Language Course Housing Type A: Share House

Hello, everyone

This is AWork Academy :)

If you're not just going on a short trip, 

but heading off on a long-term language course abroad,

you'll need a place to live locally for the duration of your program.

What type of housing you choose

depends on the student's budget or personal priorities,

and today, among the many options, we'll take a look at share houses.

< What Is a Share House? >

First, what exactly is a share house?

A share house refers to a shared living arrangement where residents share common spaces.

It ranges from sharing common spaces like bathrooms and kitchens,

to a room-share type where you share the bedroom itself along with common spaces.

Even in Korea, around university neighborhoods in Seoul,

you can often find this type of housing.

It's also the type of housing you'll most easily come across

when you go abroad for a language course.

 < Advantages of a Share House? >

So why do so many students

choose to use share houses?

1. Cost Savings

Since you're not living alone,

but sharing your daily life with others,

you can save some of the money

you'd otherwise spend on housing during your language course.

That's because, by sharing, each person's living space is reduced accordingly.

Also, you often pay a smaller deposit and lower utility bills,

which is why many language-course students

use this option a lot to save money.

2. Improving Your English

Unless you choose a Korean-only share house,

you can usually meet friends of various nationalities within a single share house.

Even if they aren't native English speakers,

it's common to communicate in English as the shared language,

and there are also cases where native English-speaking friends live there too,

so it can be said to bring very good results for improving your English.

3. More Freedom

In the case of homestay, another type of housing,

you live together with one family,

so many things are decided according to the family's disposition,

and the rules are often strict,

and depending on the host mom, there may even be a curfew.

Share houses have their own rules too, of course,

but you can live a relatively free lifestyle

and there's the advantage of being able to protect your own privacy a bit better.

< Disadvantages of a Share House? >

1. Conflicts With Housemates

Living communally is said to be difficult,

but sharing every part of your daily life with someone else

can be even harder than you'd expect.

Especially since it's people from many different countries living together

at your language-course destination, living in a share house

cultural differences and various other reasons

can lead to conflicts—that's a downside that also exists.

(Of course, there's also the chance you'll meet friends whose personalities click well with yours.)

2. Issues With Bathroom and Common-Space Use

Usually, even if you have your own bedroom, spaces like the bathroom and kitchen

still often need to be shared with others.

Especially when it comes to bathrooms, most houses have

only one or two of them.

When you need to get ready quickly in the morning and head out,

or want to quickly wash up and go to bed at night,

but another housemate is taking way too long in the bathroom,

unexpected inconveniences like this can arise.

3. The House May Not Be Well Managed

If the landlord lives there too, this may be rare,

but if the landlord lives elsewhere and only the share-house tenants live there,

the place may not be managed properly if there are no set rules.

If we talk about what a lack of management might look like,

that could mean the common spaces are too dirty,

or someone bringing over guests every day and partying all night,

and situations like these where you have to put up with such inconveniences can arise.

So far, we've talked about the meaning of a share house

and its pros and cons.

It has the advantage of saving money and guaranteeing freedom, 

but there are also more downsides than you might expect.

So if you've decided to

do your language course while living in a share house, it's worth putting in the legwork to

find a place with clear rules that suit you well—

that may well be the best approach.

Also, when finding housing abroad,

there are also situations where you could unexpectedly fall victim to a scam,

so you must be extra careful.

In our next post, beyond share houses for language courses,

we'll also explain other types of housing,

so please refer to plenty of resources and choose

the type of housing that best fits your own preferences.

In addition, on the AWork Academy website,

we offer a variety of content to help with your language-course life, so be sure to check it out,

and if you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime :)

Curious what language-course programs

AWork Academy is currently running?

☑️Go to AWork Academy☑️

Business Hours 10:00 - 19:00 (Closed weekends / public holidays)

Email info@aworkacademy.com

Contact 1855-0631