Living the Dream: Achieving the Perfect Student Lifestyle || Guest Post*

Being a student is a different experience for everyone. Like school, it can be largely influenced by your social and cultural standing. These can play a big part in defining who our friends our, what we get up to in our free time, and many other aspects of our personal lives.

We all dream of our ideal lifestyles, but as students we are mostly encouraged to slum it with many aspects of our lives, or at least this is the perception that largely exists in the mainstream. The view that student homes are small and abysmal, or eat rubbish on a regular basis and wear tattered clothes are popular, but based entirely on stereotypes. Sometimes the chips fall this way, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your circumstances.

Achieving that dream student lifestyle will actually take some work and planning. You aren’t going to have all the ingredients fall neatly in your lap upon arrival, nor will you likely have a solid plan of action as a newbie fresher on day one. So how can you be prepared?

Home

Student homes have a bad rep with most agencies. It’s hard to see why sometimes, as students are proven to be excellent tenants and are in high supply in University cities such as London, Brighton or Bath.

In these high density University locations, finding a nicer house is easier as there’s more to choose from, but also harder in some cases as there’s more competition and quality properties are snapped up quickly. Show your potential landlord that you are trustworthy, and be punctual in your communications to ease any concerns they might have. Behaving in a courteous manner will open you up to more properties, each more likely to offer more space, a better location, and better potentially better prices.

The earlier you begin this search, the more likely you’ll be able to find a dream student house. Once you’ve settled on accommodation, you’ll want the inside to be just as nice. The perfect student home offers a mix of sociable and private spaces, ensuring you can be mingle when you want to, as well as get away and study in peace if needs be. Also important is creating an inviting interior space; for fellow students, I recommend renting everything you need. UK furniture hire is becoming more popular, offering thousands of home products for as long as you need them.

Clothes

Every student likes new clothes, and living the student dream means you’ll always have the opportunity to expand your style and grow your wardrobe every month. Being away from home for perhaps the first time can be refreshing for your style; the further influence of independence, your new home city, and the culture of people around you can result in some brave new fashion choices that you wouldn’t try anywhere else.

There’s almost no better time to change up your fashion sense than University, as it’s a chance to explore your interests freely, as well as a new beginning of sorts. Don’t force it upon yourself though, let a style you’re interested in grow naturally and make it unique with your own sensibilities. Experiment with more smart and casual styles for specific occasions, as being able to do both is the hallmark of a stylish person!

Grades

It’s no use living a dream student lifestyle without the grades to show for it. Many people forget they are at University for a specific purpose beyond finding themselves or making their way in the world. It’s all about the qualification, and the benefits it will have on your adult life.

The perfect student lifestyle will ensure you can spend just as much time on your work, and still have a great social life. The trick is planning, making sure you either have set times to work during the week, or that you dedicate a certain amount of time to furthering your studies each week. This does not include time spent in class. Rushing work with a deadline can be a huge source of stress, which in turn detriments the quality of your studies. As a student, you can also get access to hundreds of discounted software to make your work easier; products which offer educational prices include Microsoft Office, Adobe Suite, FileMaker and Unity Pro.

The simple truth is the more time spent on your studies, the better your student life will be. Studying regularly will open a wide range of opportunities in University and beyond. For example, if you are frequently studying you’ll have first access to better resources, as well as the peace of mind and sense of achievement which is almost guaranteed to make you feel accomplished, leading to a sense of happiness in most cases.

Free Time

How we spend our free time is our own choice, and all down to how involved we want to be in our imminent social circles. Shyness can be crippling in these sort of scenarios, but it’s painfully obvious that achieving the dream student lifestyle also largely stems from our social lives. You’re in a brand new setting and it’s likely to be scary, but embrace your new beginning and be confident, or you could end up regretting what could have been.

Are you planning on going to uni in September?

Or are you a student already?

Do you find it hard trying to find the balance between uni and life in general?

Leave your views in the comments below!

*This is a guest post however, all images are my own