Housing
In most colleges students are divided into two definite types. There are those who live at home with the folks, and those who don't. There are pros and cons to both situations. A lot depends on the nature of your relationship with your family. But not even the most understanding of mammies and daddies can measure up to the feeling of your very own roof over your very own head.

Those students who don't live at home are divided into three definite types. There are those who live on res, those who live in digs, and those who have their own place. There are pros and cons to all three.

Living on Res
Living on res brings the advantages of proximity to lecture halls, library and the student bar. It also brings the disadvantages of proximity to lecture halls, library and especially, the student bar. Res is a great place to meet new people and make friends and/or enemies. It is generally clean, warm, relatively modern and furnished better than most similary priced private houses/apartments. Over zealous security staff can be a pain. Still it is a safe and steady option, and plenty of people spend their entire university lives on res and have a ball.

Living in Digs
When living in digs, a lot depends on the landlady/landlord, and it is generally landlady. A great digs is possibly the best place to live, especially for first years. You arrive home from a long day at the library coalface all tired, wet and hungry. And there is your smiling surrogate mother with the bath running, and a meat and two veg dinner on the way. Unfortunately not all landlady's are so perfect. Even some middle aged ladies try and take advantage of students. It is best to use a university sanctioned digs, or better still one that has been recommended by word of mouth.

Renting Your Own Place
Having your own place is the dream for many students. For some it is the main reason for going to college in the first place. Houses and apartments can be found using local papers like the Herald, or checking out ads on campus notice boards. You can also use private accomodation agencies, which tend to charge upwards of €50 for the service. The closer you live to your university and/or town/city centre the better for your social life.

Care is definitely to be taken when choosing a place. Lots of students end up living in places that are awful kips. Especially if they leave it to the last minute, or get overexcited and choose the first place they see. Money saved on rent can end up being spent on doing something, anything, to avoid going home to freezing cold, smelly flat at night. While 'Bottom' chic may seem like a larf in August, the appeal wears off pretty quickly. Especially when your thawing out your feet with a hairdryer in January.

Landlords come in all shapes and sizes from the unnervingly benevolent to the downright nasty. Most are somewhere in between, but caution is definitely warranted. Some landlords will want to do things 'off the books' i.e. they don't want to pay tax. This is not a great idea, as you lose some of your legal rights. It also means they are less likely to fix that leaking tap/roof promptly.

Whichever accommodation option you choose there is legal stuff you should be aware of. Read Oxygen's guide to accommodation law now.