues that may arise and ensures everyone feels comfortable being in the same house.
• Be considerate of others' schedules. Making lots of noise and having your friends in the shared space until late can make others feel uncomfortable or make it hard for them to study.

To maintain harmony, find a common interest with your flatmates and make time for each other. Invest time in playing games, sharing stuff or having movie nights. These activities can help build lifelong friendships.

Living together in a student accommodation is a learning experience. It will be challenging at times but following these tips can help you create a friendly environment and experience student life to the fullest.

Take a virtual tour of The Green.