©Luuk Zeegers
Like last year, Resource asked AID participants if they wanted a room in Wageningen and whether they already had one. The questionnaire was filled in by 370 Dutch first-year Bachelor’s students. 82 per cent (300) wanted a room straight away in Wageningen. Of that group, 55 per cent had already found permanent accommodation and 10 per cent had a sublet. Nearly 35 per cent had still not found a room. Most of the people in this group were commuting from their parents’ home for the time being, sometimes travelling four to five hours a day. Some were able to lodge with friends in Wageningen or nearby.
18 per cent of the first-years are not looking for a room in Wageningen as yet. Most prefer to live at home and don’t have any problem with the travelling. A minority find the accommodation in Wageningen too expensive.
The figures suggest that the room shortage in Wageningen is easing off slightly: in last year’s Resource survey, 38 per cent of those looking for a room had not yet found one. This seems to be partly because more first-years are opting to live at home for the time being: 18 per cent this year compared with 14 per cent last year.
There is a debate at the moment in the municipality of Wageningen about parents who buy a house or flat for their child at university. The survey shows this is not a widespread phenomenon: only three of the 370 respondents live in a place their parents have bought for them.
Read too the article on p.27: ‘Villa residents block students’