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Aston Students' Guild Where to live Aston Students' Guild Where to live


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Where to live in Birmingham - The information below has been checked for accuracy at the date of printing and will be reissued when significant changes occur.


Aston Students’ Guild
Students’ Advice Centre
April 2006
Private halls of residence (not managed by Aston University) - Unite
Immediately adjacent to Aston’s campus, there are two private accommodation blocks called Londonderry House and The Heights which provide en-suite accommodation in shared flats. These are owned by a private company called Unite. For details see http://www.unitestudents.com/ACCOMMODATION.information/Birmingham/default.html

Derwent Living
A short walk from Aston’s campus is a new development on Lower Loveday street which will be managed by a private company called Derwent Living. When complete in January 2007 there will be 600 en-suite rooms available. 184 rooms will be ready in time for the 2006-07 year in September 2006. See http://www.derwentstudents.com/

Victoria Hall
A privately owned complex of student accommodation on the edge of Birmingham University’s campus in Selly Oak, Birmingham ( about 4-5 miles away from Aston University). It houses 656 students in flats of 3, 4, 5 and 6 bedrooms. Aston University students may apply for places. For details see http://www.victoriahall.com/
Birmingham City Centre - In the last 10 years, Birmingham city centre has become a thriving shopping centre and a popular place to live. There are a growing number of companies who are refurbishing old buildings and turning them into state of the art apartments. This trend was first established on the canal side near Brindley Place, the National Indoor Arena and the National Convention Centre and is now spreading throughout the remaining areas of the city centre. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/360/bp/index.shtml
Consequently there are a large number of apartments to rent which may be suitable either for student couples or for two students sharing. It is also possible to find rooms in a development where you might be sharing with someone else such as a young business person. Using the search facility to look for Birmingham, check out
http://www.housepals.co.uk/ and
http://www.easyroommate.com/ and
http://www.flatshare-house-share.co.uk/ and
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ and
http://birminghamstudentpad.co.uk
Student areas in the Birmingham suburbs - Aston University students looking for accommodation which is cheaper than campus and cheaper than the city centre, often want to share houses with other students so that each student has their own bedroom and there is a communal living area and communal kitchen.

Erdington: Postcodes B23 and B24. The area currently most popular with Aston students is Erdington which is due north of city centre with lots of direct bus routes to campus. Rush hour travel can take a while ( as in the whole of Birmingham) but buses drop off just behind North Wing of the Main Building. Erdington covers a very large area, and some landlords may say their properties are in Erdington even if they are not (e.g. parts of Stockland Green ). Good shopping facilities both on Slade Road and in Erdington centre. Trains from Gravelly Hill and Erdington go straight to New Street station. Pleasant area, standard of housing varies from OK to pretty good with reasonably priced rents.
Aston Students’ Guild’s site at Aston Brook Green - Birmingham B6. Ten minutes walk from campus. This is a development of terraced houses which is owned by a housing association but managed by the Students’ Guild. Shared houses have 3 or 4 bedrooms with a living area. Flats are available for couples or single parents (with or without a child who is under 10 years old). Popular with students because of location and cheap rents. Applications open in January to take a tenancy for 12 months starting in June of each year. There is a launderette on site, and a grassed area for sunbathing and relaxing. Lack of local shops is a problem, normally necessitating a walk up to campus or the city centre.
See this website following links to housing list.
Inner City Birmingham - (within a 3-4 mile radius of Aston’s campus)
There are only a few students renting in the inner city areas of Birmingham such as Alum Rock, Aston, Balsall Heath, Bordesley Green, Handsworth, Handworth Wood, Ladywood, Lozells, Nechells, Perry Barr, Saltley, Sparkbrook, or Sparkhill. On the whole students prefer to live in ‘student areas’ like Erdington
Housing ( and schools) for student families
There is plenty of housing in Birmingham which is suitable for students with families.

For city centre living see Birmingham City Centre

If you do not want to live in the city centre because you have children; we suggest looking at areas such as Erdington, Wylde Green. Boldmere, Moseley, Kings Heath and Great Barr
See http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ and search for rented property using Birmingham postcodes such as B14, B13, B23, B24, B42, B72 and B73.
See http://www.findaproperty.com
See local estate agents http://www.email4property.co.uk/birmingham/estate-agents.htm
See the local paper such as the Birmingham Mail on a Thursday

Aston Brook Green offers small flats for either student couples or single parents with or without children. These flats are only suitable for one child under 10 years old (see section 5 ).

Schools:
If your child is aged 4 years or over on the 1st September, they will be offered a free place in a state school. Birmingham City Council can tell you which schools have spaces for your child and can also tell you if the school has special support for children for whom English is not their first language. Telephone 0121 303 2536 ( from out of the UK phone 44 121 303 2536) and ask for either the primary or the secondary school team. Primary school caters for children aged 4-11 and secondary school caters for children aged 11-16/18. See also
http://Birmingham.gov.uk/education


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