Life in Preston (or where can I live?)

[QuestionableMouse]

I've been offered a place on the MA I really want to do at UCLan. I currently live in County Durham so it's going to mean moving and I'm freaking out a tiny bit 😂

My wants-

-flat/house of my own. Currently living on my own and don't think I could cope with a house share. Needs parking but not bothered about a garden.
-ideally less than 45 mins to the campus.
-rural/semi rural would be ideal but smaller towns are fine too. I'm assuming housing in Preston will be at a premium due to the uni so happy to live further out.

Any information will be greatly appreciated! 😀😂

Central Preston isn't so nice tbh. Traffic is often hideous!!!!

Hopefully people can give you precise information on where to live.

Have you been to visit? It's not your typical "campus" it's scattered across the city centre. Stones throw from the railway station though.

Have a visit planned for the end of the month. To be honest, I didn't expect to receive a offer so soon! I only applied at the end of last week.

Penwortham and Higher Penwortham are nice and about two miles from UClan. Parking is unlikely to be an issue there.

Thank you 😀

As a non local I agree Penwortham is nice! I couldn't remember the name of it

Preston centre is nothing like Durham.

Also Hutton, a bit further out but no more than five miles or so.

Lancashire Police HQ is at Hutton and a lot of police officers live in either Hutton or Penwortham - always a sign of a nice low-crime area . You'd be absolutely fine if you could find somewhere round there.

As RandomMess says, Preston is nothing like Durham city centre but there are good shops in the centre. It's the county town of Lancashire so not short of facilities.

Good luck with the course and with finding somewhere to live. I think you will be fine.

I don't live in Durham City but a little village in County Durham. 😀

How affordable is it? My rent is currently £400 a month with maybe £300 for everything else house related.

Penwortham is nice and mostly walking distance to the campus. Walking would be easier than battling the traffic a lot of the time to be honest! How much were you budgeting for rent?

Fulwood is near the motorway junctions and hospital and on the same side as the campus but there's been a lot of building that side of Preston recently and traffic can be horrendous around there. However, if a commute doesn't bother you there's a lot of smaller towns/villages on the outskirts that are lovely. Oh and Walton-le-dale is also quite nice and on bus routes into town as well as being easily drivable to uni so might be worth a look?

Look at

Penwortham
Ashton
Fulwood
Walton le dale
Bamber bridge

Nice small towns/villages on the outskirts of the city with good bus routes etc.

I was going to say Garstang but you won't get anything for £400 a month

My brother lived in lostock hall. It's a little village type feel on the outskirts but fantastic transport links. He lived a walk away from the station and there was also a walk than ran from his house into Preston itself. Lovely place, I miss visiting him there.

Thank you everyone!

I drive in Sunderland most days and the traffic can be terrible so I'm not too worried about that. Unless it's worse?

Agree that Penwortham is pleasant area, Liverpool Road has some nice bars/cafes etc which is another bonus. Driving near the uni is a nightmare at the moment as the major 'roundabout' at Adelphi near the uni is currently closed for development, work should be completed later this year I think but it may affect your visit. Best to check rents on Rightmove, they vary a lot but probably something within your budget. The uni has some flats that might suit (one person flats/studios), as do some of the private student accommodation providers.

Penwortham! Most parts of Fulwood too. Living costs will be similar to C. Durham on the whole. I wouldn't get too far out into the villages if you need to keep commute costs down. Preston is really up and coming and the council and uni deserve kudos for the way the city centre is being regenerated. The surrounding area is lovely; Trough of Bowland, Lancaster area, half hour train into S Lakes and there's a few Michelin starred restaurants kicking about in Lancs.

Be careful you don't go near lower penwortham- I lived near there as a child and remember it flooding, Liverpool road area is nice or go out further to Longton / New Longton or Hutton

If you can get onto the MA there you can get onto other MAs. I'm in the North West and would choose Manchester or Liverpool or Chester over Preston any day of the week.

DD goes to UCLAN I have to agree she would definitely go elsewhere to do a MA....

I live in Hutton. It's semi rural but twenty minutes into the town centre. Longton, New Longton nice too, also higher Penwortham but properties snapped up quickly.
Fulwood is ok but traffic horrendous round the hospital. Traffic horrendous round the uni too atm. Lots of building work.
Agree Some parts of Ashton, particularly round the docks are pleasant enough.
The town centre has been pedestrianised but there's still lots of empty premises and isn't a big draw for shopping. Still needs a lot of investment. Ha I g said that it's half an hour to the coast, and an hour to the Lakes,Liverpool or Manchester. We also have loads of parks and green spaces. I studied at UCLAN in the nineties, its expanded massively in recent years.

I was a student nurse at sharoe green in the 90’s and loved Preston! Small ish place and easy to get to lakes, Manchester etc

I live in an area of Preston most people write off as "not nice" but I've been here 12 years and it's pretty quiet
Hutton, some parts of Penwortham, Fulwood, Cottam are all nice
Ribbleton and fishergate hill, fishwick are probably the only areas I wouldn't live in but like I said my area has a reputation and it's honestly not bad!

I'd say avoid ribbleton, deepdale and ingol, most of Fulwood is nice and also Cottam but you're looking at £500+ rent in the nicer areas (the only place in preston we ever rented around £400 was a dingey flat near the train station) but you could forget having a car to save money as most of the bus routes are decent.

Prestons a shithole I'm afraid. I went to Lancaster and the few visits I made there put me right off UClan for my MA

Why is it a shithole?
It's a fairly bog standard city. Nice parts, not so nice parts, good green spaces, some great places to eat/walk, most of the shops you need
Ok it rains a lot, I'll admit that!

I wish I could sell my car but unfortunately I need it.

The only other uni in the North (and I'm using this term very loosely here!) that does the course is Derby. More down south but I'd rather stay north ish.