[HDNG]IN COLLEGE:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]A3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Catered: 19% [BULL] Cost: ú66 (30wks) [BULL] Self-catering: 7% [PARA]Cost: ú65 (48wks)[ESTAT][PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] The University guarantees accommodation to 1st [PARA]years subject to some [ITAL]fairly strict [EITAL]conditions (early application, [PARA]non-Londoners only). In practice, just under 2/3 live in. That [PARA]leaves few places for 2nd years, finalists and postgrads. There [PARA]are 3 catered halls and a block of self-catering flats (mainly for [PARA]postgrads and not available for 1st years). [ITAL] The centres of [PARA]sociability and spirit in the University revolve around the halls, or, [PARA]to home in more accurately, around the halls' bars.[EITAL] Northampton [PARA]or 'Notty' Hall (490 places), just a mile from Northampton Square [PARA]right by the Barbican, is the largest; in fact, it's the tallest student [PARA]building in Europe. The Finsbury Residency (325 places) is a bit [PARA]closer. All the rooms are single but halls are all mixed, although [PARA]some floors are single sex. The self-catering flats in the Pear [PARA]Tree block are very modern and well-equipped, but there are [PARA]nowhere near enough to go round.[HDNG]EXTERNALLY:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]A3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Ave rent: ú60[ESTAT][PARA]London Transport (buses, tube and trains) splits the city into [PARA]several 'zones' which are concentric circles from the centre. [PARA]Zone 1, for example, is the area within a radius of about 21/2 [PARA]miles of Trafalgar Square. Zone 2 is the next 3 miles and so on. [PARA]Obviously, rents get cheaper in the outer zones, but then travel [PARA]costs to the centre go up accordingly.[ITAL] [EITAL]Travel costs should be [PARA]taken into consideration when looking at rents because a [PARA]Travelcard from Zone 3 to the centre costs more than ú15 a week.[PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Contrary to popular belief, it's really not that difficult to[PARA]find accommodation in London, just buy a copy of the Evening [PARA]Standard and there are hundreds of places. It is however a [PARA]challenge of epic proportions to find anywhere that is both [PARA]affordable and inhabitable. There's very little housing in Zone 1 [PARA]even for yuppies, and students come a lot lower in the pecking [PARA]order. Zone 2 is a bit better, particularly for single rooms in [PARA]shared flats or houses in places like Wandsworth, Putney and [PARA]Fulham and wherever the tube system is lacking. Zone 3 is [PARA]relatively promising, but the catch is that it can take upwards of [PARA]an hour to get to the centre. Zone 4 and beyond are not popular [PARA]for the same reason, but, as they say, homeless students can't [PARA]be choosers. Although there are many thousands of people [PARA]living, quite literally, in cardboard boxes on London's streets, they [PARA]aren't students. In fact, many students manage to find very [PARA]comfortable flats for almost reasonable rents. There is also a [PARA]growing number living in squats. To be safe, students coming to [PARA]London should work out where they're going to stay first.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][GRPH]A3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Renting: 74%[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Housing help:[EBOLD] The University Accommodation Office helps [PARA]students find housing in London. Camden, Finsbury Park and [PARA]Islington are popular areas.[PARA][PARA]
