Hi, I start the college on Dec 6th. I have taken a 60% paycut from a solid career to do something I've always wanted to do. This means leaving my wife up north, still paying the mortgage, and living without lifes luxuries for a while.
I applied in March 2003 so its 20mths or so to get here.....
I looked at getting a studio flat on my own and prices look to be from about £500 upward. The college advises against this as there will be times when you are away from the college, ie on the job training etc, and they won't pay the accommodation allowance when you are not there, so you would have to find the extra cash to pay for your rent.
Think about it, work hard for couple of years and you'll be back to life's luxuries in no time, with the best job in the world....that swung it for me....
Best of luck with whatever decision you make.