Corridor life
Your first accommodation as a student in Sweden is often a room in a student corridor. Many people associate living in a student corridor with getting new friends, access to parties and having a nice place to hang out. But it can also be challenging as it involves shared responsibility, compromise and adapting to other people.
Perhaps your student accommodation is your first experience of independent living. You will now look after yourself, make your own decisions and form new roles in interaction with others.
A chance to belong
Many people feel safe living close to others and having the opportunity to quickly get to know new people. The advantage of corridor companions is that they are also students who are generally of the same age, going through similar changes and dealing with similar pressures in academic and social life as you.
You learn respect and responsibility
It can be useful to live with others, to learn both respect and responsibility in a completely different way. You will realise that not everyone goes to bed at the same time as you do, not everyone has the same idea of how cleaning should be done and not everyone has the same level of respect for each other when it comes to parties and noise levels. You will live in a setting where perhaps more people come from different cultures than your own with everything that this entails. All of this means that corridor life can sometimes be stressful.
Don’t forget to listen to your own needs
Sharing your accommodation with others requires adaptation, humility and patience, but our needs are different and it’s important to also know what you need to feel good. You may want to cook your food in peace, or you may want to just close the door behind you and be alone. Protect your own boundaries and try to find a balance between private life and social life.
If you don’t feel completely at home with your corridor companions, it may be good to remember that there are also other places and contexts to meet students, such as student unions, student associations and student organisations.