University accommodation in Lisbon

Guys, here's an awesome text Becky (a second-year student who is now in Sheffield) wrote about the university accommodation in Lisbon. It's really detailed and balanced - not to mention funny! Thanks Becky!

Residência Universitária do Lumiar – You either hate it of love it!

For most of us—the Mundus people, this is the place where you’ll most probably land your feet on, after the Lisbon airport, of course.

Based on my experience in meeting people who holds degree in Complaining, I cautioned myself to start with the “Ifs” so that it will make things easier especially for those who don’t have PhD in Tolerating. Lumiar might not be the right place for you

IF you value privacy more than anything else, because:

-       You may be allocated a double room.

-       Before you leave the residence, you have to drop your key with the Mr. or Miss Security.

-       Every Tuesday the ladies in-charge will most probably enter your room to change your bed sheets if you are not in. In certain situation, they will enter whenever they need to.

IF you seek excitement, because:

-       If you have visitors, they are required to leave by 12am. Meaning any outsider is not allowed to stay overnight unless they book and pay.

-       There’s a distance between the Residence and the most happening places in Lisbon. If you are addicted to partying, perhaps Lumiar is too boring for you.

IF cooking is your passion, because:

-       There is only 1 fridge and a separate cold storage for the whole block (about 60 persons). You could be Jamie Oliver wannabe or a beginner in cooking, in order to be fair to everyone be prepared for some inconvenience.

-       Not everybody will clean the kitchen after using. Not everybody will put things back to its place. One day you might find there’s no fork, while the next day you’ll find that all the forks come back to the drawer but there’s no spoon.

If you sleep, eat, drink Internet, because:

-       Perfect Internet connection 24/7 remains as the greatest dream of most of the residence. For plain reason, some rooms get better connection than the others. While for some mysterious reason, the Internet tends to rest during the weekend, though so far it has not taken Sabbatical leave.

If stealing is the worse crime that you can imagine, because:

            - Putting your food in a common place, what else can you expect?

If you think you can do what you want, because:

-       You’ll only know the rule when you break the rule.

-       Gossiping is the nature of women as well as men.

-       Don’t forget there are two ladies who perform their duty at the Residence.

But good news for those who don’t hold any qualification in Grudging or Perfectionism, Lumiar will be a fantastic place for you, because:

-       You’ll never feel alone (though I can’t guarantee that you won’t feel lonely, lonely and alone is different, no?). Perhaps the only time that you can hardly find anyone is during the summer vacation.

-       You’ll have the opportunity to meet people from <>10 nationalities. And just imagine how interesting the interactions between people can turn out. Not to mention cultural exchange, language learning and partying at the Residence!

-       Monthly rental at 160 euros for double room, and 190 euros for single room (plus balcony),  bathrooms and kitchen being cleaned every weekdays, beddings included, bed sheets and pillowcase being changed every week, 1 euro charged for each laundry, a rooftop (or your balcony) to hang your clothes, kitchen utensils and cutlery provided,  wireless connection for the whole block, a common place with tv, a study room, security, and the free sunny sky of Lisbon, isn’t that too good to be true?

-       Metro station located less than 500m away from the Residence, one fruit/grocery stall right in front of the Residence, the Canteen of Lisbon University opposite the Residence where you pay 2 euros for a complete meal (opened for lunch and dinner), one mini market within 200m, a big supermarket within 5 minutes walk, few Chinese shops and at least 2 Chinese restaurants, less than 15 minutes walk to Alvalaxia (a football stadium + Shopping complex + food court + cinemas + bowling alleys).

-       If you are keen on academic research or looking for good student facilities, especially libraries and sporting facilities, the University of Lisbon is 2 stations away, which is less than 5 minutes journey if you take the Metro nearest to the Residence. More info on this will be published later.

I guess I’ve made a right choice to enroll in the College of Contentment. Thinking about it, isn’t it more worthwhile to pursue the Master Mundus Crossways in European Humanities than the Masters in Complaining? (it’s advertisement time….)