Big Student House, accommodation in Brighton

Looking for your home from home while studying at ICTheatre Brighton? Big Student House has got you covered. Moving to a new place can be stressful – especially if you don’t know much about the area. But don’t stress, because ICTheatre has teamed up with student accommodation company Big Student House to help you with all of your moving day worries.

Big Student House is a family-run company, created with the student experience in mind. Founders George and Oliver both lived in student accommodation while they studied, and they were disappointed by the below-standard quality of housing that was available to them and their peers. So after gaining experience in the architectural and building industry, they teamed up and started Big Student House, to take student housing to a better place.

When you’re looking to find your perfect home in Brighton, the best place to start is on the Big Student House website, where you can find all the information you need about the properties they have available. Whether you already have a group of pals ready to find a house, or you’re flying solo and need to find a room, the company can set you up with whatever you need. Unlike other letting agents, Big Student House makes it possible to rent a single room in a shared house, and will try and match you with like-minded people as well! Making the moving process a whole lot less stressful, as well as enhancing your drama school experience.

One of the best parts about Big Student House properties is the quality of the accommodation – each house is modern and well maintained, meaning you know you’re moving into a secure house that is worth your rent money. Not only that but each house is decorated by Brighton based company Art+Believe. The houses have a unique look, so they’re gorgeous as well as functional! Big Student House wanted to make sure they were creating homes for students and not just a place to sleep, so each room is fully furnished – meaning you could rock up with just bedding and a towel! And of course, each room has a lock so you can safely leave your possessions inside, bring those finishing touches to make your room your own.

The communal areas all feature large TV’s, sofas, 2 fridge freezers, ovens, washing machines and dryers – everything you’d expect to find in a functioning home (knowledge on how to operate these appliances may vary – make sure to check the cooking time before throwing that frozen pizza box in the bin!). All bills are covered by your rent – including internet, TV licence, gas, electricity and water – a cleaner and gardener will visit the property regularly to ensure the building is kept up to scratch, AND there is normally free parking nearby if you need to bring your car; so you really can just turn up with your belongings and settle right in.

Now as we said, Big Student House have taken their partnership with us one step further, by working directly with us to help our future and current students. Agents from the company are a part of our ICTheatre Facebook pages, and they will keep a lookout for anyone looking for housemates, or groups looking for accommodation. This way, they can work to keep like-minded students grouped in the same houses and make personal connections to make the whole process less stressful. The company even

has student agents working for the team! Another highlight of the company, as they have students working at their heart, keeping the voice of young people alive in their teams.

To help your preparation with moving to Brighton, we asked the team at Big Student House for things to look out for when you begin your property search. We started with advice for moving to Brighton.

The main thing to remember is Brighton is not massive and has great transport links everywhere – so no matter how far things look, they’re probably no more than a half-hour bus ride away!

“The areas that are just out of town centre offer better value for money with much more space, so may actually be a better option if you’re working with a budget. We also suggest you think about what kind of person you are – would you like to live in a smaller, more peaceful house? If so then a room in a 6 bed shared house will probably provide this. Or are you an incredibly social person, looking to make lots of friends? Then a room in a 9 bed shared house could be the one for you.”

We also asked for advice on warning signs to look out from other letting agents:

“When looking at properties, I would make sure that your room comes with a desk, chair, chest of drawers etc, as you don’t want to be bringing loads of furniture with you!”

“A cool, large communal space is a must when looking to share, and plenty of bathrooms. When looking to sign a contract, it’s good to remember that any agent who is too pushy is probably to be avoided!”

Lastly, we asked about any FAQ’s that might have popped to mind:

“The most asked questions are where is the house and who am I going to be living with? However Brighton is a really accessible place, so I would recommend focusing more on the look of the accommodation and your room rather than its distance from town centre – it’s going to be very easy to be able to get to your campus, the beach or the nightlife from wherever you are! We really pride ourselves on our friendly lettings team who try and put like-minded people in houses together. We also put you in touch with your fellow housemates before you move in so you can all get to know each other, to make introductions a bit less intimidating. Lastly, we are just a phone call away if you ever have any questions about anything and we aim to make sure that you have the best possible experience during your first year in Brighton.”

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to move in! Do you think a Big Student House property sounds like what you’re looking for? Then head to www.bigstudenthouse.co.uk/ to see which properties are available to you! Alternatively, you can call them at 01273 257141, or email them from their contact page. We’re so excited to welcome you to ICTheatre when you start, and we hope this advice makes moving as easy as possible!