Student blogs

Before coming to Stockholm I had a difficult time trying to decide which university accommodation to choose. There are options in Solna, Södermalm and Flemingsberg. I ended up choosing Solna Residence. Here’s why I love it!

My experience

We have a small community of about 400 students here at Solna residence. If you ever need an extra mattress, some flour to bake with or any other item, most people are happy to share. There are many students, and it’s easy to get to know them through housemates, parties, dinners or hikes organised through the group chat. Events in the residence are usually held in the common kitchen in building 13, but each floor has its own kitchen where smaller events are planned. The kitchens and the common areas on the ground floor of each building make for great places to hang out and meet people.

During Halloween, there was a treat bag being passed around to different student apartments. The way it worked was that you would refill the bag after getting it, leave it by someone’s door, and run away before they see you. If you are the receiver of the bag then you have officially been ‘booed’ and must do the same for someone else in the building. It’s a great idea, whoever came up with it! Similarly in Christmas, there was a stocking being passed around that was filled with goodies!

Which room to choose?

Solna Residence is made up of three buildings. Building 11 has studio apartments, which you can read more about in Naw’s blog (where she also mentions the nearby amenities). Building 13 has dormitory rooms with private bathrooms and a shared kitchen on each floor, it also has washing machines for the whole residence on the ground floor. Building 15 has shared apartments with either 2 or 4 bedrooms. The type of room you want really depends on what type of environment you want to live in. I personally chose to live in a 4 bedroom apartment in building 15 because I wanted to meet other students, but also have a smaller/cleaner kitchen!

Building 15

The kitchen in 15 (and 13) comes fully equipped including an oven, rice cooker and dishwasher. The four-bedroom apartments also have a couch, which the two-bedroom apartments and other buildings don’t have! Everyone has an electronic key that opens all buildings, including the door to your apartment, and the door to your room in the apartment. The room in the apartment has a desk, bed (120 cm), closet and shelves. There’s also a window ledge where you can sit and enjoy the view (mine is not that great as you can see in the picture below). An added bonus: there are blackout curtains which I’m assuming will come in very handy during the Swedish summers!

The downsides

It is one of the more expensive housing options, and it is only offered for up to one year, after which you have to find somewhere else to live.

If you are looking for something close to the centre, this might not be the location for you! Although it is a 5-minute walk to the Solna campus, this means it is either a 35-minute bus/tram ride to Södermalm (an island with many cafes and bars) or a 30-minute bike ride. There are other housing options like Jägagarten, which might be a better choice if you want to be closer to the city centre. You can read more about it on Alexandra’s blog!

Where do other 1st-year Toxicology students live? 

Most of us are spread between Jägagartan and Solna Residence. About 5 students either live in Strix or Pax and local Swedish students live outside university accommodation. That said, university accommodation is often more affordable than other housing and it has the benefit of being able to live with other students.

You can find out more about the housing here.