Which City to be a student in?

[hellsbells99]

Noticed there is a current thread on Nottingham in chat and wondered what thoughts people had on other cities - but in this case relating to being a student? We are looking at Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. Any thoughts or experiences?

Hellsbells, I remember living very close to there, next to Manchester Grammar and waking up in the middle of the night to see a bloke running down the street with a TV under his arm and another, a bit behind chasing him wearing only his pants. the funny thing was people walking the other way completely ignoring either spectacle! There's a bus every 3mins up Oxfird rd or every 5mins up Upper Brook Street (or there was)

Oxford Rd

Bojo - she has 1 offer of A*AA and the rest are AAA so not much difference.

Hellsbells, your not a MW are you? If so did you use the same username on a MW forum? If so, I think we know each other. If not, ignore me.

Lentil - yes, lots of buses today but no one running down the street in their undies!

Lentil - what is a MW? Don't think it's me, sorry!

MW=midwife
Ignore me. I just knew someone who used that nn on a local MW forum.

😄

I've looked round Henry Price - I think it's the cheapest self-catered uni-owned hall, and we (the dds and I) thought it was fine, they'd both have been happy to live there. (They both loved Leeds university. It was dd1's insurance, and dd2 has only let it go reluctantly because she prefers courses elsewhere.) The rooms weren't massive, but were nicely laid out, and there's one en suite bathroom between each pair of bedrooms. Think it was 6 to a flat, and there seemed like plenty of room in the kitchen. And it's really close to the campus.

Re Newcastle - my DD went there and absolutely loved it. Very friendly, the people are really sociable and cost of living is so cheap. All her Uni friends loved it there too. A great place to study (and party).

Birminhgam is a big University - lots of new student accomm. gone up recently. Most of the students live out then in 2nd and 3rd yrs in Selly Oak, and just walk into university from there. Great transport into the City Centre (train or buses) and of course it's easy to get to from most parts of the Country.

Agree Sheffield is a great city to be a student in, especially if you like outdoor activities. In my 20s I had many great nights in Newcastle as well. One of my young relatives is a student in Cardiff and we've visited her there and that is great for facilities/ culture/ pubs. Another is in Aberdeen and loves it. I could happily be a student in Edinburgh as well. It can be expensive but is beautiful and loads going on.

Ooh, I knew someone called HellsBells on a midwife forum as well.

DD is in 2nd year at Leeds - was at Devonshire Hall last year. She LOVES the city - so much so that she thinks she'd like to stay past her degree. It has a lot going on, buzzy, but is also compact enough to get everywhere fast. She cycles everywhere. She also loved her year at Dev - there were quite a number of formal dinners (with gowns) which she thought was great as it is really different from most of Leeds uni and it also has its own orchestra, drama society etc. She had the opportunity to be sports rep for Dev and I think it felt like a college within the university. The only pain was that evening meals were around 5.30 pm (and over by about 6.30 I think) which meant getting back early to get them. We felt that the cost was quite reasonable considering it was catered.

Sheffield is a great student city. There are about 50,000 University students (Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam) which account for about a tenth of the cities population. Student accommodation is plentiful and cheap. My DC pays £65 a week plus bills. It's a lively city in a lovely setting. The Peak District is on the doorstep if that interests you. Public transport is excellent and cheap.

Sheffield University is close to the city Centre . My DC also likes the abundance of independent shops and places to eat.

Thank you for the feedback Atia and Debjud

Kirkenes - that accommodation is really good value.
DD definitely wants a city environment hence her choices.

Sheffield is a great city, I far prefer it to Leeds (and did even before I was ancient.).

The COMPLETE UNIVERSITY GUIDE give a quick list of pros and cons of different cites.

DS's £65 a week accommodation is in a nice house that's 20 mins walk to Uni and around the corner from a decent Tesco.

My friends DC pays £225 a week in London for a tiny room.

DS is in his second year at Leeds and also loves it, uni and city! He was in Lupton last year and was very happy there, basic and very down to earth. It wasn't his choice though, and he was unconditional!

Newcastle is fairly regularly at the top (or near the top) of the best student city polls. It's cheap, small enough to get around easily but big enough to have everything you want as a student. People are generally friendly too.

Hellsbells I have PMed you.

Thanks Decorhate!

My DS is final year Manchester and loves it. He goes to loads of music venues/evens, the buses are excellent and a good range of shops for all budgets. Plenty of student accommodation too.
My cousin also lived Leeds and we only here good things about Sheffield from friends there too.
If you can make friends you can get on anywhere I think, choose the course you will enjoy most. .

DS was at Lupton in Leeds too, by choice! We chose it on the Goldilocks principle: it wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive but was full of People Like Us. A fairly big site so lots of opportunities to make friends. Midway between the University and the sports fields. Near to shops at Meanwood (Waitrose, Asda, Aldi) and the delights of the Headingley Lane / Otley run.