Why I stayed in halls for 3 years

Hey! My name is Veva and I used to live at The Costume Store, until I graduated in July 2022. The Costume was my home during the 3 years of my undergraduate course at LCC, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

There were a lot of reasons why I decided to stay in halls for 3 years, but the main one was because it made my life SO much easier.

Being a student can be hard, now more than ever. With the cost of rent going up, the stresses that come attached to that are not worth it.

Being in halls is great because you know there are never any extra costs with bills that will sneak on you, or if anything isn’t working in your flat you always have a support team you can contact to help fix it. And that is just one of the many perks I've found while living in halls.



1. Trustworthy, hassle-free and international student friendly 🙌🏼

When living in halls the stress of trying to find a place goes away. You know exactly what you’re getting, and you are guaranteed a place to live in London. And for international students, it’s great because you don’t have the headache of finding a guarantor (or trying to understand what that is in the first place). 

Especially during my third year at uni, this was great because it meant that during summer after second year, I was able to focus on my dissertation plan and research. During the year, it meant that I didn’t have the added stress of having to find someone to fix things if they broke down or stopped working. 

It’s great knowing that you also have great common areas where you can go to study, hang out with friends or just chill out. You can also usually find Social Programme free events running there as well, which are great for making friends and having a good time.



2. Living with friends 👯‍♀️

A lot of the friends I made during Uni, I made in halls. It was great being able to gather in the kitchen and chat or work with each other. During most of my time in Halls, I was lucky enough to live in the same flat as my best friend.

And during events, I made some close friends that lived in the same block as me. We’d go down to each other’s flats all the time to study, hang out or cook. We did so many different things like Monopoly or Pasta nights, watch/debate/get very passionate about Eurovision, help each with Uni work, and so much more.

They were a great source of support and company, and it was such a great bonus that they lived with me, because it meant that we would see each other really often, almost every day at some point.

It can be hard to make friends at Uni, so if you live in Halls it can make the process easier. My friend Jade even wrote an article about how she made friends in halls.



3. Being a Hall Rep 🤩

One of the best things about having stayed in Hall was the opportunity to work as a Hall Rep. I was one for two years and it was a great experience.

It was how I met most of my friends, as they would be regulars at my events. It allowed me to get to know lots of different people living in the hall, most of which I would chat to. It gave me great work experience and skills I can now apply at my current job.

Anyone can apply to be a Hall Rep and there is a great work-life balance to the job.

Firstly, you work where you live, so you don’t need to spend a lot of time (and money) on public transport to get to your place of work. The job is flexible and you can work around your Uni schedule and deadlines. And you get to do fun things while on shift like watch movies, go to events like Holi or Harry Potter studios, eat all different kinds of food, and so much more.

From September 2023, shifts will be even more flexible. You will get to choose how many hours you want to work and what events you would like to host at your hall. Make sure to keep an eye out for your e-mails to know when applications to become a Hall Rep open.



If you are thinking about applying for The Costume Store, or any of our halls and would like more information about the local areas, please contact our team.

You can call us on +44 (0) 20 7 514 6240 or email us at accommodation@arts.ac.uk