We apologize for our lack of recent reporting, things have been a bit hectic… But we’re back to give a review of our respective living situations.
Lily’s story: Life at Base Camp
I live in a building called Base Camp South Campus. It is part of a chain of designer student dorms in cities across Europe. If you look it up, you will be astonished by the seemingly beautiful amenities and modern vibe. I sure was thrilled when I googled my living assignment before arriving. I would say that the pictures online are pretty accurate; the facility is brand new and there are nice amenities like a gym, cinema, and plenty of cool common spaces to do work. I also got lucky and got one of the bigger rooms on my floor, so I have a double bed as opposed to a twin, my own kitchen, and a bathroom. In a vacuum, the room itself would be perfect! Ideal feng shui, kind of looks like an ikea showroom, plenty of storage space. But in all honesty, the location has really been a drag on my overall experience thus far. The metro (which I need to get to school / the city center) is a 10 minute walk in one direction, and the “main” street with restaurants and shops is a 10 minute walk in the other direction, so the area directly surrounding BaseCamp is desolate at best, bone chillingly isolating at worst. It feels weirdly dystopian; picture a randomly boujee building being plopped into an area that resembles District 12 in the Hunger Games, if you will. Additionally, the building is made up of all singles, so it hasn’t been a prime way to meet people since everyone is pretty isolated in their own respective rooms. To give you a sense of how deserted the halls feel: we had a fire drill in the middle of the night last night (very traumatizing tbh) and I was shocked to see other people congregating outside in the cold since I was convinced I was the only soul living in this building judging by the lack of foot traffic and noise. I am trying to stay positive though, appreciate the amenities and alone time, and remember that commuting is a part of life and you can’t always live in the heart of the city. Living here has really solidified the importance of every real estate agent’s favorite mantra, “location, location, location.” More than ever before, I appreciate the sense of hustle and bustle and liveliness that comes with living in a centrally located area. You live and you learn and I’m trying to make the most of my unique circumstances.
Ava’s story: Life at Peder Skrams Gade 23
My building is quaintly placed between other apartment buildings, hotels, and shops. I live near Nyhavn, which is the area with colorful buildings that comes up when you Google Copenhagen, and Kongens Nytorv. My area is close to the canals and has trampolines at the end of the street, which I have come to make great use of. There is no elevator in the building and I live up 3 staircases, which if you read our last post, you’d understand that my arrival was quite the challenge. I single-handedly carried upwards of 130 pounds of luggage to my room. Needless to say, I arrived to meet my other roommates in a terrifying state–dripping with sweat and running on 20 hours of no sleep. My floor is laid out in an apartment-style, where I have my own room and then I share 3 bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen with 8 other people (6 girls and 2 boys). My floor is very social, which has been really fun. We all hang out in the living room and kitchen together when we get back from classes or going out. There aren’t any fancy amenities in the building and my room is very small– before I decorated it, I woke up in a panic thinking I had been placed in some kind of isolation box, but now it’s better. I really can’t complain much about it. It feels like I am living in a real European apartment with super nice people who have become friends over the course of the week. I hope that once things get more hectic over the course of the semester, it is still a fun place for people to come hang out.
We hope you enjoyed our update, we will try to be more frequent with our postings.