1. Security

A big worry when moving out is security and safety – what happens if I forget my keys? What do I do if something breaks? Well, stress not, because all our student accommodation have their own security teams.

We had an easy-to-use app to report any breaks or problems, as well as the team down at front desk, who were friendly and helped us if we needed to be let into our rooms or just needed some support.

Over at Petros Court we had a card-operated gate, which made us feel a lot safer as we knew only people who were supposed to be there would be.

All Canterbury Christ Church University accommodation sites have 24/7 security on site. Security is just a short call away. Plus it's all covered by the Safezone app - so if you are in need, or know someone who is, security are a button push away. All of the security team are also first aid trained.

2. Good locations

All of the student accommodation at CCCU is near at least one notable place – for example, the library, Penny Theatre, or Canterbury East – which is not only convenient but helps when you've lost your bearings!

Knowing that you’re able to get instructions to nearly anywhere - especially among students (I can tell you where everything is in relation to Petros but no road names!) - based on your accommodation is particularly helpful. If I ever got lost, I knew exactly where to head back to – and other people knew where it was too!

My student accommodation was also really close to Canterbury city centre, which meant I was only a few minutes walk away from the buzzing shopping centre and hundreds of years of history – including the iconic Canterbury Cathedral.

Discover more about student life in Canterbury.

3. Friends (meet lots of people)

From the offset I was able to meet lots of people through an accommodation group chat, but met more people as the year went on. Being in such close proximity with such a large and diverse group of people means you can meet friends beyond your flat, which is great if you’re a bit nervous about making friends.

I made friends with the people I lived with and with people in other blocks who I’d just run round to for a movie night.

You make friends for life and become part of a huge community. You live with and make friends with other CCCU students who are all doing the same thing as you.

Read my making friends at university blog for more advice.

4. Removes a level of stress

Imagine: you’re moving out for the first time and don’t have the stress of sorting your bills every month – sounds amazing, right? Additionally, a lot of places can have the term’s rent deducted when your student loan comes in, which means that you can spend the first year acclimatising and learning to budget rather than stressing endlessly about stretching your money to the end of the term.

With the student accommodation at Canterbury, all bills including Wi-Fi are included, so I never had to worry about whether the bills would be paid each month.

I’m moving into a place where I pay rent monthly for second year, but I feel far more confident about managing my money after making so many mistakes first year. I personally don’t know what I would have done first year if I had to sort bills as well, so I’m glad that stress was taken out.

Our pricing is attractive and we offer 39 weeks as standard so you do not have to pay for the summer months you are not here, but extensions are available. Paying fees up front will award you £250 bonus (in three instalments) on your smart card/unipay app to be used at catering outlets.

5. Freedom and independence

A couple of my friends lived at home with parents and, whilst they had a great time, they still had to live under their parent’s rules. Whilst certain boundaries can be discussed, I know my parents wouldn’t have liked me loudly coming in late after a night out.

In addition to the ability to do a few more things than you could at home, being able to cook – and learn to cook! - and eat whenever you fancy, as well as learning to clean your own space and do your own washing (as mundane as that may sound), really creates a sense of independence.

I knew that I needed to move out so I could learn how to ‘live’ and – again, whilst I made many mistakes – I learned a lot in a few months.

Apply to live in student accommodation for your first year

Did you know, the University guarantees a room in student accommodation to all first-year undergraduates (including degrees with foundation year and those applying through Clearing)?

If you firmly accept an offer of a place of study with us and submit an application by 31 July, then we offer a student accommodation guarantee for your first year. That's one less thing to worry about. 

Visit our website to see the accommodation we have on offer.