Do all uni students have cars nowadays?

[ShadowPuppets]

We live in a residential area next to a university. We actually viewed and moved during uni holidays but we knew about half the houses are student lets. Not a problem, they’re generally very respectful if a little naive (one lot left out loads of extra black bags on bin day one week and I passed them on the street as a collective totally mystified as to why the council hadn’t taken them when they’d taken additional recycling the previous week 😆) The odd party but it’s generally predrinks so they’re done by 11 before heading into town.

But they all have bloody cars!! These are normal postwar semis where, if you pave over the front garden (as most have, including us), you can get 2 cars on the drive. Would serve perfectly well if only one or two to a house drove. But all the houses are being run as 4/5 bed sharers (3 beds, plus they use the dining room as a bedroom, and then an extra if they’ve done the attic). So you get 2 on the drive and 2/3 on the road which makes the street a total rat run - cars parked both sides making it super narrow, up on the pavement so you can’t get a buggy down, rucking up the planting on all the verges etc.

We only run one car so other than the precarious driving getting on and off the road, it only really affects us when we want to have more than one guest over, which is basically never (and I guess if we ever do want to do this we’ll do it in uni holidays when it’s quiet). But I just can’t get my head around all these students having cars of their own! If you have student DC do they have their own?

Back when I was at uni late 00s, the only students who had cars were either 1st team sportspeople (who needed to get out to matches), or vets/medics who needed to get to placements and might not be able to use public transport. DH had a car at uni due to a sick parent and needing to get home quickly at antisocial times and remembers being bribed constantly by people for lifts with shopping because they didn’t fancy walking back from Tesco 😂

Has it really changed that much in 15 years? Some of these cars are really nice as well, next door has a 20 plate Ford Kuga and the other side has an old but very pretty Mazda convertible. So there’s every chance this is jealous speaking 😆

This is a commuter town btw - we’re under a mile from a train station which gets you into London in under 40 mins. So hardly the middle of nowhere!

My DS has his car at uni. All his home friends can drive and have a car. I bought it and pay all running costs apart from petrol. He will not have it at uni next year thoigh as his sister turns 17 soon and they will be sharing it so it needs to stay home

DS1 and DS2 share an old banger. Both are at Uni so said DS1 can take it as crazy for it to just sit on our drive.

I have several relatives who are either coming towards the end of secondary school or in 1st or 2nd year of university. Due to living in a semi rural area they were are keen to learn to drive once they were old enough.
One has a full license but won't buy a car till later on due to car costs. They have a friend with a car in the uni house share which comes in handy for the Aldi/lidi shop.
Two have cars but are waiting for the driving test which are delayed and they can't drive on their own till they pass the test.
Another one is just starting to learn to drive.
The kids are learning to drive either between school and college or during college because they have time now. Also some jobs after college ask for a full driving licence.

Yes! Students are so well off these days.

We live but a 5 minute walk from the university, the city centre and the train station. There are many student lets on our road and we really struggle to park during the week days and term time. It looks like there is a 4-5 cars for every house let.

There’s a mass exodus of cars for the weekends and in summer it’s so pleasant. We can park, the roads aren’t jammed with cars, no rubbish on the street, no screaming at 3 in the morning, no drunken fights in the road, break property and ridiculous car exhausts racing each other at all hours.

I don’t dislike students, I really don’t. I was one once and know they have to get from a to b and live in a home during term time, but they’re just so well off now! They don’t live in uni accoms, because they can afford whole houses. They’ll take a car to drive that 5-10 minute walk to the university. I don’t see the need for owning a car as a student in this town - particularly when the uni is a 10min walk from the station/city centre.

The amount of student lets and cars really break up our community. Students stay for a couple of terms, no interest in where they live. It’s a challenge.

Yes! Students are so well off these days.

You can’t generalise. Most students I know struggle to make ends meet. None have cars. Living in a shared house is far cheaper than university accommodation.

It’s fair statement not the generalise, but the majority are better off than say 20 years ago, and they definitely do have more income and disposable income via loans and private (family) income. The use of cars is excessive where we live. Living in a shared house is not cheaper in my area, that’s for certain. The must rent the house all year, whereas only charged term time on campus. That’s said, definitely aware some struggle.