I have lived in Dundee for most of my life and have always loved living in the city. I have had many opportunities for moving away but always decided against it, this city will always be home for me.

I have just moved out of the family home and into student accommodation. I wanted to be a little more independent and learn how to budget for rent, etc.  The first week in accommodation however, has come with a range of mixed feelings. The night before was spent weighing up the pros and cons to living in student accommodation just due to overthinking the whole situation. I was apprehensive because I always played such a big role at home helping with cooking and cleaning as well as taking care of my mum, so deciding to move out was a hard decision for me but I am glad I did.

It may seem silly but I don’t feel as stressed as my flat mates as my family home is only two short bus rides away from our flat, but it’s still a big step especially for me even though I’ve not moved far but it is one of the reasons I feel quite isolated from my flat mates sometimes, just because I’ve not moved miles away so I feel a bit stupid for having these feelings of homesickness and nerves. Despite this, my flat mates have been so great at reassuring me that these feelings are normal, and this makes me feel slightly better.

The first week was always going to be a weird one, sharing my space with new people I’d only really chatted to in a group chat, as well as getting to know them and their living habits such as one of the flat mates doing Zumba in the mornings and another napping until 2pm. We are a little different, but we do share some similarities. It is nice to be in a flat with people in the same boat feeling nervous about starting studies, and being away from home, knowing that you’re not the only one feeling this way is a big relief.

Before moving into accommodation I had heard some horror stories about house parties gone wrong and disrespectful flat mates and so this caused some concern for me but when all of my flat mates has moved in, we found that we had been matched quite well, we don’t enjoy partying all the time and quite like some quiet nights, we also have begun doing work together in the communal areas of the flat and this has helped us get to know each other better. We have also got events planned such as going for meals and days away just to help alleviate some of the stresses of being a student. It’s just like a big group of friends doing things together and this helps so much with the feelings of isolation some of my flat mates are feeling, as a couple of them had never been to Dundee before.

One of my problems with living in accommodation however, is that I work most week nights so I miss the dinner times in the flat which is when we’d all chat about how our days went but it does go to show that it feels like home because you can just come and go as you please, and you just catch up with the flat mates whenever you see each other, it is also nice to just come home and know that if anything is ever wrong that you do have people you can just vent too.

However, I do understand that this is my experience of what its like in the first week of being in accommodation and while I hope everyone has a pleasant experience, I am realistic and know that it’s not always the case. My advice is just take the time to try to get to know your flat mates, I feel like I’ve got a nice group of friends from mine and its only been a week. Also it can help with feelings of isolation as these people are in the same boat, away from home and away to start studies so chances are they will share some of your feelings and sharing these might help reassure you that its normal to feel this way as it’s a big step for everyone no matter how far they’ve moved.