Students in Bengaluru are increasingly switching from paying guest accommodation to shared apartments. They find the latter more convenient, and sometimes more economical. They cite bad food as one of the main reasons. A student quoted Virginia Woolf to explain the grievance: “One cannot think well, love well, and sleep well if one has not dined well.’’
Many students say they found the food provided by their PG hostels substandard, making them skip meals and consume junk food.
Hygiene is another concern. Unclean bathrooms prompt students to move to shared apartments. Many PG hostels pay no attention to cleaning.
The biggest worry is security. Most PG hostels have no cameras, and theft is common. Kriti, Vani, and Bhavika, all studying at KLE Society’s Law College, met at a PG hostel and became friends. After a year they moved to an apartment. “When we felt we couldn’t stay at a PG hostel anymore, we started looking for a place and found a 2BHK flat right behind our college,” says Vani Mahajan.
Initially, they got tiffin delivery from a nearby service, and after a couple of months felt the food wasn’t up to the mark. “We stopped the tiffin delivery and started cooking,” says Kriti Kaushal. The friends now pay a combined rent of Rs 8,000, and that excludes water and electricity. “Each of us spends about Rs 3,500 a month,” says Vani.
“If I had to choose between a PG hostel and a flat, I feel the latter is better because you have fewer people and your privacy is not invaded,” says Kriti. She believes PG hostels give nutrition a go by. “And if you are a late-night person, you have to deal with unrealistic PG curfews,” she says. “Our experience in a PG hostel was bad. They use low-quality ingredients in the food, and the taste isn’t great either, says Bhavika.
Why they switch
Annay Maity, a student of Reva College, recently shifted from a PG hostel to an apartment. His reason: “I was not okay with the strict curfew and staffs behaved rudely.”
Kashyap Sai shifted to a flat because his “privacy was invaded’.
Freedom factor
Many students feel they have greater freedom when they rent their own apartments. They have no curfew, can bring in friends, and also cook, eat and order what they want.
