Best Student Places To Live | Advice

One of the hardest things about university is deciding where to live. Do you live at home and commute? Do you live in halls? Do you live in a shared house? Or do you live on your own? Where I study is too far to commute from home, but I've given the other three a fair shot in my three years of studying. If you're a first or second year, you're probably thinking about where you're going to I've next year which isn't an easy feat, but I want to help you consider things you might’ve never thought of before. 

Halls

Most first year students end up in halls, simply because they don't know anybody. In my first year I was thrown in with five people I'd never met before and was forced to live with them for nine months. I got on swimmingly with some of them, whereas I could not see eye to eye with others. One thing I will say is for the most part, I didn't have to worry about people taking my food (everyone's biggest nightmare when they move into halls), other than in one instance and it wasn't even that big of a deal. In general, I really enjoyed my time in halls because my friends were living in the same area, and everyone was in the same boat.

Pros: You meet so many new people, most people are new to the area, usually close to uni, always somebody to talk to.

Cons: Very little control over who you live with, tends to be party central (this could be a pro I suppose)

Halls is probably your best choice if you new to the area, or want to keep lots of friends nearby. 

Shared House

This is how most people spend the rest of their university life. You often move in with people you've met in first year, whether that be flatmates or coursemates. I lived with two flatmates, one of their coursemates and a complete stranger (luckily she was lovely) in my second year. However, I was expected to be a family unit with these people and it wasn't what I wanted. Living in a house where you have equal responsibility for everything as opposed to just looking after your own things like in halls can lead to some intense arguments. 

Pros: You know who you're living with, more freedom, often the cheapest option

Cons: Bathroom sharing (most halls have an en suite nowadays), dodgy landlords, probably further from campus

A shared house is a good option for anybody looking for more freedom and wants to keep their close friends close. 

Living alone:

Due to most of my friends being on placement and leaving finding a house very late last year, I decided to look into living alone. I found a flat close to my university which is conveniently only a five minute walk from my boyfriend's so I know I always have someone to see. I love not having to answer to anybody and can go to bed at 8pm without feeling guilty for not socialising with people. 

Pros: No answering to anybody, your mess is your own mess, never being judged for weird habits

Cons: Have to make an effort to see people, more expensive, everything is your responsibility (I guess this could be a pro too)

Living alone is only good for people who like their own company. If you crave attention, don't even think about it because it can sometimes feel quite lonely. 

Your living situation is entirely down to you, and people choose different laces for a number of different reasons. My advice is to check your finances to see what you can afford, and make a judgement based on what is right for you. I know so many people who wouldn't want to live alone, but I also know people who would find living with others uncomfortable. It's a totally personal preference.

Deals Of The Week | Money Saving

Sorry it's been a while guys, I hadn't quite contemplated the amount of time of which university, looking for a part time job and running another blog would take up, but I am back and I have some amazing and exciting guest posts coming up for you in the near future. I decided to start a feature which hopefully you will find as interesting as me, and that is deals of the week. I will be searching for the best discounts (mostly on the web) of that week to help you save money. I will be sharing anything which I think people may enjoy (sorry if you end up spending more money because of this) so let me know if you like this post and if you'd like it to be a weekly thing.

The Body Shop (90% off):
The body shop currently have a massive 50% off on their sale items which in itself is beyond amazing right? But as they're so AMAZING they are allowing a 40% discount on top of that with the code '14317' and if you spend over £25.00 you get free delivery. Perfect for stocking up on those Christmas presents, their lipsticks are an amazing £1.20!

Free Nail Varnish:
When you buy a Glamour magazine this month you get a free nail varnish worth £14 on it's own, and the colours are amazing for autumn/winter so well worth picking it up.

£1 Lunch From Boots: 
From 11am to 3pm on a Monday, O2 users can get a £1 lunch with priority, which saves you on average of around £4 every Monday imagine what you could do with that spare £16 a month- booze, food or even make-up!

Free Delivery with Superdrug:
When you sign up and get yourself a Superdrug beauty card you get free delivery with every order and no minimum spend, I use it just to purchase some beauty essentials which I don't have time to pop out and get e.g. cotton wool pads and deodorant.

