Hej!
Welcome to the "Living and Studying in Umeå" blog. I’m Louise and i’m taking over from Brian as the new blogger. His awesome posts can be found in the archive on the right if you would like another perspective on life in Umeå!
I would like to say thank you to Photographer Donatien Langumier for letting me use his photo as the banner for this blog. The photo is of northern lights seen over Nydala Lake just 2 weeks ago. If you have never seen them before you are in for a treat. The first time I saw them I was speechless for about an hour!
If you’re reading this you are probably considering coming to live or study in Umeå which is fantastic. You are obviously a very intelligent person. It’s Sweden’s best kept secret if you ask me.
So I thought I might begin with a post about housing. When I was choosing my accommodation in Umeå I really had nobody whose advice I could ask. I picked a room at random without really knowing anything about what it might be like! Luckily I ended up in the most wonderful corridor ever so that method can work too. However if you like to be slightly more organized than I am, here is my own personal perspective on housing in Umeå:
You might be thinking about looking for housing independently but I would highly recommend securing a room through the University in conjunction with Bostaden. As a student it makes life so much easier when all of your heating, electricity internet bills etc. are included in the rent and the apartments come fully furnished with everything you need. Most of the time old students will have left behind plates and cutlery and kitchen utensils so there is no need to bring all of that with you. Sometimes people leave useful things like bedding behind so wait and see what is waiting for you when you arrive.. you might be lucky! (I arrived and I didn’t even have a lampshade..so it does vary.)
Student housing is actually pretty great here and I definitely feel at home in my corridor. Like anywhere you live, it’s the people you live with and what you do with your space that really counts.
I went to Returbutiken (a second hand store behind ICA MAXI) and picked up paintings and curtains and mirrors etc. for less than 150 sek in total. Make your house a home and you won’t regret it. At least buy a plant!
There are 3 main areas of student housing in Umeå that I am familiar with: Alidhem, Nydalahöjd and Mariehem. Each of them have positive and negative attributes and different price ranges.
Mariehem (my personal favourite) is about 10 minutes bike ride and 20 mins walk to the university.. it is right beside Nydala lake which is perfect for barbeques in the autumn and spring and cross country skiing in the winter. It’s also the best place to spot northern lights. The corridors are basic but they are spacious and well laid out. We have a supermarket, 2 great pizza restaurants and a post office/kiosk. Frequently running buses can take you from Mariehem to Campus in 5 minutes. The only downside is me and my friends find ourselves walking to Alidhem all the time as there is always something happening there. My rent was about 10500 sek per semester which is really good value.
Here is a picture of our corridor
Here is a picture of our corridor
Ålidhem is about 5 mins by bike from the University and maybe a 15 min walk. It’s nicknamed the ‘student ghetto’ in that pretty much everybody chooses to live there. It’s student town and where most of the house parties are held. From what I have seen it’s pick and mix when it comes to nice housing. Some corridors are poorly planned with 14 people sharing a tiny kitchen, and some are spacious and homely with just a few people living there. There are a couple of supermarkets, a few restaurants, a café, a post office and a pharmacy at Ålidhem. Rent is cheap enough from 11 500-13 500SEK per semester
If you have any further questions or wish to find out more information about living and studying in Umeå, you can email me at Umu.Student@gmail.com or visit the Umeå University facebook page.
That’s all from me today..have a lovely Thursday,
Louise J
