Urdang Accommodation

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dancingmoll
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Urdang Accommodation

Post by dancingmoll »

Hiya all, DD has recently been offered a degree place at Urdang. We've very briefly started to have a look at accommodation options, we were a bit shocked to see just how expensive all of the 'student halls' options were on the accommodation list provided and haven't been successful in finding any suitable houses for a reasonable price either! If anyone has any DCs at Urdang and would care to share advice, experiences etc I would really appreciate it as honestly, we don't know where to start. Main queries, what areas are popular with people living in shared houses, which halls would people recommend and how much do to we need to be prepared to pay..!? Thank you :D
Katymac
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by Katymac »

Guy Chester House is seriously amazing; the lady in charge is lovely & the children seem happy living there - DD stayed when very young to go to 2 associate schemes on Sat/Sun

it's not cheap though - DD says the food is great

There is a bus from outside which goes to the road Urdang is in
afab
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by afab »

I second Katymac's opinion about Chester House. My eldest has been living there since September and it is great. The lady in question doesn't work there anymore though but her replacement seems good too... My second DD is going to be staying there next year as well. If you have any questions, don't hesitate!
ajbew
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by ajbew »

My DS is 18 and at Mountview and has been living at Chester House this year. It is much cheaper than the other halls and includes the food. I think he is going to struggle to find a house share that is cheaper than this. He has made lots of friends as there are students there from Mountview, Urdang and London Studio Centre and they all seem to mix well as they are eating in the canteen together. It has plenty of nice communal areas too. The only drawback is that it is not close to an underground station although you can get buses. I know there is one from just outside that takes about 40mins to Urdang. He has his bike there and cycles to Mountview across Alexandra Palace. Hope this helps.
DOFFILER1
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by DOFFILER1 »

Hi dancingmoll Congtratulations to your dd getting the BA at Urdang! My dd is on the reserve list but in the meantime has accepted a place on the diploma and we are just looking at shared houses, but I agree its hard to know where to start and the places on the list that they send out are so expensive. My dd really wants to do a house share as is nearly 19, and i think there are 2 others that are keen. I did post a similar question a couple of weeks ago and had some useful replies. Will pm you later with what I know so far, but many do seem to prefer to start of at Guys Chester House.
Dance&Smile
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by Dance&Smile »

DD2 is starting at Urdang in September and has just been offered a place at Chester House. Although it's not cheap you do get a discount when you are not occupying the room in the holidays and you only pay from the start of term in Sept to the end of term in July. Other places seem to only be from mid Sept to mid June or be for the full year. It also gives her a chance to meet people at other colleges and make friend before deciding who to house share with. There is a bus which goes from virtually outside Chester House to Angel and then only a short walk to Urdang. If you are 18 or younger when you start you can get a 16+Oyster card which gives you free bus travel in London for a year. We know some second years who live close to Urdang and pay a lot in rent (plus gas, electricity, water, broadband etc) but think she will have to live further away in 2nd and 3rd year.

When we looked round Chester House they did say they normally have a waiting list of > 100 so I would apply quickly if you are thinking of going there.
carriecrafts
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by carriecrafts »

Congratulations on the degree place. DD is just finishing 2nd year of BA at Urdang and absolutely loves it (she is repeating 2nd year from September due to injury but that is another story).

She shares a flat (upper 2 floors of 4 story house in a quiet cul-de-sac) in Archway which we found via Right Move. Quite a lot of Urdang students live in Archway apparently, and some in Finchley. Lots live in Angel but it is very expensive. They wanted a simple commute so we searched around tube stations along the Northern Line as far out as Hendon. This interactive map was useful to start:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/t ... fcv9Jk9kvd

If you are looking to rent privately then register with some estate agents. Foxtons were incredibly helpful and although we didn't end up renting through them I would use them in future. You will find that private rentals usually only become available 4-6 weeks before move in date, so it feels very last minute compared to uni accommodation. They are also snapped up within a day or two so you have to be quick. It was a nightmare for us as we are in the North West and couldn't get to London to view properties as they came on the market. We eventually booked a couple of days in London and arranged viewings of whatever was available - even then a couple of viewings got cancelled as the first person to view paid a deposit. We also got gazumpted once after paying 6 weeks rent as a deposit and had to start over ](*,)

DD linked up with one person via the Facebook page and then a friend was offered a place too so the 3 of them were looking together. We searched for 4-bed places as they are quite a bit cheaper per person than 3-beds. Once we had the flat secured they advertised on FB for a 4th person.

