A pack list for The Green, the University of Bradford's recommended halls: what every room and kitchen already has, what you bring yourself, and how the townhouses and apartments differ. Tailored to your room type by the widget below.
Bradford works a little differently: the university doesn't own or run halls of its own. Its recommended accommodation is The Green, a student village a few minutes' walk from the library and the Students' Union, run by Homes for Students. That turns out to help with packing, because the university publishes exactly what comes with every room and kitchen, and what you're expected to bring yourself: your own bedding, towels, crockery, cutlery, pans, cooking utensils and cleaning materials. Here's that list worked through: what's already waiting for you, what to pack, and what's fine to leave until you know your flatmates.
The Green has two kinds of room. The Green Village is made up of apartments for six, where every bedroom has its own en-suite shower room and everyone shares the kitchen, dining and living space. The townhouses are the cheaper option: up to twelve people share a large open-plan kitchen and living room that opens onto a patio or garden, and on each floor four bedrooms share two shower rooms, so it's two people to a bathroom. Find out which you're in before you buy anything, because it changes the list.
Bed widths are where people get caught out. A townhouse bed is 1067 mm wide and an apartment bed 1220 mm, so buy bedding to those measurements rather than grabbing a standard single set. 1067 mm is close to what shops sell as a large single, and 1220 mm is a small double. Both beds are just over two metres long, so check the length on fitted sheets too.
The kettle question: kettles and toasters come with the townhouses and the premium en-suite rooms. In a standard en-suite apartment you'll need your own kettle, so sort out with your flatmates who's bringing one.
Before a single pan goes in a box, message the people you'll be sharing with. Pans, plates and utensils are yours to bring, but a flat doesn't need six colanders. Anything you forget is easy to pick up: Morrisons has shops in the Richmond Building Atrium and in Student Central, and the Students' Union runs trips to IKEA during the year.
"You'll need your own bedding, towels, crockery, cutlery, pans, cooking utensils and cleaning materials."
— The University of Bradford
For the bedroom, start with a duvet, pillows and sheets cut to your bed's width. After that the list is short: hangers for the wardrobe, a laundry basket for trips to the launderette on the first floor of The Orchard Building, and pins for the pin board, which is where your photos and timetable go. A desk lamp is worth packing if you like studying late, since one isn't on the furnishings list.
In the kitchen, the big appliances are already in place, so pack only what you'll actually cook and eat with: one saucepan, one frying pan, a couple of utensils, and crockery and cutlery for one person. Add tea towels, a sponge and washing-up liquid, which nobody remembers until the first evening.
Once everyone's moved in, look at what the flat already has before anyone buys more. Shared things like a toaster in a standard apartment, a big roasting tin or a second chopping board are easier to agree on as a group than to bring six of.
For the bathroom, pack towels, toiletries for a week or two and toilet roll. The shower curtain, shelving, towel rail and hooks are already fitted. In a townhouse, where two of you share a shower room, a shower caddy makes life easier for both.
Tech is your laptop, every charger, and headphones for when the flat gets loud. If you bring a TV, you'll need a TV licence, and you need one to watch live TV or BBC iPlayer on any device too.
Pack a proper waterproof. The Met Office's Bradford station logs close to 900 mm of rain in an average year, and the wettest stretch arrives right after you do: October, November, December and January all average more than 80 mm, with December the wettest of the lot.
You won't need to go far. From The Green, the nearest grocery shop is three minutes away, the JB Priestley Library four, the Students' Union five and the city centre twelve. There are secure bike stores around the village, with the codes from reception, but electric bikes and electric scooters aren't allowed, and it's worth adding a bike to your insurance.
Leave the car at home unless you really need it. Parking at The Green has to be booked and paid for in advance, places are limited and they go to whoever books first.
Keep your documents in one folder. International students need their passport, access to their eVisa through their UKVI account, their CAS and offer letter, and the tenancy agreement, which is with the building's owner rather than the university. If you're from the UK, bring photo ID and your student finance details.
Sign up with a doctor early in your first week rather than waiting until you're ill. The Student Health Centre is on Laisteridge Lane, about five minutes' walk from City Campus. A few house rules are worth knowing before you arrive. There's no smoking or vaping inside any building, though there are outdoor smoking areas. Guests can stay for up to two nights in a row, as long as your flatmates are happy. Letters go to your own post box, and for parcels you'll get a code through the Kliq app to collect them from reception.
An e-bike or e-scooter: not permitted at The Green. A microwave, iron or vacuum cleaner: the kitchen has them. A kettle and toaster too, if you're in a townhouse or a premium en-suite. Furniture, and storage boxes for under the bed: rooms come fully furnished, with storage built in beneath the bed. And a car, unless you've booked and paid for a space.
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