When I first arrived in Melbourne, my plan was to work for accommodation at a hostel until I got a full time job so I wouldn't have to spend unnecessary money on rent when my funds were already running low. Having stayed in some pretty gross hostels during my time in New Zealand (I'm looking at you Base!), I think it's safe to say I completely fell in love with United Backpackers the moment I stepped through its big yellow door. Voted the top hostel in Melbourne, it wasn't like a cold, dingy prison cell like other hostels are. It was warm, clean, cosy, colourful and modern but with an urban twist and I could completely see myself living there for as long as it took for me to get a job. Having attempted to work for accommodation at another hostel (I'll save that story for another blog post!), I returned to United and only had to wait around 3 weeks before a position became available on the bar. Four months later and I'm still here with no intention of moving out any time soon!
I'll explain my whole work situation in another post but here's a few reasons why I love living in a hostel... (and of course the downsides too!)
THE PROS
1) YOU HAVE THE BEST SOCIAL LIFE!
When you live in a hostel, you essentially live under the same roof as hundreds of other people. Friendship groups form quickly with other staff members/long termers and before you know it you're a part of a huge group who you spend all day chilling in the kitchen with and all night partying in the bar with. There are always people to grab food or go for a walk with and you can barely go a few minutes without bumping in to someone you know. It's very difficult to feel bored living in a hostel and the 'family' mentality develops almost instantaneously.
2) YOU LIVE RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY CENTRE
Okay, so not all hostels are located in the city's CBD (in Melbourne for example there are plenty of nice hostels in other cool areas such as Fitzroy and St Kilda). But in general, one of the main benefits of living in a hostel is that you live right in the heart of the city centre! If you were to rent or own your own flat/house, it would cost you an absolute fortune to live in central London or a thriving area of New York. But for a fairly reasonable price, hostels allow you to live in an area where most people would only dream of living!
3) CHEAP DRINKS!
If you're fortunate enough to live in a hostel with a large bar area like I am, you'll spend most of your nights socialising with friends lapping up the cheap drink deals that cleverly entice the budget backpacker. $2 champagne, $2.50 vodka and $5 schooners make it almost impossible to resist an evening bevvy, especially if you take into account staff discount and the numerous bar tabs that can be won throughout the week.
4) FREE FOOD!
With most travellers only staying at hostels for a few days at a time before they head off to their next destination, it's common for people to leave their unwanted food behind that they can't bring with them. Granted, the majority of food left on the free food shelf is almost always butter, aoili or bags of oats... but there are odd days when you can pick up bread, milk or pasta which can save you a lot of money in the long run! A lot of hostels also run free food nights (for example: free tacos on Weds, free Dominoes on Thurs and a free BBQ on Sunday) which saves you having to make dinner a good few nights of the week.
5) IT'S LIKE BEING BACK AT UNI
I'm probably in the minority here, but I quite like sharing a room with 11 other people and having my own little bunk bed that I can personalise like I would with my own room at uni. You get used to not owning a lot of materialistic possessions, so even just personalising your bed with a sarong or your locker with a few hooks and a floral wash bag can really make a difference in making it feel more like home. I legit got excited about buying an extension lead the other day so I could plug my phone and laptop in at the same time... (aint about that 1 socket life) It must sound like madness to most people, but I guess it's no different from being at uni and having to make do with what you have and trying to personalise it as best as you can. I enjoy living in a 12 bed dorm and having people there to talk and laugh with when I want to, but also being able to shut myself away behind my rape drape* when I want some time alone.
1) THE HOSTEL BECOMES YOUR LIFE
When you work, sleep, eat, watch tv, socialise and have nights out all under the same roof, it's easy to become too comfortable in the one environment and you have the tendency to never leave. Of course this doesn't happen to everyone, but from my experience my long-termer friends and I are so comfortable living at the hostel that we rarely branch out and explore the city we're living in (which has actually been named the world's most livable city for 6 years in a row!) Yes we'll occasionally go out for food or take day trips to the beach, but 9/10 our daily routine consists of getting fast food from local burger/pizza places (that are no more than a 5 minute walk away), coming back to the hostel and eating in the chill room before going next door to the hostel bar and getting drunk off of $5 basics. Don't get me wrong, it's fun living in an environment where everything you would possibly need is on your doorstep... but after a while you realise that you're massively missing out on a lot your city has to offer. Melbourne is one of the coolest and most diverse cities in the world with hundreds of quirky cafe's and rooftop bars that I would be DYING to visit if I was living a normal life. But when you're so consumed with what's happening at the hostel, you forget about all of the amazing places you could be experiencing and continue to have the same old routine day in day out.
2) YOU BECOME ANTI-SOCIAL
As I said before, hostels are amazing for meeting people and having a massive friendship group to socialise with. But I can almost guarantee that as soon as you've established a friendship group that you feel settled and comfortable in, you won't feel the need to make an effort with 'newbies' or 'outsiders' and you find yourself becoming more and more anti-social with people outside of your group. It sounds horrible, and to some extent it is, because you were new once so you know what it's like to not know anyone and how lonely it can be when you first arrive somewhere and want to make friends. It's bizarre because it completely goes against everything you were doing before you settled at the hostel, where you'd hop from island to island in Asia and would start conversations with random strangers every 2 minutes because you just wanted to be friendly and make friends. But we're all human at the end of the day, and after a long time on the road of constantly making an effort with people and having the same old 'Where are you from? How long have you been travelling for?' conversations, you get sick and tired of wasting your energy on people. I mean... if you were out for dinner in the UK with your friendship group that you've known for years, would you go over and start making random conversation with a stranger? Probably not. When you finally have a base, a routine and a stable friendship group, you almost revert back to living a normal life - so chatting with new people in your room or making conversation with strangers at the bar just isn't a priority anymore. It's normal to feel that way, but at the same time you can't help but feel guilty that the hostel environment has made you a less friendlier person - especially with those that live away from the hostel. I have some amazing friends in Melbourne that live in apartments just 10 minutes away, but have I ever made the effort to go and see them? Of course not, because I'm too wrapped up in my hostel family. If I lived in my own apartment away from the madness, I 100% know I would make more of an effort with friends that live in and around the city.
3) GOSSIP GALORE!
Everyone loves a good gossip, lets not beat around the bush here. But when you're living in a hostel (aka the school playground), it can get pretty out of control. Everyone knows everyone, therefore everyone knows everyone's business. If a guy has spent the night in a random girls bed, you can bet your bottom dollar that the manager of the hostel, the guys ex girlfriend and pretty much the entire hostel knows before he's even done the walk of shame home. It's honestly that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's highly entertaining for everyone else but when the shoe's on the other foot and everyone's talking about you and so-and-so falling out, you honestly just wish that everyone would mind their own bloody business!
4) YOU HAVE TO BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR
Speaking of it feeling like you're back at school, hostels are known for being strict and enforcing rules. Not forgetting the 30 or so cameras that cover every inch of the building... yep, it's basically like living in Big Brother. Being loud and lairy in the corridor after a big night out? You'll get your first and final warning from the night housekeeper (happened to me). Drinking alcohol in your room? Happens twice and you'll get kicked out for good (happened to 2 of my friends). It's even worse when you work at the hostel as any wrong move will be reported back to the manager who'll send you a disciplinary email. I have friends who've been given a warning for sleeping in a guests room (a big no no for staff), for getting with someone late at night in a public area and for having a full blown argument with another staff member at 2am and potentially waking guests up. These things happen and in a normal environment no one would blink an eyelid, but when you live in a hostel you really have to be mindful of what you're doing and saying (even when you're drunk and have no control).
4) YOU HAVE NO PRIVACY
This leads on from point 3 and the most obvious downfall about living in a hostel is having absolutely no privacy. This wasn't something that bothered me for a while, despite sharing a room with 11 other people and a bathroom with our entire floor. But after a few months, you get fed up of getting dried and changed in a shower cubicle because you don't wanna get naked in front of the guys in your room. If you're feeling ill, you wanna go to the kitchen without make-up and looking like crap in your scruffy pyjamas without bumping in to all of your friends (and possibly guys you like). When you're trying new clothes on, you want to pose in a full length mirror and decide what you want to keep without the whole female species being in the same shared bathroom as you doing their make-up for the Halloween party (yep, slightly off-putting). There are moments in life when you really just want to be on your own, even those times when you need a good old cry, but it's just not possible living in a hostel. And don't even get me started on the lack of sleep...
5) THE LACK OF SLEEP
Sorry, I couldn't help myself... But long story short, 9/10 you will really struggle to sleep if you live in a dorm. Whether it's people working different shift patterns to you and alarms going off at 6am to people storming in drunk at 2am and waking the whole room in hysterical fits of laughter. It just aint happening and trust me... you will turn into a sleep deprived, irritable cow.
6) IT COSTS MORE
Plain and simple... the weekly rate to sleep in a bunk bed in a 12 bed dorm will usually cost more than having a single bed in a room with one other person in an amazing modern apartment with a gym and a pool. The only time it's actually worth it is if you're working for accommodation so you're essentially paying no rent at all.
7) YOU CAN'T LIVE LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING
Imagine this... you keep all of your food in a cool bag in 1 of 4 big fridges, so every time you want to eat you have to dig out your bag from behind a ton of other bags. If you don't label your bag, the housekeepers will come along once a week and either bin your stuff or put everything on the free food shelf. If you accidentally leave your bread and milk out one morning, you'll come home from work to find it was taken from the free food shelf by a stranger hours ago (so you can say bye bye to that cuppa you were looking forward to). Wanna cook a meal? Good luck cooking in a kitchen with 30 other people. Oh and you'll have to wait until that guy over there is done hogging all the pans so you actually have utensils to cook your pasta with. Wanna go to the toilet? Don't forget your room key or you'll be locked out. Getting ready in the bathroom? Don't forget to bring your toothbrush/toothpaste/shampoo/conditioner/shower gel with you EVERY SINGLE TIME. Cause that's not annoying at all... Basically, you just can't live like a normal human being. Although I guess that's the whole point of travelling right? You're not meant to live like you would at home.
So there you have it... an honest account of what it's like to live in a hostel.
Could you do it?
xxx
*** UPDATE ***
You've probably noticed that my 'cons' list is a lot more detailed than the 'pros'. I've since moved out of the hostel as my mood was starting to get quite low, so at this moment in time my emphasis is on the negatives (but I'll save that for another post). Having said that, I still stand by my 'pros' list and can honestly say that living at United was one of the best experiences I've had travelling so far!
When you live in a hostel, you essentially live under the same roof as hundreds of other people. Friendship groups form quickly with other staff members/long termers and before you know it you're a part of a huge group who you spend all day chilling in the kitchen with and all night partying in the bar with. There are always people to grab food or go for a walk with and you can barely go a few minutes without bumping in to someone you know. It's very difficult to feel bored living in a hostel and the 'family' mentality develops almost instantaneously.
2) YOU LIVE RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY CENTRE
Okay, so not all hostels are located in the city's CBD (in Melbourne for example there are plenty of nice hostels in other cool areas such as Fitzroy and St Kilda). But in general, one of the main benefits of living in a hostel is that you live right in the heart of the city centre! If you were to rent or own your own flat/house, it would cost you an absolute fortune to live in central London or a thriving area of New York. But for a fairly reasonable price, hostels allow you to live in an area where most people would only dream of living!
3) CHEAP DRINKS!
If you're fortunate enough to live in a hostel with a large bar area like I am, you'll spend most of your nights socialising with friends lapping up the cheap drink deals that cleverly entice the budget backpacker. $2 champagne, $2.50 vodka and $5 schooners make it almost impossible to resist an evening bevvy, especially if you take into account staff discount and the numerous bar tabs that can be won throughout the week.
4) FREE FOOD!
With most travellers only staying at hostels for a few days at a time before they head off to their next destination, it's common for people to leave their unwanted food behind that they can't bring with them. Granted, the majority of food left on the free food shelf is almost always butter, aoili or bags of oats... but there are odd days when you can pick up bread, milk or pasta which can save you a lot of money in the long run! A lot of hostels also run free food nights (for example: free tacos on Weds, free Dominoes on Thurs and a free BBQ on Sunday) which saves you having to make dinner a good few nights of the week.
5) IT'S LIKE BEING BACK AT UNI
I'm probably in the minority here, but I quite like sharing a room with 11 other people and having my own little bunk bed that I can personalise like I would with my own room at uni. You get used to not owning a lot of materialistic possessions, so even just personalising your bed with a sarong or your locker with a few hooks and a floral wash bag can really make a difference in making it feel more like home. I legit got excited about buying an extension lead the other day so I could plug my phone and laptop in at the same time... (aint about that 1 socket life) It must sound like madness to most people, but I guess it's no different from being at uni and having to make do with what you have and trying to personalise it as best as you can. I enjoy living in a 12 bed dorm and having people there to talk and laugh with when I want to, but also being able to shut myself away behind my rape drape* when I want some time alone.
*legit what the drape used on bottom bunks for privacy is known as - trust me!
THE CONS
When you work, sleep, eat, watch tv, socialise and have nights out all under the same roof, it's easy to become too comfortable in the one environment and you have the tendency to never leave. Of course this doesn't happen to everyone, but from my experience my long-termer friends and I are so comfortable living at the hostel that we rarely branch out and explore the city we're living in (which has actually been named the world's most livable city for 6 years in a row!) Yes we'll occasionally go out for food or take day trips to the beach, but 9/10 our daily routine consists of getting fast food from local burger/pizza places (that are no more than a 5 minute walk away), coming back to the hostel and eating in the chill room before going next door to the hostel bar and getting drunk off of $5 basics. Don't get me wrong, it's fun living in an environment where everything you would possibly need is on your doorstep... but after a while you realise that you're massively missing out on a lot your city has to offer. Melbourne is one of the coolest and most diverse cities in the world with hundreds of quirky cafe's and rooftop bars that I would be DYING to visit if I was living a normal life. But when you're so consumed with what's happening at the hostel, you forget about all of the amazing places you could be experiencing and continue to have the same old routine day in day out.
2) YOU BECOME ANTI-SOCIAL
As I said before, hostels are amazing for meeting people and having a massive friendship group to socialise with. But I can almost guarantee that as soon as you've established a friendship group that you feel settled and comfortable in, you won't feel the need to make an effort with 'newbies' or 'outsiders' and you find yourself becoming more and more anti-social with people outside of your group. It sounds horrible, and to some extent it is, because you were new once so you know what it's like to not know anyone and how lonely it can be when you first arrive somewhere and want to make friends. It's bizarre because it completely goes against everything you were doing before you settled at the hostel, where you'd hop from island to island in Asia and would start conversations with random strangers every 2 minutes because you just wanted to be friendly and make friends. But we're all human at the end of the day, and after a long time on the road of constantly making an effort with people and having the same old 'Where are you from? How long have you been travelling for?' conversations, you get sick and tired of wasting your energy on people. I mean... if you were out for dinner in the UK with your friendship group that you've known for years, would you go over and start making random conversation with a stranger? Probably not. When you finally have a base, a routine and a stable friendship group, you almost revert back to living a normal life - so chatting with new people in your room or making conversation with strangers at the bar just isn't a priority anymore. It's normal to feel that way, but at the same time you can't help but feel guilty that the hostel environment has made you a less friendlier person - especially with those that live away from the hostel. I have some amazing friends in Melbourne that live in apartments just 10 minutes away, but have I ever made the effort to go and see them? Of course not, because I'm too wrapped up in my hostel family. If I lived in my own apartment away from the madness, I 100% know I would make more of an effort with friends that live in and around the city.
3) GOSSIP GALORE!
Everyone loves a good gossip, lets not beat around the bush here. But when you're living in a hostel (aka the school playground), it can get pretty out of control. Everyone knows everyone, therefore everyone knows everyone's business. If a guy has spent the night in a random girls bed, you can bet your bottom dollar that the manager of the hostel, the guys ex girlfriend and pretty much the entire hostel knows before he's even done the walk of shame home. It's honestly that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's highly entertaining for everyone else but when the shoe's on the other foot and everyone's talking about you and so-and-so falling out, you honestly just wish that everyone would mind their own bloody business!