You can get a 18+ Student Oyster (but not til after enrolment as it has to be validated by Urdang I think) which gives 30% off tube fares, including Travelcards. The Travelcards can be bought monthly or annually, DD pays about £900 per year for unlimited zone 1 and 2 travel:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/a ... his-page-2

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/18-plus-student-fares.pdf

Hope this helps,
good luck x
DOFFILER1
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by DOFFILER1 »

carriecrafts , that's really useful Thank you ! I have printed off the tube map. Do they have their bills included in the rent? We live North too so not sure how easy its going to be to view them before they go. Also do you know if any students from Urdang are in any of the halls ? (other than Chester house ) Some of them offer less than 51 weeks and would be a similar price to the houses with everything inclusive, plus they don't require large deposits.
2dancersmum
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by 2dancersmum »

I would echo carriecrafts advice and book yourself a few days in London closer to the time. My DS had a work placement in central London and we found rooms in shared houses went very fast - even to the extent that we arranged 2 viewings at 9pm for 11:30 and 12:30 the next day and both rooms had gone before we even got there. Registering with estate agents is also a good idea. You can also look on sites like spareroom.co.uk. London Hostel Association are also good - depending on location. Their properties are a mix of catered and self catering and usually offer single or twin rooms as well as the dorms you would associate with a hostel

It is obviously easier if you can link with fellow students through facebook first. Good luck with your search
carriecrafts
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by carriecrafts »

DOFFILER1 wrote:carriecrafts , that's really useful Thank you ! I have printed off the tube map. Do they have their bills included in the rent? We live North too so not sure how easy its going to be to view them before they go. Also do you know if any students from Urdang are in any of the halls ? (other than Chester house ) Some of them offer less than 51 weeks and would be a similar price to the houses with everything inclusive, plus they don't require large deposits.
No, bills are extra. DD's rent is £2060 for the flat, split between the 4 of them (we split it unevenly as one room is huge). They budget £40 per month each for bills (gas, electric, water, broadband) and this seems to be pretty accurate after over 18mths there. Everyone pays into a 'house' account by standing order, then standing orders/direct debits go out from there as the rent has to be paid in a single monthly sum.

Quite a few are in halls close to Urdang but I don't know which halls. We ruled them out due to cost. The academic year is long, they start first week of September and finish last week of July (unless they choose not to do the summer show, in which case they finish early May) so you would probably need 48 weeks at least.

I think many start in halls for 1st year and then find flats with friends for 2nd year. I get the impression that most now either rent rooms in house-shares (some in Finchley with students from LSC for example) or rent houses/flats as a group like my dd does. Lots travel much further than dd who has a 30 minute commute door-to-door.
x
DOFFILER1
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by DOFFILER1 »

Thank you for all the advice. There are a few looking to share but even with bills, that's a good price !
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Shabby
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by Shabby »

Hi Everyone

My DS has just accepted a place on the 3 year Diploma at Urdang, he is only 16 now (will be 17 by September) . I've contacted Guy Chester House which would have been perfect for him but as its so late in the day they are fully booked and have put him on the waiting list but I have no idea how long it is so I'm guessing there is very little chance. Probably in his 2nd year I will look for a flat share when he's 18.
I wondered if anyone knew of anywhere like Guy Chester House, I love the idea of him being in halls with other students and the canteen was a huge plus!

Thanks
DOFFILER1
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by DOFFILER1 »

Hi Shabby my dd is also on the diploma but is 19 and is doing a house share with 4 others a similar age. There is a facebook page set up " Urdang starting 2016" that your DS can join as perhaps he could join some older students in a house share, or find out where other Urdang students are going. There are some other student halls but most students will be from other universities. Good luck !
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Shabby
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Re: Urdang Accommodation

Post by Shabby »

Thanks Doffiler, will tell him to add himself on that, the halls round Urdang are so expensive! :shock: x
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