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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

Living at Uni Halls v Living at home

54 replies

cadburyflakefan · 22/09/2025 09:52

Hello,
Our son has just moved into Halls at UCL. It's a big contrast to where we live now. Living in London is very expensive. Has anyone been in the situation where their child has decided to move back home for the second year and commute in because if costs and finding It's not for them? I heard on a radio programme that more students are doing this. Be interested to hear anyone else's experiences. Thanks.

OP posts:
TheDenimPoet · 07/10/2025 22:30

I lived really close to my uni, but was desperate to get the full experience, so I lived in halls the first year, then commuted for the rest of my time there. I would change that for anything. I loved living on campus. Sadly only first years were allowed to live on campus, upper years had to live in the town - which would be the same distance away as I lived anyway!

Original poster
cadburyflakefan · 07/10/2025 23:14

troobadorr · 07/10/2025 21:39

@cadburyflakefan my ds was at UCL.He lived in halls in first year, then rented with friends from his hall in second year, then lived at home for the final year. We're about 70 min commute away.

He enjoyed his year renting with friends and was lucky to get somewhere very close to uni for £900pcm, but that was unusual - a lot of his friends ended up at least 30 mins away or paying higher rents.

UCL lectures end before Easter, with only exams after Easter, so he decided it wasn't worth him paying for a whole year's rental in the final year.

Sometimes in the final year he would watch the lectures remotely rather than going in. But he still socialised - he stayed over with friends a lot after nights out.

Most UCL students seem to have jobs - a lot have bar jobs.

Hi,that's good to know and I can see why he made that decision about the final year 😊👍

OP posts:
Original poster
cadburyflakefan · 07/10/2025 23:16

TheDenimPoet · 07/10/2025 22:30

I lived really close to my uni, but was desperate to get the full experience, so I lived in halls the first year, then commuted for the rest of my time there. I would change that for anything. I loved living on campus. Sadly only first years were allowed to live on campus, upper years had to live in the town - which would be the same distance away as I lived anyway!

That's good to know. He is enjoying living in the Halls so far and has made some nice friends so it's going well😊

OP posts:
ThisTicklishFatball · 08/10/2025 19:46

Since everything seems to be settled and I arrived late, I’ll share my experience anyway.

I commuted to university, and later my younger siblings followed suit, taking the train when it was available and carpooling when it wasn’t. The trip from our village to the university town took over 50 minutes by train but was faster by car. Once we got to the university, we usually stayed until late afternoon or many times left earlier before heading back home. Those who liked night parties—which I never did—always ensured they returned home before it got too late.

We never felt excluded and definitely don’t think we missed out on anything.

My children are far from university age, but I already know they'll attend the local university if they decide to go, of course. Why waste precious money on something far away?

Social experiences and fun can happen anytime, anywhere; there’s no reason to go into financial struggles or debt just to enjoy them.

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