[HDNG]IN COLLEGE:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]A3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Catered: 10.5% [BULL] Cost: ú54.50/58 (30wks) [BULL] Self-catering:[PARA]16.5% [BULL] Cost: ú40/45 (33/37wks)[ESTAT][PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] About 2/3 of 1st years are accommodated in 9 halls [PARA]of residence[ITAL] which have quite a community atmosphere.[EITAL] They [PARA]are spread around south-east London, the furthest away being in [PARA]Camberwell, 3 miles (20mins by bus). There are 2 all-female [PARA]halls, 1 catered and 1 self-catering, and a 10th hall, Warmington [PARA]Tower on the College site, for finalists only (about 20% of whom [PARA]can be housed). All 2nd years live out. 5% of students have to [PARA]share rooms, but get a ú3-ú4 reduction per week in their rent.[HDNG]EXTERNALLY:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]A3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Ave rent: ú60[ESTAT][PARA]London Transport (buses, tube and trains) splits the city into [PARA]several 'zones' which are concentric circles from the centre. [PARA]Zone 1, for example, is the area within a radius of about 21/2 [PARA]miles of Trafalgar Square. Zone 2 is the next 3 miles and so on. [PARA]Obviously, rents get cheaper in the outer zones, but then travel [PARA]costs to the centre go up accordingly.[ITAL] [EITAL]Travel costs should be [PARA]taken into consideration when looking at rents because a [PARA]Travelcard from Zone 3 to the centre costs more than ú15 a week.[PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Contrary to popular belief, it's really not that difficult to[PARA]find accommodation in London, just buy a copy of the Evening [PARA]Standard and there are hundreds of places. It is however a [PARA]challenge of epic proportions to find anywhere that is both [PARA]affordable and inhabitable. There's very little housing in Zone 1 [PARA]even for yuppies, and students come a lot lower in the pecking [PARA]order. Zone 2 is a bit better, particularly for single rooms in [PARA]shared flats or houses in places like Wandsworth, Putney and [PARA]Fulham and wherever the tube system is lacking. Zone 3 is [PARA]relatively promising, but the catch is that it can take upwards of [PARA]an hour to get to the centre. Zone 4 and beyond are not popular [PARA]for the same reason, but, as they say, homeless students can't [PARA]be choosers. Although there are many thousands of people [PARA]living, quite literally, in cardboard boxes on London's streets, they [PARA]aren't students. In fact, many students manage to find very [PARA]comfortable flats for almost reasonable rents. There is also a [PARA]growing number living in squats. To be safe, students coming to [PARA]London should work out where they're going to stay first.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Renting: 75%[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] South London can work out cheaper than north. [PARA](London has its own topsy turvy north/south divide). Brockley, [PARA]Greenwich and New Cross are all quite popular.[PARA][BOLD]Housing help:[EBOLD] The College runs an accommodation office in [PARA]addition to the University's.
