Accommodation In And Around DCU - Part 1

gizmo

WORK IN PROGRESS

Right since the same questions are asked every year regarding accommodation I thought I’d do a write up on the various forms of accommodation around campus based on both the facts and my own personal experiences of them, I am of course open to correction on any points I make. I’ll probably add and edit this so it might be best to sticky it at some point. Anyway…

On Campus Accommodation

Larkfield – First Year Exclusive Accommodation

FACTS

Size: 125 Units
Rent: €3420 for the year. Plus deposits for light/heat and security
Rooms: Two single bedrooms
Facilities: Small shared kitchen and bathroom.
Bedrooms: Bed, large windowsill desk, comfy chair, small study desk, extra wooden chair, wardrobe.

SUMMARY

This is the basic first year accommodation. It is where most of the first years that live on campus go as it is exclusively used by them. There are three floors, the ground floor is all male, the middle floor is all female and the top floor is mixed. The rooms themselves are rather small and the wardrobe space is rather limited. There is adequate shelving however. The study desk is rather small and to be honest you’ll more than likely use it to put a TV on rather than do any work on it. The desk by the window is much larger and is much easier to work at due to the extra space.
A point to note however, there is NO TV in the room nor is there a socket to connect one. If you bring a TV up you will be stuck with the standard Terrestrial stations using the bunny ears.

The kitchen is also small and is shared. There is a sink, oven and grill however the latter is rather dodgy and care must be taken when using it. You also have a fridge/freezer, neither of which are big. Care must be taken when filling it up so as not to leave your room mate with no space. Cupboard space wise there is roughly two presses each for storage and a shelf underneath for general storage. The kitchen also comes with a toaster and kettle, both basic but perfectly functional. If either of them breaks you can take it down to the Campus Residences Reception and they will replace it for you. There is no microwave supplied however there is adequate space to have one.

The bathroom is again, small. In it there is a small sink, toilet and shower. As long as the shower is turned on in advance there is never really much problem with hot water.

Outside of your apartment are the common rooms. Now when I was there these were the hub of most of the activity around Larkfield. If you didn’t meet your friends at someone’s apartment then you met them here. Inside is a TV with satellite, lots of chairs and a table. However I have heard of many of the common rooms being closed recently due to them being trashed by drunkards. In my day they used to be closed for a week or two when this happened but I don’t know what the story is with them now.

OPINION

I lived here in first year and despite my description above I must say I loved every minute of my time there. For me it was my first time living away from home and personally I loved the apartment’s cosiness. I was lucky enough to have a sound room mate and although we didn’t become best mates we still got on grand. The main advantage of Larkfield however is the number of other first years living around you. As such I found there to be a great atmosphere in the place. There was always a party somewhere on campus and always someone to go out with along with your mates. There are also the common rooms where there was always craic to be had prior to heading out for the night In short, outside your course, it’s the best place to make new friends in my opinion


Hampstead : First - Fourth Year Accommodation

FACTS

Size: 61 Units
Rent: Single - €3693 | Deluxe - €3888
Rooms: Four single en-suite bedrooms and one deluxe double room
Facilities: Shared kitchen, living, dining area
Bedrooms: Bed, larger study desk, wooden chair, wardrobe.

SUMMARY

Note: I never lived here so this is just based on my experience in the apartments while visiting etc…
This accommodation is available to all students, both first year applicants and current DCU students. There are three floors, all of the apartments are mixed unless of course you have applied to live with friends. Access to each floor is either by the stairs or a swipe card secured lift. The rooms themselves are slightly bigger than the Larkfield rooms however they are en-suite. Again there is no TV connection in the bed room themselves but there is plenty of room to have your own TV.

The en-suite bathroom, although not huge, is perfectly adequate. They are very similar to the bathrooms in Larkfield and have the usual toilet, sink and shower unit.

The Kitchen, being shared between 5 people is of course far larger than those in Larkfield. There are two couches, a dinner table and a coffee table and smaller table for perhaps a TV or something. There IS a TV outlet however which has basic cable. The kitchen has a bigger fridge/freezer unit, actually enough for the people living there. It also has far more cupboard space and a slightly better oven/grill unit.

OPINION

A nice step up from Larkfield but by no means the nicest place to live on campus. It’s basically a bigger Larkfield really. The downside for prospective first years however is that you are more than likely going to be living with non-first years which may make making friends with people slightly harder. As such, I’d recommend you stick with Larkfield. As for other people thinking about living there the only reason I’d live here as opposed to College Park is the price, Hampstead being a little under €500 cheaper per year.

deisedolly

Ah sh*t, I'm hopefully going to be a 1st year next year and I'm kinda regretting picking Hampstead now

Suaimhneach

Don't worry DeiseDolly!! Hampstead serves its purpose. You're only in college, and you're only a first year. YOU ARENT MEANT TO HAVE STANDARDS!!

Until second year. Honestly, hampstead is perfect. Its right beside college and it garuntees you'll be with other people in college that you'll meet and make friends with.

All you need is a place to wash, keep your food, and ideally sleep. The rest takes care of itself. It's perfect for first year.

Here is my half assed attempted at a "getting a house instead of apts".

