University Towns

[dellzeqq]

I've just been to Glasgow. And I was impressed by the life that a student could lead in Glasgow on not very much money. Very impressed.

I'd always thought that London was tough going for students, because of the high rents and the difficulty in living close to college. I'd been impressed by Liverpool (cheap, and easy to get around) and Cardiff (surprisingly pretty, cheap, but not so easy to get around). York clearly has advantages, but it's not cheap.

What are your thoughts? I confess to asking for a reason - The Kid will, if she passes her exams, be going off to uni in 2010. That 'if' by the way is written in flaming neon, but, be that as it may, it would be good to hear what recent graduates thought.

 

[marinyork]

The prices of rents have risen in a number of places, I think pretty much everywhere is affected. Rents certainly rose fairly rapidly in York the time I was there as did bus fares (not that I used the bus). I would not choose to go to York today especially with the expansion plans, I think Leeds would be my choice if I was going on places to live now. What did you like about York Dellzegg?

 

[Landslide]

I liked Sheffield so much that I never left after Uni. Upsides include the Peak District on your doorstep, a compact and easy to get around city (at least on the West/South side of the city where most of the students live), and the FACT that it's the real ale capital of the world.

Downsides aired by students tend to be along the lines of it's a bit lacking in nightclub action (at lease since the demise of Gatecrasher ) and fancy shops (not that this ever bothered me).

Rent-wise, there's been an explosion in the number of self-catering flats for students (albeit at the expense of University-owned halls), and I suspect that there may have been a knock-on effect in the buy-to-let sector.

 

[Black Sheep]

coventry:

an absolute dump (i'm a country boy tho so this new fangled concrete is a bit different) but home to both coventry university (formerly the lanchester polytechnic and coventry polytechnic) and the university of warwick (ironically not in warwick or warwickshire)

Coventry's centre is constrained by the circular ring road, half of the centre belongs to the university which is slightly resented by some residents of coventry and some halls of residence are located in 'da ghetto' / red light district. housing is cheap and often easy to find due to the new privately owned halls of residence that have been built on the site of disused factories. there is also a lot of student housing within a 10 min walk of uni.

for warwick uni, many people live on campus, a few live in the local area, however rent is higher as its out beyond a nicer area of the city.

 

[dellzeqq]

What did you like about York Dellzegg?

It's pretty, and almost all of it is within walking distance.

 

[User482]

Bristol's very expensive - the student area is Clifton, which is the priciest part of town.

I went to Lancaster, which by contrast, was extremely cheap.

 

[marinyork]

Fair enough Dellzegg. It takes only about half an hour to walk from the main campus into town. Town to the ring road in most directions is less than an hour's walk. There are a lot of pleasant places to walk (few students do) such as the various Ings, Strays, the race course and the river in both direction for (many) miles. Crime is virtually non-existent.

The university is expanding rapidly though and that development would affect your daughter as the university will be a very different place after that to the university's recent history late 90s to the present where a few buildings have been added or before that where I gather not much changed quickly since it was built and formed in the 60s. I'm quite suspicious of such things and it will affect anyone going there in future. I suspect it'll probably lead to a lot of disgruntled students in future.

 

[rich p]

Brighton is a great town for nightlife and culture but maybe expensive rental.

My son went to Liverpool and my daughter to London. He was very cheap to maintain but the rent I was coughing up for something half decent in Dalston, Hackney etc made my eyes bleed.

 

[Arch]

It's pretty, and almost all of it is within walking distance.

Which is pretty much why I like it too!

Yeah, there are changes afoot, but I don't know a lot about them. We archaeologists have our own little enclave in the middle of town, for now. The expansion has led to the discovery of Britian's oldest preserved brain, on the Heslington East site....

What sort of subject is she thinking of doing BTW?

I can't really compare it price wise, as it's the only place I've lived independently. But I do love the human scale of the place and there's always some festival or something going on. Not much clubbing I gather, but a pub to suit every taste, and chock full of restaurants, cafes, takeaways etc, thanks to the tourists (who do make walking about in the city in the summer a slow job).

From my experience, there's a fair amount of stuff on the hippy side of things, if that makes a difference - and of course, great for cycling.

 

[dellzeqq]

Yeah, there are changes afoot, but I don't know a lot about them. We archaeologists have our own little enclave in the middle of town, for now. The expansion has led to the discovery of Britian's oldest preserved brain, on the Heslington East site....

there's a couple on this forum who could do with a replacement....

What sort of subject is she thinking of doing BTW?

it's still a matter of discussion. Her rentals want her to do accountancy (or geriatric nursing) and then go to drama school. She would prefer to be given a degree for facebook studies, and dancing on tables.

 

[Aperitif]

Ha ha - Dalston! My son did his LLP in London last year and rented a penthouse with four others next to the fire station in Kingsland Road. (His Mother was paying) Absolute paradise compared to the houses he lived in when at Southampton, but they still managed to 'disfigure' it before quitting to travel... I think he had a good time in Southampton with just a few local chav problems to sort out on occasions.He seemed to get by reasonably well - obviously years two and three were spent in the company of other fellows (Translation: fart infested, dust traps with Pro evo2 playing non-stop on the telly balanced on a beer crate, two glass doored fridges stuffed to the gunwales with Fosters or whatever, multi-gym occupying the 'dining room' - crockery strategically positioned in most places inc: bog...). First year was in the halls and student life was a real 'growing up' exercise for him - with a good outcome! I'm sure ladies have a similar experience. The night life there was abundant and gave him a good grounding in friendships, sharing, adapting etc which did him good.
I hope your daughter gets what she is trying for dellzeqq.

 

[marinyork]

What's the point in doing a degree in accountancy if you mind me asking?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Mrs 3BM is from Wales so we spend quite a bit of time there, oft included is a trip to Cardiff and I'm alway impressed with it. Good city centre with lots going on and the bay area is very nice - worse places to be.
Oh and the beer is first rate!!

 

[Arch]

Mrs 3BM is from Wales so we spend quite a bit of time there, oft included is a trip to Cardiff and I'm alway impressed with it. Good city centre with lots going on and the bay area is very nice - worse places to be.
Oh and the beer is first rate!!

Yeah, but you stand a good chance of getting caught in the crossfire between Torchwood and the aliens....

 

[chrisuren]

Plymouth University is very easy to get too, Cheap to live and relatively easy to get around?