10% off on Boots 
An amazing perk just popped up on my unidays- 10% off online with Boots, which is an amazing deal as you can get some Christmas gifts early with 10% off.

GUEST POST | Is university for you?

Don't know what you want to do? Don't worry you're not alone. Going to university is exciting time and also a time where it seems like every has it figured out. You're left with the question what am I doing?  Here are something things to remember when going to university and haven't no idea what you're going to major in.

Some people are not ready

It may seem like everyone got there stuff together but in reality were all freaking out a little. No one wants to go to school and go to class everyday it's like high school all over again. But it's like high school people still don't know who they are and their trying to figure out.

Not knowing what you're going to do with the rest of your life is okay.

Lots of people say you need to have a plan. You have to know what you're going to do. Actually it okay to start with the basic classes first and maybe take time to find something you're interested in too. You have your whole life ahead of you why rush into something your not going to like in a year.

Step back

Step back and think about what you like. Think what courses did I take that I liked. Start from there and think about is it something I see myself doing? Will I be happy?

Keep theses in mind and take your time with what you want to do. There's no point in throwing yourself into classes that you will hate in a couple years. Go for a major that makes you happy and you can see yourself doing forever.

Ten Weird University Societies | Lifestyle

I think societies are an awesome way to make friends at university who have similar interests to yourself, of course you have your friends who you know from your accommodation then probably some in your lectures but it's good to have friends who you have a lot in common with also. After reading up on this I thought I would share with you ten weird societies followed accompanied by some rather strange GIFs.

1. The Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society:
I guess they just really like caramel wafers and want to share their love of that with others!

2. The Hummus Society:
This kind of reminds me of Will off the Inbetweeners like everytime I hear of anyone liking hummus, I can't say I would join a society due to my love of hummus.

3. The Kettle Society:
Sharing their love of teas made in different types of kettles, not one for me as I hate tea.

4. The Curry Love Society:
This makes a little bit more sense, although I am not a fan of curry in the slightest.

5. The Cheesy Pop Society:
NOW we are talkin' I need this society at my university, talking love of anything N sync and Backstreet Boys sounds like my kinda thing.

6. Stitch and Bitch Society:
I understand the stitching but the two don't seem to go together well in my opinion? Stitching just seems peaceful and well mainly for the older generation?

7. Hide and Seek Society:
Okay so this is way cool, and I am not even joking. I would happily meet up with people and play hide and seek, who says this game is just for kids on rainy days.

8. The Twenty Minute Society:
A society where you have twenty minutes to get a location which is texted to you and they do something fun at that location.

9. The Fetish Society:
Basically what it says on the tin, a society where people meet to discuss their love of weird fetishes and why they enjoy them... *hides*

10. The Pancake Society:
My favourite on the list has to be this one, I love pancakes and would happily join a society to talk about them and eat them.

How To Have The Perfect Movie Night | Tips

As a student a lot of time is spent drinking when you hang out with your friends, which of course is one of the best parts of being a student as no one can really even question it. But what about when you fancy a night off the alcohol and want to hang out with your friends? The answer, a movie night. It's a cheap alternative to a night out and an easy laid back way to hang out with your friends, even better make it a themed movie night even make it a monthly thing, e.g. Mexican movie night have your friends bring over Mexican food and make a night of it, you get my drift.

If it was me I think I'd host a onesie movie night, get everyone to come round in their onesies (check out Amazon for the cutest ones, such as Pikachu and Stitch). As far as films are concerned it's important to have a pretty open choice for films, like comedy as then everyone is happy as when it is genre's such as action or horror there is always going to be someone who is unhappy so it's best to stick to a pretty open choice and IMDb are perfect for a huge choice of films along with reviews, if you are looking for a comedy film feel free to click here for their huge list of choices. Snacks of course are next, who doesn't need snacks when watching films; now where this concerned you can either do one of two things, go to your local supermarket and stock up on a huge amount of sweets, crisps and frozen pizzas or order from Domino's, the choice is simple really but I know which one I'd rather do *wink wink*.

