I did not realize how wonderful my choice in housing was until I actually arrived in London. I live in the LSE High Holborn Hall (Dorms are called halls here), which is located as centrally as one can get in London. It is located at a convenient distance from everything you can imagine. It is a ten minutes walk from the LSE campus (one of the closest halls to campus), and around a ten minutes walk from most major attractions in London – Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Soho, Covent Garden, Southbank and Piccadilly Circus. These are the first few “must visit” places that feature on any tourist list of London that you might pull out. Public transport is not the cheapest in London although it is very well connected, and so it helps that I can tread to almost any place I wish on foot. I cannot stress enough how much of a blessing this convenience is and my location is one of my favorite parts of my stay in London.
I really like the mix of students you get to interact with while you are living here. While in the US we all live in communities mostly formed by people who share the same majors/interests as ourselves, the assignment of people here to your floors/flats is completely random. While this intimidated me before coming, it was a wonderful combination that ended up happening. I live in a flat of six, two of which are also pursuing study abroad with me, which is great. Three others are Masters students, and some of them are studying the same masters subjects that I want to study for my masters. It is therefore a much fun and learning experience that I have from our community. The same kinds of combinations extend to the whole of my hall, and my hall hosts random events such as movie screenings and pizza parties now and then to help us get to know each other.
What’s interesting about LSE is that it uses its halls as hotels/hostels during holidays, when students are not using it. Living here therefore has a ‘hotel’ feel to it. There’s a reception in the hall where we report anything that is wrong with our rooms. We get complementary pillows, bed sheets, a lamp, a convertor plug and a blanket when we move in. In fact, some halls require their students to evacuate even during Christmas and spring breaks since they are leased out as hotels even during this break. Sometimes, on special occasions, the reception also keeps out treats for us in the lobby and there is almost always candy in the reception.
While sometimes it may get hard to feel ‘at home’ in such a hotel setting, especially in the middle of tourist hotspots in London, which are always crowded with strangers, you eventually get used to it and my flatmates and other friends in my dorm have definitely helped me in the process. While my choice of my hall was completely random, I am so glad I chose this one and if I ever had to go back and make the choice, I would still choose this one. It is an utter privilege to live with wonderful students in the ultimate center of London.