- Really only works well if you are going to live with people you know and like.
- Bills come every two months, which is worse than no bills, but it also means you know excatly what you're paying for.
-Downside, remembering to put out the bins!!
- Having a house feels like a home from home, rather than a smelly student bum building, that no matter whether its Shanowen or College Res, you still have a management group that nag you.
- Having a front garden/back garden - You'd be suprised how much fun these are when its sunny and you can have a BBQ or whatever.
- Bigger rooms, for about a hundred less than shanowen per month, I have a double room, with Braodband. It's about five minutes down the road from Shanowen.
- Posters/decorations, most landlords dont care what you do with the house, once you return it how you got it, so you can do what you like with the place when its yours.
- having a full kitchen/seperate sitting room. Again feels like a home, its better than the dingy one room things you get in Shanowen/Campus
-Freedom. To party, bring people home, and have no one but the neighbours/housemates know about it. or in the case of shanowen, security gaurds!

Oh, one downside I guess, sharing a bathroom in most cases. But thats what ye do at home, its no different.

Though, I do think living in a house is best kept for doing with frineds after first year, its a great option.

gizmo

First off deisedolly, don't worry about what I wrote now. Once you're on campus in some shape or form you'll be grand! The guide was directed mainly at people who are trying to decide which one is better for them, its by no means definitive as people have different tastes etc, hence I made sure to point out that most of what I have written is just my opinion. Bottom line is, you'll have fun whereever you are!

As for you my lovely Jesjes, thanks for the house write up, however get yore own thread or format it like mine so people know its a different section and can read it nice and clearly. As for your points, well can't agree with the Mangement Company thing mainly cos the crew in Shanowen are dead on and have NEVER hassled us whatsoever. Our apartments are not smelly either, the only way they become smelly is if the people living in them are smelly. And last but not least the kitchen/dining area in Shanowen is perfectly big enough to do whatever you want in them. All the rest of your points are completly valid though.

Suaimhneach

FACELESSMAN FOR MOD!!

You need to be mod of this forum, organising things like threads etc. GWAN THE GIZZY!

I'm not arsed to write a full thing atm, I might some other day though.

gizmo

Meh, it just stems from my pissed-off-ness at the lack of info on these things when I was moving in both in first year and in second year. I mean look at the bull**** Campus Res are spouting "My keys, my place..." its complete rubbish tbh, its more like "Their keys, their place, and most importantly, their rules" :rolleyes:

I'll hopefully write up the rest when I get home this evening, still have to deal with the wonderful Shanowen...these early morning starts are kickin' my ass though...:o

Prezatch

Faceless Man wrote:

The downside for prospective first years however is that you are more than likely going to be living with non-first years which may make making friends with people slightly harder.

I'm a first year in Hampstead and this is not the case. There are two houses out of the ten which only accomodate freshers. Also I think it's worth mentioning that it's nice to live with four other people in Hampstead because you can easily get stuck with a weido/messy person in Larkfield. The showers are also a good deal better in Hampstead than in Larkfield.

Faceless Man wrote:

Outside of your apartment are the common rooms. Now when I was there these were the hub of most of the activity around Larkfield. If you didn’t meet your friends at someone’s apartment then you met them here.

The common rooms are devoid of life this year. Most of the gatherings simply take place in peoples' rooms

deisedolly wrote:

Ah sh*t, I'm hopefully going to be a 1st year next year and I'm kinda regretting picking Hampstead now

You have to bear in mind that Hampstead isn't exactly far away from Larkfield. You pretty much go out the door, walk a few hundred yards and your in the centre of Larkfield. So in that sense, it's not as if you get very segregated from other freshers. Whereas College Park is slightly more isolated.

Jesjes wrote:

FACELESSMAN FOR MOD!!

You need to be mod of this forum, organising things like threads etc. GWAN THE GIZZY!

Perhaps these threads should be stickified?

gizmo

Indeedy, well like I said these are just my opinions and in general I would recommend firsties to go with Larkfield. It all depends on who you're living with tbh, its the luck of the draw in the end.

Tis a pity about the common rooms, they were always great craic. *fondly remembers the tower of beer cans in first year*

Hah, yea I should also have pointed out that Larkfield and Hampstead are RIGHT beside each other. You're talking liek 50 feet or something.

And yea, they really should be stickied, havnt seen spock around in awhile, maybe hes waiting on me to finish them?

Suaimhneach

Well, it'd be nice to have one done on each, and have them stickied. But so far we only have half arsed attempts at the other ones. Besides shanowen like... kinda.

I dunno. YORE BIAS.

gizmo

Each of what done? I intend doing one for Shanowen, I'll do it at the weekend when I have some time.

Pfft, I'm not bias. I've commented on where I've lived and said where I think people should live, its by no means gospel tbh.

rugbug86

but everything you say IS the gospel....... :rolleyes:

gizmo

Of course...

To quote a friend of mine, "Its mind over matter. I mind and thats all that matters"

phreak

i have to agree with Faceless man about Larkfield. Despite all its faults(small bedrooms, shared bathroom, etc etc) it is by far the best place to make friends. When i was in first year none of my friends did the same course as me... i met them all through the common rooms.

As for living in a house, i've been there, done that, and its not that great. I lived in a house for a year and a half and moved into shanowen square 3 months ago and it is *far* *far* better. Much better atmosphere and way more parties in shanowen.

Suaimhneach

That was your 3000th post Phreak.

phreak

Jesjes wrote:

That was your 3000th post Phreak.

i had over 3000 a year and a half ago... they keep disappearing

cooker3

Go Phreak, just goes to show how he has spent 3 years of ca, posting here!!

phreak

cooker3 wrote:

Go Phreak, just goes to show how he has spent 3 years of ca, posting here!!

most of them are from my misspent youth back in secondary school


back on topic by any chance?

phantom_lord

phreak wrote:

back on topic by any chance?

Showing his 3000+ posts experence...:rolleyes: