Spring break is officially here! Since I’ll be staying in Oxford for the next six weeks in between traveling, I thought I would talk a little bit about where I live and how the experience has been thus far. The majority of students at Mansfield College live on campus, but the visiting students and a few matriculated students always live in off-campus housing. My particular building is about a fifteen minute walk from campus, whereas the other off-campus housing is about a twenty-five minute walk (I definitely lucked out!). As someone who has only ever lived in dorms on Wheaton’s tiny campus back home, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
My student accommodations are barred with a large gate that opens with a key we all carry. At first I wasn’t quite sure if I was in the right place when I first arrived, but then I noticed the large Mansfield crests hanging on the gate. This dorm is quite far from town, meaning that it feels more like a normal residential area than the more “academic” part of Oxford. Although it’s a bit of walk to town from my accommodations, we’re much closer to restaurants, bars, and shops. Definitely helpful when you don’t want to walk far for food!
Before coming to Oxford I had never lived in a room alone. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about not having a roommate. Would I miss having someone else in the room? While I was a bit lonely at first, over time I’ve come to really enjoy having my own room. Not only is it easier to be on my own schedule (I can go to bed and wake up whenever I want without having to worry about my roommate’s schedule, etc.), but it’s also nice to have some privacy whenever I go back to my room at night. While I would love to have a roommate again at Wheaton, I also wouldn’t mind having a single now that I know what it’s like.
My favorite part about having my own room is decorating. We’re not allowed to put much on the walls due to fire safety regulations, but we are given huge bulletin boards to cover as we please. I brought a few decorations from my dorm room back at Wheaton (the little flags, the “It’s OK” banner, the Wheaton pennant, etc.) and I’ve accumulated a bunch of postcards since coming here. Of course, my absolute favorite decoration are Polaroid photos. Pretty soon I’ll have run out of space for them all!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look into my student accommodation at Oxford! Living here in my own room has been much more enjoyable than I initially expected, especially since I had never lived alone before. It’s remarkable how quickly a place can feel like a home away from home!
Click here to check out other posts in my Holly Goes Abroad series!
Have you ever lived in a dorm? Did you have your own room or share it with a roommate (or two)? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
Nut Free Nerd 
Oh I love these Polaroid photos, I also love having these kind of pictures in my room 🙂 I’m so glad you managed to make yourself a little bit of a home, away from home 🙂
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Thanks, Marie! Polaroid photos are my absolute fave ❤ I feel like they instantly make any room feel more like home!
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Your decorations are absolutely lovely!! 😀
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Thank you!! ❤
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Wow I hope you’re having the best time studying abroad. Love the decorations!!
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Thanks so much, Emily! ❤
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I haven’t ever lived in a dorm, but I am living in my own room for the first time ever, and I’m so with you: decorating is great! Like you, I live a little way from campus; it’s like a half hour walk or a 15 minute bike ride (but quicker home because it’s a hill) I like having a little space from uni, and being close to some forest where I can go running. And if I want some more student life, I’m really close to the centre of town, and I can visit my friend’s flat which is in the student area.
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Sounds like your dorm is in the perfect location! It must be so nice being close to a forest–I miss that about being back home! We have a lot of parks in Oxford but nothing like the woods in New Hampshire.
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Haha I’m not staying in a dorm. I’m boarding with a aunt like I live in a Victorian novel bit wit better WiFi
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I literally laughed out loud at the Victorian novel part haha 😀 That’s so awesome!!
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Loved seeing your room! Love the polaroids – such a great idea! 🤗
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Thanks so much, Bridget! ❤
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Your dorm space is so cute, Holly! I love the Polaroid decor. I hadn’t a chance to dorm alone during my college years but my roommates were absolute cuties…
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Thanks so much, Cam! ❤ Decorating dorm rooms is so fun!
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The polaroids are a great idea! Your room looks awesome! 😀
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Thanks so much! ❤
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I lived in dorms throughout college. I lived in a double for a year, then a triple for three years, and I did graduate school in a single that shared a bathroom with another single so it felt like having a suitemate instead of a roommate.
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OMG a triple for three years?!?! Fortunately I’ve never had to live in a triple…. that feels like so many people living in one room!
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Well, one of the three of us pretty much lived in her fiance’s single. Only her clothes lived in our room, lol. Plus it gave us a nice room for when we all wanted to play a Tabletop RPG together.
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*whispers* I spot pugs 😂 Back home I still live at home – most universities don’t offer any kind of accommodation, so if you want to (or need to) live closer to campus, you have to go with private accommodation which is usually pretty expensive and hard to find, especially in the bigger cities. The city where my uni is located isn’t that far from home, so I just take the train. It was so weird to come to Manchester and suddenly have to live in halls haha
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PUGS ❤ Oooh interesting! I have family in Germany and they all live at home and go to uni, too. Not sure which way I would prefer… a little bit of distance from home, or home-cooked meals all the time?! 🙂
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I’d never had my own room before I started university, but in New Zealand pretty much all dorms are only for the first year and almost all rooms are single. It’s actually really nice, but we all see each other in the hallway and on the floor and stuff so everything is still pretty social. after first year, almost nobody stays in dorms; at my college, most students rent out flats with their friends.
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Having friends in the same hallway is always a good time! I don’t mind having a single in that situation, but otherwise it can be pretty lonely. Excited to go back to having a roommate next year!
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My daughters friend Hannah is studying in Germany, away from home.
She has made her little flat so smart, yet lived in.
She has that bright green combo and we love it.
Dreading the day my daughter leaves home but I will be so happy for her, its her time.
Be safe where ever you are, suss people out properly and mind my nuttiness over safety!
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Thank you!!
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