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Eric Joseph

July 17th, 2018

Grosvenor House: Reflections From Living in a Graduate Student Hall

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Eric Joseph

July 17th, 2018

Grosvenor House: Reflections From Living in a Graduate Student Hall

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Especially since I worked a few years after receiving my undergraduate degree, I haven’t lived in a student accommodation for a long time. I’ve already talked about why I chose student accommodation in a previous blog post, so this is all about my personal experience at Grosvenor House. There are many different halls a postgraduate student can live in. Some are mixed with undergraduates, while others are only for postgraduates such as Grosvenor House. Although this is a student accommodation with mostly single studios, I enjoyed the privacy of living alone and the opportunity to still socialize with fellow LSE students in my hall. Talk about the best of both worlds!

Living
What makes Grosvenor House different from the rest is that many of the rooms are studios and have their own desk, mini-kitchen, wardrobe, and bathroom. I found my room to be perfect for 1 person and it had everything I needed. Every room in Grosvenor has its own charm to it. I happened to have the room closest to the entrance and right next to the front desk, while my friend was on the top floor and had a beautiful street view of London. There is also a laundry room, common room, and computer room in the basement. The common room was the best place for events and to get to know people. There is also 24/7 security/front desk staff, who are super helpful if you have any problems with your room.

Shower, Living Area, Double Bed, and Bathroom.

Socializing
There’s no shared living area or kitchen at Grosvenor House like other LSE student accommodations, therefore, you need to make more of an effort to meet people in your building. Living in a hall with only postgraduate students can be very different compared to an undergraduate or mixed student accommodation. Since many individuals find a postgraduate degree at LSE very rigorous, it can be argued that postgraduate halls are less social and more studious. In the case of Grosvenor House, I found that this was not the case and there was a perfect balance of work and fun. Grosvenor House hosts some events at the beginning of the year and the committee hosts the rest. I had the privilege to be the president of the Grosvenor House Committee and was able to plan some of the events this year. We had a wine tasting, Lunar New Year party, St. Patrick’s pub crawl, and a boat cruise, just to name a few. I was able to form a community of my own by attending these events and hanging out with these people over drinks or dinner. Having friends from Grosvenor House made the transition into graduate school and living in a new city easier. I highly recommend going to the events hosted by your accommodation. Some of my closest friends from LSE are from Grosvenor House and even though it is Summer, I still see a lot of them quite often!

Celebrated Lunar New Year with a Dim Sum feast!

Location
Grosvenor House is very close to the Holborn and Covent Garden tube stations and is a 5-10 minute walk to LSE or even faster if you ran. I would sometimes wake up 15 minutes before class and still make it on time. Being just a minute away from all the stores, main grocery shops, and restaurants in Covent Garden, this is the perfect location for a graduate student. Since I was so close to campus, I was able to attend many LSE events and meet up with friends at a pub or coffee shop near LSE. The location is handy for almost everywhere you would want to go in central London. I run almost every day and I was able to take in amazing views and sights from living in such a beautiful location.

Living right next to the beautiful Covent Garden has been amazing!

Grosvenor House is a little pricier than the other halls, but you save a lot on transportation and it is one of the most convenient accommodations that LSE has to offer. If I were to go back to LSE, I would choose Grosvenor House in a heartbeat.

From guided wine tastings to a boat cruise, I will never forget my time at Grosvenor House and the life long friends I made.

About the author

Eric Joseph

Striving to be the poster child for work-life balance. Blogger of the Year 2017-2018

Posted In: Accommodation | Student life

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