All Things University: What can you get for your money in Surrey

 

Living in Surrey can come with a hefty price tag, but in today's post, I want to talk to you about what you can get for your money in the Surrey area. As you all know by now, I'm a second-year Royal Holloway student in my first year of renting privately. 

My Personal Experience: 

Searching for a house was quite difficult because within the group of people I was living with everyone had quite specific requirements and wanted it for the lowest price possible. This is the case with most people if I'm honest, everyone will want a large double en-suite room for like £300 a month which isn't going to be happening around here. 

I wasn't bothered about having a single room as long as I had room for my clothes and books. Storage was the main priority for me. Two bathrooms would've been nice for a four-person house but we didn't manage to find one like that. I also wanted secure parking for my car, preferably outside the house so I can always see it. My budget was £550 PCM which I've now realised is probably a little more than I want to be spending. 

In reality, our house isn't too different from what we wanted. We have a four-bedroom (three double, one single) house in Englefield Green. Just to give you an idea of the layout, downstairs we have one large double room, a toilet/basin and the open plan kitchen/diner/living room with patio doors out to the garden. Upstairs we have two large double rooms and one single room as well as the bathroom. We were lucky that the house had been recently renovated prior to us moving in so it's well maintained and pretty fresh still. Location wise, we are around a 10/15 minute walk from campus 

In terms of money, the overall cost of our house is £1700 PCM so it works out to be £425 per person. This is excluding bills which will be different depending on how your house decides to work it. In our house, the three people who have large double rooms pay bills because their rooms are much larger, this is a method a lot of student houses use to make the payment fair. For gas, electric and wifi per person is £46 a month then water is based on a 6-month payment contract, our first payment cost us £75 each. 

Considering the price of my friend's houses and other ones we went to view we are getting a lot for our money and on the whole, properties in the Egham/Englefield Green area do tend to be a tad more expensive usually between the £500 and £600 markers. That said, the houses around here are nicer than your average student property. You've also got to keep in mind that you're paying for the convenience of the location, being under 20 miles away from Central London. 

At the end of the day, you also have to consider your budget alongside your other expenses, for me, I settled for this house after not initially being happy but find myself with a larger disposable income, which was nice when moving in to be able to purchase some home decor items to make it cosy and more my own. It's also beneficial day-to-day because I like the luxuries in life whether it's doing my food shopping in Waitrose or going out for lunch. So in hindsight, this house has been perfect for me because I have the balance of a cosy environment and still being able to afford the lifestyle I want to have. 

I hope this post has helped any of you currently looking for a private rental house, I know it can be difficult but once you realise what you can get for your budget, the process becomes a whole lot easier.