[HDNG]IN COLLEGE:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]A2[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Self-catering: 32% [BULL] Cost: ú34(32/52wks)[ESTAT][PARA][BOLD]Availability:[EBOLD] All 1st years and 30% of 2nd years and finalists live in[PARA]college accommodation. The rooms are clean and modern and [PARA]set in large grounds. Kitchens equipped with pots and pans are [PARA]provided, as is a condom machine, laundry and tennis courts. No[PARA]female students are housed on the ground floor.[PARA][BOLD]Car parking:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Loads of free parking, but only because no-one uses[PARA]it. [EITAL][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: 68%[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]Local accommodation is somewhat cheaper and easier to find [PARA]than in central London, [ITAL]but some of it's a bit grotty.[EITAL]