Now when it comes to watching the film, a big TV is kind of needed so if you don't have one of these that's your night ruined (just kidding) there's always alternatives just work with what you have. Finally sound, there is no point in watching an amazing film with rubbish sound it ruins the film in my opinion. I would totally invest in some kind of awesome speaker which you can find yourself here for movie sound without the effort of going out, plus they're awesome for games too! The final step of hosting the perfect movie night is inviting along your friends (or if you fancy doing it alone, that's cool too) and you're good to go.

*Contains sponsored links

Why You Should Shop Around For Your Bills | Lifestyle

The TV is constantly packed full of adverts of how you can save money on this that and the other, but when it comes to it there's usually some kind of small print of how you actually don't save money and you actually get tricked into paying more. I love websites which compare the cheapest prices and although it may be more effort I think it's well worth doing for the fact that in the end you end up paying less... way less. I am talking from experience when I say, that certain places claim they want to help students but actually end up making it worse for them. Recently me and my friends signed up to a website which helps you divide the bills between yourself and your fellow housemates in one monthly sum where it go to the company and they personally sort out your bills and pay them for you, sounds perfect right? I thought so too, until it turns out they were charging us nearly £250 a month more than what we actually needed to pay!

Our landlord spoke to us about how we were paying our bills and we told him the run down and he turned around to tell us at least 2 of the things we were being quoted waaaaay more than what we should actually pay. For example our water was being caped at £21 a month between us all, we were being charged 10 each which is a huge difference. When it came to the amounts added up we were paying around £69 each a month for something that actually should come around £25 which is a huge increase. We managed to get out of our contract as they told us a different price for their fee also which was supposed to be 99p each a month and it turned out to be around £7 each which is totally not cool. When we looked into our bills the second time around we searched a lot of sites as well as different compare sites for each of the bills to find out the best deals for what we wanted, although we didn't get a meerkat toy as a different comparison site offered some better deals *sad face* but I am glad we managed to get out of the situation or we would of all been in a hell of a lot more debt than what we needed to be.

When it comes to moving into your own house as a student with your friends, I urge you to take the time to look around for the best deals and don't trust the sites which claim to be helping you out, because of course in the short term its easier but in the long term it leaves you in a sticky situation.

How To Deal With Long Distance Relationships | Tips

Going to university can often mean moving to a new town/city, making new friends and possibly even meeting a romantic interest which is perfect if of course you're single. If you meet that person at university, or you have that person waiting back for you at home it can include large periods of separation making you in a long distance relationship and dependant on how far apart it is, it can often mean weeks or even months without seeing that person which obviously sucks. I think it's important to remember how much you care for that person and despite not being in a room with them everyday it doesn't mean that you don't love it each other, it just means for a while you can't be together all of the time.

I thought today I would compile a list of tips for you lovelies, to help with long distance relationships and how to make them work and after all what doesn't kill you (or break you up in this sense) will make you stronger right?

Communication is key:
This may seem fairly obvious but to some people it actually isn't, I think it's important to make a time in your day everyday to speak to that person, whether it be a text, a call or something else like Skype or Facetime, I had a friend at college who had a girlfriend in Ireland and they used a free app to call each other which they found helpful. Of course as you're at university, the chances are it won't be for too long so you can plan your return dates and plan things to do when you're back.

Surprise Visits:
Who doesn't love surprises? I think it's an awesome idea to go visit your other half whether it be for a day or a week, it'll mean the world to them and give you a chance to spend a bit of time together which of course is a win on both parties.

Skype Dates:
So this is going to sound totally random and to some people a no go, but if you're a fan of skype or some other platform online which involves a webcam this one is for you. Set an hour or two a week where you can hang out together, although you may not be in the same room, you can still see each other and even watch the same thing or eat the same thing. It's a bit of fun, and a new way to date!

Remember it's not forever!
Like I said at the start of this post, it's important to remember the distance isn't forever and if you make it through the distance, when you're together it'll be way more worth it and it'll make you stronger than ever, and if you can survive being apart for so long you'll definitely be okay when you're back together!