would really appreciate some opinions from people who’ve actually lived there.
From what I can see, the prices are all pretty similar, with only around a $20–30/week difference, so I’m mainly trying to decide based on the lifestyle/social aspect rather than cost.
The catered options seem good for meeting people, especially because you’re regularly going to the dining hall and having a building common kitchen to cook your rest of the meals naturally running into other residents. However, the rooms/units seem to compromise quite a bit on space and common areas.
On the other hand, the self-catered 4/5-person units seem much more like an actual home — bigger shared spaces, sofa, TV, and some of them have a huge balcony that looks amazing. 😭 I’m honestly very willing to sacrifice catered meals for a nicer, more spacious place to live.
My main concern is the social aspect though coming from an international student
If I choose self-catered, am I going to miss out on a lot of opportunities to meet new people because I won’t have the dining hall or the shared kitchen as a natural social space? Or are there enough other ways/events/common areas to meet people in Campus East anyway?