4) YOU HAVE TO BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR
Speaking of it feeling like you're back at school, hostels are known for being strict and enforcing rules. Not forgetting the 30 or so cameras that cover every inch of the building... yep, it's basically like living in Big Brother. Being loud and lairy in the corridor after a big night out? You'll get your first and final warning from the night housekeeper (happened to me). Drinking alcohol in your room? Happens twice and you'll get kicked out for good (happened to 2 of my friends). It's even worse when you work at the hostel as any wrong move will be reported back to the manager who'll send you a disciplinary email. I have friends who've been given a warning for sleeping in a guests room (a big no no for staff), for getting with someone late at night in a public area and for having a full blown argument with another staff member at 2am and potentially waking guests up. These things happen and in a normal environment no one would blink an eyelid, but when you live in a hostel you really have to be mindful of what you're doing and saying (even when you're drunk and have no control).
4) YOU HAVE NO PRIVACY
This leads on from point 3 and the most obvious downfall about living in a hostel is having absolutely no privacy. This wasn't something that bothered me for a while, despite sharing a room with 11 other people and a bathroom with our entire floor. But after a few months, you get fed up of getting dried and changed in a shower cubicle because you don't wanna get naked in front of the guys in your room. If you're feeling ill, you wanna go to the kitchen without make-up and looking like crap in your scruffy pyjamas without bumping in to all of your friends (and possibly guys you like). When you're trying new clothes on, you want to pose in a full length mirror and decide what you want to keep without the whole female species being in the same shared bathroom as you doing their make-up for the Halloween party (yep, slightly off-putting). There are moments in life when you really just want to be on your own, even those times when you need a good old cry, but it's just not possible living in a hostel. And don't even get me started on the lack of sleep...
5) THE LACK OF SLEEP
Sorry, I couldn't help myself... But long story short, 9/10 you will really struggle to sleep if you live in a dorm. Whether it's people working different shift patterns to you and alarms going off at 6am to people storming in drunk at 2am and waking the whole room in hysterical fits of laughter. It just aint happening and trust me... you will turn into a sleep deprived, irritable cow.
6) IT COSTS MORE
Plain and simple... the weekly rate to sleep in a bunk bed in a 12 bed dorm will usually cost more than having a single bed in a room with one other person in an amazing modern apartment with a gym and a pool. The only time it's actually worth it is if you're working for accommodation so you're essentially paying no rent at all.
7) YOU CAN'T LIVE LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING
Imagine this... you keep all of your food in a cool bag in 1 of 4 big fridges, so every time you want to eat you have to dig out your bag from behind a ton of other bags. If you don't label your bag, the housekeepers will come along once a week and either bin your stuff or put everything on the free food shelf. If you accidentally leave your bread and milk out one morning, you'll come home from work to find it was taken from the free food shelf by a stranger hours ago (so you can say bye bye to that cuppa you were looking forward to). Wanna cook a meal? Good luck cooking in a kitchen with 30 other people. Oh and you'll have to wait until that guy over there is done hogging all the pans so you actually have utensils to cook your pasta with. Wanna go to the toilet? Don't forget your room key or you'll be locked out. Getting ready in the bathroom? Don't forget to bring your toothbrush/toothpaste/shampoo/conditioner/shower gel with you EVERY SINGLE TIME. Cause that's not annoying at all... Basically, you just can't live like a normal human being. Although I guess that's the whole point of travelling right? You're not meant to live like you would at home.
So there you have it... an honest account of what it's like to live in a hostel.
Could you do it?
xxx
*** UPDATE ***
You've probably noticed that my 'cons' list is a lot more detailed than the 'pros'. I've since moved out of the hostel as my mood was starting to get quite low, so at this moment in time my emphasis is on the negatives (but I'll save that for another post). Having said that, I still stand by my 'pros' list and can honestly say that living at United was one of the best experiences I've had travelling so far!
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