I’ve been hesitant to write about my experience of living in a hall because I don’t want to discourage people from hall life. As a disclaimer I want to remind you that this is my experience and everyone has a different experience.
I always imagined that living in a hall would be like how the movies were. I thought making friends would be instantaneous and everyone would be super social and friendly. Obviously, I was being very idealistic. The reality is hall life isn’t always easy.
Dead quiet hall
I think it’s sort of linked to luck, your experience really depends on the floor you get put on. Some floors bond super quickly, some have drama and some party on the daily. My floor is super quiet, almost too quiet, which has its pros and cons. A lot of the people on my floor are exchange students that keep to themselves and unfortunately don’t like talking… or smiling haha. The nice side of having a quiet floor is that I can get a good nights sleep and I feel like I have more privacy. The down side is that it makes it harder to meet people and make friends. My advice is when you fill out your move in form you give them as much information as possible in terms of your personality and what you want in terms of your living environment.
Board game night!
As quiet as my floor is, I still managed to meet people from other floors. So if you’re feeling nervous about meeting people, take comfort in the fact that YOU WILL MOST DEFINITELY MEET PEOPLE. I think it may have been harder for me being in a first year hall because of work and I also felt like I had already went through my “party” stage. Now I’m more into waking up early and going to the Saturday farmer’s market than going out every night. So if you took a gap year or are an older first year, you might look into other university accommodations.
Thankful for this beautiful soul I met at Huia
This view makes me feel like home.
Huia Hall is one of the older accommodations, BUT it’s homely and more affordable if you choose to be self catered. It is also in an awesome location if you are going to school in the City Campus but don’t want to live in the hustle and bustle. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the City Campus. Because it’s located in Grafton, it’s literally on the edge of the CBD. We have the best of both worlds. We get the quietness of the suburbs, but the convenience of being so close to the city which makes it easy to get acquainted with the CBD. We’re located right next to the hospital so be prepared for the helicopters and sirens. However, that’s all made up for because of Auckland Domain being right next door. Being able to have a peaceful spot like the Domain so close by is super valuable when the stress kicks in.
When I moved into Huia I noticed that the room was smaller than I thought, but once you move things around the space is just enough. Thankfully the closet is nice and roomy. The walls are super thin so you have to be considerate of the noise. I’m grateful my neighbors don’t mind me playing my music or laugh super loud when I’m Skyping home.
My messy-ish closet
Whenever you move into a new place it’s inevitable that the first couple of nights will feel uncomfortable, but now after 6 months my room feels like my space. Honestly, it’s all about making your room as comfortable as possible. Bring things that remind you of home. I brought tons of pictures, shells, journals and trinkets. I even bought a couple of succulents to give the room some colour. It really made the space feel like mine.
Huia definitely has its pros and cons, but I definitely don’t regret spending my first year in a hall. Especially if you’re not from Auckland, it makes the transition so much easier because you have support if you need it. Huia offers mentoring for popular subjects like Law, Bio med, and Psychology. They also hold fun events like Board Games and Banter, Secret Admirers Week and potlucks.
Our potluck from a couple of months ago
Living in a hall wasn’t how I pictured it to be, but it has allowed me to transition into Auckland and independence.
If you want to learn more about Huia Hall or any of the other accommodations click on the link below.
Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, SO SO SO MUCH! I’ve been so eagerly waiting for this! THANK YOU! 😀 I am so grateful right now.
I really don’t know what to write about my personality though. I mean I’m quiet but when it comes down to it, I really do enjoy blabbing around with people but I also kind of hate talking too much you know? Oh god I hope I get placed in a kind of loud floor haha, your floor literally looks like a ghost town, no offense! 😛
Btw, is that grass and lake/streamy thing near Huia? because I so wanna go!looks so pretty. I know right about making friends, I feel like even at university, everyone will be clique-y like in High school. Like at my school, the Asian people hang out with Asian people, white people with white people, and Maori people with Maori people. There’s no exception haha. Sorry your experience wasn’t all that you imagined! I have dreamy expectations too but I doubt it’ll be like that 🙁
AGAIN. ThANK YOU SO SOSOSOSOSOSOOSOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for writing this. I LOVE YOU!
Hey! I’m so glad that this post helped you. Haha I’m very much the same way, I can be loud and crazy, but also quiet and anti-social at times. Yeah, on your application really specify the kind of atmosphere you want to be in. It really is a ghost town lol. The stream and field are all part of Auckland Domain which is a 3 minute walk from Huia, it’s stunning. They even have a greenhouse and geese running around. Halls can be clique-y at times, but I reckon people are more open in terms of making friends at uni. That’s totally okay, like I said everyone has a different experience. I hope you have an awesome time next year, keep having an open mind and a positive outlook :). If you have any other things you really want to know about in terms of uni life let me know and I’ll write a blog about it!
Thank you for replying! Definitely trying for Huia based on the fact of those beautiful pictures! Wait, is that the greenhouse Sonna posted? So beautiful!
I’m glad to hear people are more open at uni, i think I have trouble because I moved schools a bit, so everyone always has their little group.
Thank you again, I have been waiting for that blog for so long! I hope the rest of your degree and time in NZ goes smoothly 🙂
That’s awesome to hear! I’m sure you’ll get a placement here at Huia. We are in a beautiful location for sure. Definitely, I had the same relocation issue growing up, but just remember that everyone is looking to make friends just like you :). Thank you so much! I wish you the best for next year!
Hi again. I forgot a question. For the self-catered people, do you guys eat with the full/partially catered or do you guys have your own area to eat? Also how much do your weekly groceries cost?
Thanks!
For self catered people we eat in our common rooms, the ground floor where there are tables we can eat at or in our rooms. I haven’t seen any self catered people eating in the dining hall with the catered students. However, one of my friends used to be catered and she would get her food and bring it upstairs so we could eat together.
I’ve limited my spending on groceries to $50 per week (although sometimes you gotta treat yo’self lol). It depends on your lifestyle. People spend anywhere from $40-$100 on groceries per week. Whatever you can afford or survive on.
If you have any other questions let me know! 🙂