While always a popular student area, Wavertree has seen an explosion in Houses in Multiple Occupancy. Now residents are furious over what they see as an attack on the social fabric of the area
I wonder how much the market has changed. When I lived on the Carnatic Halls of Residence in Mossley Hill in the seventies and eighties, many students (but by no means all) took a second year in hall rather than moved straight out of uni accommodation into houses at the end of their first year. Pushing students into city centre rooms with en suite facilities (however compact) I would have thought leads to a more isolated existence and a desire to move into shared accommodation as in HMOs
I agree, as a recent graduate I remember I found the halls experience could be lonely, versus sharing a loud, bustling student house was much more sociable and enjoyable. It's interesting that in the '70s and '80s you noticed living in halls was more of a 'norm'. Was this to do with affordability, do you think?
As a foreigner (32) and young professional living in an HMO in Wavertree/Picton, this article was quite surprising to read.
Where I come from, Zurich Switzerland, more people living together is considered to be a good thing, because it means less empty rooms/houses, shorter commutes and in general less carbon emmissions from heating and traffic.
I just arrived here two months ago and I also noticed that there is a lot of litter on the streets and in frontyards compared to my home country. I don‘t see many people in my area, and especially not many that I would recognise as students. In general, the street I live at (Kempton Rd) is rather too quiet even for my taste. I can only speculate who is responsible for the litter, as I often see children/teenagers on their way home from McDonalds/Iceland with snacks in their hands, which corrensponds to the litter being mostly snack and fastfood packaging.
I live in an HMO with five people, with three or four (not quite sure) of us only owning a bicycle. I doubt that many people in HMO and especially students own a car and thus contribute much to traffic, as more people living denser together means shorter commute with public transport, e.g. no car is needed.
Maybe we are not a representative sample, but I haven‘t seen any party happening here yet, whereas the neighbouring family is quite loud (which is absolutely fine) and I frequently hear many dogs barking through the night.
Just wanted to add my perspective. Sorry for the bad english, I am not a native speaker.
This is a great fresh perspective, thank you. Communal living definitely has its advantages, like you said, shorter commutes, better for the environment, more sociable living.
Maybe it's a case of adjusting to how housing has changed in Liverpool, and the community changes that come with that. Do you feel there's unity between the family homes and the HMOs, if you've noticed any difference?
Hey, this is a really interesting comment thanks. We tried to reflect in the article that not all HMOs are disruptive, but perhaps not enough. Would you mind chatting to us more about your house, so we can give readers that side of things in a future article? Editor@livpost.co.uk. And would you mind if we published this comment as a letter in an upcoming briefing?
That‘s fine with me, especially if you correct some of the grammatical mistakes I probably made :-)
One aspect I didn‘t comment yet but was reflected in the article aswell is the money side. When I read that the family has a budget of 700, I had to gasp. I think each of us pays somewhat above 500 in a house of five. Yes, the bills are included and there is a cleaning lady, but nevertheless it might be interesting to know what proportion goes to the agency (or investors?) as many HMOs probably have a similar situation with an agency in between creating revenue.
I am not surprised that you might find more litter here than in Zurich (my friends in Switzerland live in spotless streets and roads!) but the problem in the UK is a lot less than it used to be say thirty years ago, in my opinion.
I wonder how much the market has changed. When I lived on the Carnatic Halls of Residence in Mossley Hill in the seventies and eighties, many students (but by no means all) took a second year in hall rather than moved straight out of uni accommodation into houses at the end of their first year. Pushing students into city centre rooms with en suite facilities (however compact) I would have thought leads to a more isolated existence and a desire to move into shared accommodation as in HMOs
I agree, as a recent graduate I remember I found the halls experience could be lonely, versus sharing a loud, bustling student house was much more sociable and enjoyable. It's interesting that in the '70s and '80s you noticed living in halls was more of a 'norm'. Was this to do with affordability, do you think?
Mollie, just typed a reply and accidentally closed the window and lost it. Will try to get back later
As a foreigner (32) and young professional living in an HMO in Wavertree/Picton, this article was quite surprising to read.
Where I come from, Zurich Switzerland, more people living together is considered to be a good thing, because it means less empty rooms/houses, shorter commutes and in general less carbon emmissions from heating and traffic.
I just arrived here two months ago and I also noticed that there is a lot of litter on the streets and in frontyards compared to my home country. I don‘t see many people in my area, and especially not many that I would recognise as students. In general, the street I live at (Kempton Rd) is rather too quiet even for my taste. I can only speculate who is responsible for the litter, as I often see children/teenagers on their way home from McDonalds/Iceland with snacks in their hands, which corrensponds to the litter being mostly snack and fastfood packaging.
I live in an HMO with five people, with three or four (not quite sure) of us only owning a bicycle. I doubt that many people in HMO and especially students own a car and thus contribute much to traffic, as more people living denser together means shorter commute with public transport, e.g. no car is needed.
Maybe we are not a representative sample, but I haven‘t seen any party happening here yet, whereas the neighbouring family is quite loud (which is absolutely fine) and I frequently hear many dogs barking through the night.
Just wanted to add my perspective. Sorry for the bad english, I am not a native speaker.
This is a great fresh perspective, thank you. Communal living definitely has its advantages, like you said, shorter commutes, better for the environment, more sociable living.
Maybe it's a case of adjusting to how housing has changed in Liverpool, and the community changes that come with that. Do you feel there's unity between the family homes and the HMOs, if you've noticed any difference?
Hey, this is a really interesting comment thanks. We tried to reflect in the article that not all HMOs are disruptive, but perhaps not enough. Would you mind chatting to us more about your house, so we can give readers that side of things in a future article? Editor@livpost.co.uk. And would you mind if we published this comment as a letter in an upcoming briefing?
That‘s fine with me, especially if you correct some of the grammatical mistakes I probably made :-)
One aspect I didn‘t comment yet but was reflected in the article aswell is the money side. When I read that the family has a budget of 700, I had to gasp. I think each of us pays somewhat above 500 in a house of five. Yes, the bills are included and there is a cleaning lady, but nevertheless it might be interesting to know what proportion goes to the agency (or investors?) as many HMOs probably have a similar situation with an agency in between creating revenue.
I am not surprised that you might find more litter here than in Zurich (my friends in Switzerland live in spotless streets and roads!) but the problem in the UK is a lot less than it used to be say thirty years ago, in my opinion.
Good to know! I was just doubting the narrative that HMOs and especially students were responsible for the litter here …