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Hello daniweb community.

I'm hoping to start a Computer Science Bsc next year, and I'm in an odd situation.

For reasons I'd rather not explain (it's not a conflict or anything, just some weird circumstances), I'm living at home, with my two sisters and their respective boyfriends.

I don't pay rent right now, but I'll start (it won't be much, just upkeep) as soon as I get a part time job.
One of my sisters and her boyfriend may move out soon, too.

I've heard a lot about the 'experience' of uni acommadation., but it costs a lot, and most of what I've heard comes from people who were previously living fully with their parents, which I'm not.

Right now living in a student acom. costs about £7k a year, plus food, travel ect.
Utilities and tax are included.

On the other hand, living at home would cost me much less (I'll try to update this post with a rough cost), but I'd end up spending a max of about £3k per year on travel to uni, and I'd end up spending 40 minutes per journey on the train.

I'm just not entirely sure what to do here.

Any thoughts?

Edited by Member #1091071
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Agilemind

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A short, practical decision checklist for that builds on ’s point about personality: convert the tradeoffs into numbers, then add the non‑financial factors (time, study quality, social goals). Both living-at-home and halls can work; the question is which losses and gains matter most.

Start with a simple cashflow: put the full annual hall cost and the home+commute cost side by side, then break them to weekly and term figures so they’re comparable. For example, a £7,000/year bill is roughly £135/week over 52 weeks; a £3,000/year travel estimate is about £58/week — that clarifies the pure money gap. Add likely extras (term-length rent vs full year, deposits, food differences, occasional weekend stays, and the value of time lost to commuting).

Account for time and study impact explicitly. If the train is 40 minutes one way, the round trip is 80 minutes; multiply that by expected campus days per week to get hours/week lost to travel (commute_minutes * days / 60). Those hours are study, sleep, or paid-work time that have a measurable opportunity cost. Also assess home study conditions (quiet desk, internet reliability, chores, household dynamics) — a poor study space can negate cash savings.

Concrete next steps:

  • Build a 12‑month spreadsheet with columns: accommodation, travel, food, utilities, deposits, one‑offs, and lost-time estimate.
  • Contact accommodation to confirm contract length, change/sublet rules and refunds.
  • Rank priorities (money, friends/network, quiet study, independence) on a 1–5 scale and score each option.
  • Consider hybrids: short-term halls for fresher term, private student house outside the halls, or an intensive effort to join societies if staying home.

Either path is valid. If finances are tight and home provides a workable study environment, staying home is sensible; if forming a broad social network and on‑campus spontaneity are top priorities and the budget allows, try halls for at least the first term.

Member Avatar for Agilemind

It really depends on the person. I lived at home with my parents during my undergrad degree but in uni-accommodation for my PhD. They were very different experiences but I wouldn't say that one is "better" than the other.

Living away from campus you will not have as many friends or the close friendships lots of people associate with the University experience. But that doesn't mean you'll have no friends - most Unis try to have clubs/events to help off-campus students be integrated into the student community so as long as you make a little effort you will make friends. But, the flip side is that you'll have far fewer issues with people partying at 2am when you have a test the next morning. So if you are more of an introvert and/or just want to get good grades it can be better living at home.

That meeting people with diverse interests/life-experiences because they happen to live on the same dorm level as you can be a very enriching experience. You'll end up learning things you didn't even know you didn't know and really be forced to expand beyond your own narrow interests & viewpoints. But you might also end up living with some complete dicks. So if you are extroverted and/or are interested in the personal growth/life-experience side of University I would recommend living in Uni-accommodation.

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