Are you looking for accommodation in London? LSE offers multiple student halls for both bachelor’s and master’s students. I am currently living in Lilian Knowles House, an LSE hall exclusively for master’s students and operated by Sanctuary Students. In this post, I’ll share my experience of living at Lilian Knowles House.
Location
Lilian Knowles House is located in Spitalfields and believe me when I say that the location truly couldn’t be any better! Within a five-minute walk, you’ll find supermarkets, Liverpool Street Station, and countless shops and restaurants. It is even situated less than a minute from Old Spitalfields Market, where numerous vendors sell vintage fashion, unique decorations, and delicious street food throughout the day! If you enjoy spending your weekends at bars and clubs, this is also the ideal area for you, as Shoreditch High Street and its vibrant nightlife are only a 15 minute walk away. Plus, the famous Brick Lane is practically around the corner. I visit its iconic Beigel Bake shop at least once a week.
The Underground and bus connections are also excellent, as five different tube lines run from Liverpool Street Station, making it easy to get anywhere in London quickly. The Central Line will get you to LSE campus the fastest, and the entire journey from Lilian Knowles House to campus takes around 20 minutes. If you’re not a fan of taking the tube, it’s only a 40-minute walk to school, passing sights such as the Royal Exchange, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Royal Courts of Justice.
The rooms
The most exciting part of move-in day was finding out which room I would get and who my flatmates would be. Around 300 master’s students live at Lilian Knowles House, most in flats of five/six people, while some occupy individual studio apartments. I booked a standard-sized room, which can be located anywhere from the ground floor to the sixth floor. I was allocated a room on the ground floor in a flat of six. My room faces the courtyard, and although I don’t get much sunlight on the ground floor, I really love it! It is clean and spacious, with a well-sized en-suite bathroom, a closet, a mirror, a bed, and a large desk to work on. You can also decorate the large pinboard and shelves above it, to really make the room feel like your own.
Our flat’s shared kitchen faces the street and is very spacious, equipped with two of everything for the six of us—two fridges, two stoves, two ovens, etc. It is even cleaned for us once a week, though it’s still important to set kitchen rules with your flatmates early on. My flat quickly established some ground rules after moving in, and we might just win the prize for the cleanest kitchen in the entire hall (if there was one)!
My five flatmates are some of the kindest people I have met, and we love gathering in the kitchen for flat dinners every now and then. These dinners are also a great opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures, as we come from three different countries—China, Japan and Germany. The mix of nationalities varies by flat; some flats have people from six different countries, while others are predominantly from one. In terms of gender, you might end up in a mixed flat or, like me, in a single-gender flat. Either way, since most residents are international students, living at Lilian Knowles House is a great opportunity to learn about different cultures and make friends from all over the world.
Social life
Lilian Knowles House has an amazing halls committee that organises plenty of special events throughout the year, all free to attend and a great way to make friends from other flats. Recently, there was a big Lunar New Year party. Last term, they organised a Diwali celebration, a Thanksgiving wine and cheese night, and a Halloween party, to name just a few. These events are usually held in the Common Room, where you can also go to hang out with friends, study, play board games or ping pong, or even sing karaoke. In general, the Common Room is the best place to meet new people (aside from the laundry room and the computer room, of course).
Overall, I really love living at Lilian Knowles House. Some of my hallmates have become my closest friends in London, and if I had the choice, I would absolutely live here again. It is a fantastic place to live, and I am already sad that I will have to move out once my programme ends.
