What it's like to live in Maritime Studios

This article was written by Business & Entrepreneurship BSc(Hons) student Esme.

Hello! My name is Esme, I’m a second year Business and Entrepreneurship student and I lived in Maritime Studios for my first year at university.

Maritime Studios is a student accommodation that specialises in studio-living. Each student gets a studio space, kitchen, ensuite bathroom and balcony to themselves. This is ideal if, like me, you prefer a quieter environment. Each studio comes equipped with a double bed, desk, chair, and a floor to ceiling wardrobe. The kitchenette has plenty of storage, hobs, microwave oven and, most importantly, a washer-dryer! This allowed me to avoid the added cost of doing laundry, which is common for student accommodation. The ensuite is roomy and bright. Each studio has a private balcony with glass doors.

As for Maritime Studios itself, it has a spacious reception area and the most amazing common room at the top of the building with panoramic sea views of Falmouth Harbour and Gylly Beach! This was my favourite place to study in the day and hangout in the evening. It has plenty of seating as well as a TV, ping pong table and beanbags. 

Maritime Studios is nestled between Castle Beach and the famous Falmouth Docks. It is a 15-minute walk into Falmouth Town & to the Falmouth Campus and it is 5 minutes to the nearest beach. The Falmouth Docks Train Station is directly next to the accommodation, so travelling to the Penryn Campus is really easy. The accommodation is next door to Ocean View, which is a sister accommodation consisting of student houses. Maritime Studios is staffed 24/7, which as a first-year student, made me feel safe and supported. This also made it easy to collect post and have any questions answered quickly.

A big worry for me prior to moving in was that, due to not having shared flats, it would be hard to make friends at Maritime Studios. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong! I have made the most amazing lifelong friends, and it was so nice to hang out and then be able to go back to your own space. The staff also held lots of events throughout my stay, including pizza nights, St Piran’s day celebrations, craft evenings and the list goes on!

When considering accommodation preferences, it’s important to consider these three things:

• The first is your needs. Do you need a specific accommodation due to medical needs or for commuting reasons? I specifically chose Maritime Studios due to my severe food allergies - I knew, going into accommodation hunting, that I couldn’t share a kitchen.
• The second thing is your wants. What do you want to get out of your accommodation? Do you want peace and quiet or something more vibrant. Do you want somewhere close to campus or the beach?
• The third and final thing is budget. What can you reasonably afford? I know it’s easy to get wrapped up with the idea of living somewhere you love, but can you comfortably afford it without having to financially strain yourself.