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Accommodation Solution is real bonus which made TimePlan stand out to me. I came to England really scared and not knowing what to expect. I moved into an Accommodation Solution house and almost immediately my fears disappeared because of the warm welcome I received the teachers who had already been living there. The great thing about these houses is that you are living with people who are working in the same area and experiencing the same ups and downs as you. It's nice to be able to come home and complain to someone who understands, exchange lesson plans and offer behaviour management advice, and of course help you with directions to all the schools you'll be teaching at! When I arrived in June 2006 I was adopted into a 'family' because of my new housemates. Even though we all don't live together any more these are still the people that I am most dependent on. We travel together, celebrate birthdays, and comfort each other when we feel homesick. It would be really difficult to meet my 'family' and make such great friends if I wasn't thrown into that situation straight away. ASL houses aren't mansions, they aren't always spotless or that modern. More often than not I feel like I am living in college housing again, but cleaner! Sometimes you don't always find your ideal housemates. But being close to work, really affordable and the chance of meeting a family like I did was totally worth the decision to move in with ASL!
Hadley Siamas
I decided to go with Accommodation Solutions because I really didn’t feel the dormitory styling living was for me. When in college I stayed in the dorm one year and then moved to an apartment in the area. Before coming to United Kingdom I was living by myself in an apartment in New York City for several years, so ASL appeared to be more ideal for a person my age. I liked the idea of rooms already furnished. You can have the basic things that you need but don’t have the ability to carry when coming abroad. It was one less thing to worry about. The staff at Accommodation Solutions, (first Sally and then Jody) are very helpful and really try to work with you. When I first arrived, I was in a home that was far from my school and very suburban. It was difficult, coming from a city and wasn’t what I was expecting. I voiced that with Sally, and she kept that in mind. She called me about four weeks later and let me know that a room had become available in another home that would better suit my needs. If there is are questions or problems, Jody is helpful in resolving the issue, either with the landlord or with ASL. It does take some time for issues to be resolved because there is only one person who is responsible for many homes and clients, but the issue is resolved. The only thing that I have found difficult is living with more than 2 people. Which has not been so bad, but I have found that others that you may live with don’t have the same standards that you have about cleaning and sharing the responsibilities. I feel that ASL was a best decision over trying to find accommodations on my own. Catherine ‘CJ’ Mitchell.
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