February 3, 2022
Corridor Life
When I knew that I was going to b doing my Master’s in Linköping, I immediately started looking for housing. While looking up the different offers I came across corridor rooms. I had never heard of something like this, but it basically means you have a room about 20m² with your own bathroom and usually with a build in closet in the small hallway. Each corridor has 8 to 10 people living in them and all of them share the kitchen which is also a living area. I have now lived in my corridor for 6 months already and I really enjoy it. You run into each other a lot in kitchen while cooking and we start chatting about our day, our problems and life. My corridor mates have become really good friends of mine and it’s quite sad that three of them have moved out again as they finished their Erasmus semester.
It can be quite difficult to come together as we all study different things, have different schedules, and have our own friend groups. We do try to have dinner together once in a while. We switch up between the type of food we make. So, we did an Indian dinner, a German dinner, Swedish Dinner and Belgium dinner. Each time one or two people were responsible for thinking of a menu but everyone helps preparing the food. Even though the kitchen is quite the mess afterwards it is always great fun to cook together. Also, I have tried new foods which otherwise I would never have, and I loved them. I actually already asked Abhijeet (my fellow ambassador, who conveniently lives in my corridor) to make one of his dishes again on my birthday – in May.
Sometimes we even do sort on spontaneous movie night in the living area where we have a big sofa. The ‘Shrek’ movies were of course first on the list of movies to watch together. This is not something every corridor does. It always depends on you and the people you live with. You do have to make a least some sort of an effort. Still, there is no pressure to always be present for activities. Sometimes I just don’t feel like hanging out or being around people, and that is totally expectable.
There are of course a lot of other activities outside of the corridor. We have gone to the cinema together, met up at parties or gone out to take pictures. So, if you come to Linköping, I do recommend looking for corridor rooms to live in. You get to meet new people outside your program and have a lot of fun together.
All the best,
Emily
Nice sharing your corridor room experience Emily.Really sounds exciting and fun.
But can you please tell me the cost of renting a room?
Thanks
Hej Ahmed,
The rent depends a bit on the company you go with but it is usually between 3000SEK-3500SEK (~300€-350€) per month. The summer month July and August are rentfree, if you rent a studentroom form Heimstaden or Studentbostäder.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Emily
Hello, Emily, thanks for sharing, really appreciate. How do you advise me, I have two kids, girls, ages 6 and 8, do you advise to come with them and do you think a corridor room will be good for me?
P:S I don’t have someone trustworthy I can leave them with.
Hej Ruth,
I don’t think corridor rooms are the best option for a family as it’s very student oriented (inclueding parties). I would recommend you look at the individual apartments offered by both Heimstaden and Studentbostäder. They are in a similar size range but have an induvial kitchen. The rent is a little higher though. Also, I believe there are a lot of families living in Lambohov. Maybe you can find something there.
All the best,
Emily
It’s nice hearing from you and that sounds interesting, how do I get an apartment too and what’s the cost for just me,thank you.
Hej,
So, I think the easiest way is to find a student apartment is to also look on Studentbostäder (https://www.studentbostader.se/en/find-apartments/search-apartments/). You can find both cororidor rooms and apartments there. Just choose the size of the apartment and the area you want to look in. The prices vary but are also displayed. Be aware that most apartments are unfurnished while most corridor rooms do have some basic furniture.
All the best,
Emily
Thanks for sharing your experience. If it doesnt violate your privacy, please can you share more pictures of the interior and exterior? Secondly please talk about security incidents and arrangements in place.
Hej Emmy,
What exactly do you mean with ‘security inicdents and arrangements in place’?
I can tell you that there are 3 doors with 2 different keys in place to get into the corridor room itself. No one can enter the building without a key. I have not heard of break-ins in any of the student buildings.
All the best,
Emily
Hi!, Do I need to do a search on housing prior to when admission list is yet to be out. If yes, how do I go about it?,
Hej Jaiyeola,
Many of the housing companies work with a points system, where you get a point per day that you have your account. The more points you have the higher the chance of getting accommodation. You can simply create a free account on the Studentbostäder and Heimstaden website. You don’t even have to log in every day or anything. Just have this ready so when you get admitted, you are ready to apply for housing immediately and have as many points as possible.
All the best,
Emily
I also participated in an episode on corridor life on our ‘Fika with us’ podcast. You can get an impression of the different options and areas there are to live in. Maybe you can get some more information from that. This is the link for Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VXnRTAsK1DjEApxJmdNQM?si=a81bc33ba6f0430f
All the best,
Emily
How would you do the processing for corridor house and another question is we have came from different culture and religion sharing the same kitchen will not cause a problem
Hej Jankey,
Having different backgrounds makes living in a corridor even more fun! I have had a lot of different discussions in my corridor on different topics and how it differs in each culture. And it’s also amazing to be able to try new foods. The important thing is of course to respect everyone’s religion and decisions.
If this sounds like somewhere you would like to live, then simply keep an eye out for open corridor rooms on the Studentbostäder and Heimstaden website and apply for them. You will need to create in account first. It will take some time for them to process the applications, but if they offer you the room, you will have to accept it before receiving a contract.
All the best,
Emily
Is very exciting, Im Emanuel who want to pursue my Master’s studies in Lich0mping U, im also interest in corridor apt. how ca i bout it?
Hej,
You can simply apply to available corridor rooms on the websites of Heimstaden and Studentbostäder Linköping. You will have to create an account for it.
Kind regards,
Emily
Thanks for the updates but kindly help me with the procedures in finding a corridor room as I anticipate joining the Linkoping University family soon.
Hej,
you can apply to available corridor rooms on the websites of Heimstaden and Studentbostäder Linköping.
Kind regards,
Emily
Hello,
This is Eric. I am trying to sing up on accommodation web( corridor room) but don’t have Swedish social security number. Then I am trying to use my birthday and fail to register. Please help me. I want to know the format I can use to write my birthday data. Thank you
Hej Eric,
You should put the year first, then the month and the day last, for example 19951022. Sometimes the first two numbers (19) are already displayed, then simply put 951022.
Hope this helps,
Emily
Thank you for your support. It works out but still waiting for admission results.