UEA freshers (2019 starters) part 2

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread and hope you don't mind that I set up the next thread @juicy0. Just did it to ensure that we carry on chatting seamlessly

Crime map for Norwich West (which includes West Earlham), December 2019.

www.police.uk/norfolk/F11/

I'm guessing it's a down-at-heel area with lots of social housing? Isn't it par for the course for students to live in grotty parts of towns/cities though? As long as they aren't affected directly, does it do them any harm to learn how to be streetwise, particularly if they are planning on living in London once they graduate?

Mind you quite a few are anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences which all sound grim and potentially threatening to students... I would however imagine that December figures may give higher than usual rates of crime fuelled by pre-Christmas excess drinking.

Thanks for the map @MarchingFrogs. It is interesting - West Earlham doesn't seem any worse than anywhere else in Norwich. You are right of course @NewModelArmyMayhem18 and I did it myself when I was a student. I am being a bit PFB about this even though DS is not my PFB Dd had university accommodation for her whole time so (in my defence!) this is the first time we have done this.

I think sometimes living in 'naicer' areas can be more dangerous (more thefts against the person which have the potential to turn nasty), if only because one isn't expecting crime, so it lulls one into a false sense of security.

I was quite alarmed at the very high number of sexual offences recorded though - surely that's not normal?

Yes it is high but if you search the other areas of Norwich they have higher incidences of crime including higher rates of violence and sexual offences.

Its all relative though isn't it, what are the overall crime rates like when compared to other university cities? Should we just encourage our DC to be vigilant, walk in groups after dark and avoid any trouble where possible wherever they're living as crime can happen anywhere.

@MrsBartlet that's a bit grim?

I have to say I've never looked at crime maps before. I think it makes for very depressing reading and possibly makes crime seem worse than it actually is? Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I wouldn't really have a clue if that's normal for a city, Norwich (MrsBartlet suggests it's higher elsewhere), East Anglia, England, UK or what...

You are right @juicy0 we should just encourage them to be sensible. Norwich always seems like a relatively safe city to me.

After university I spent some time in Australia (in Sydney) and I lived in a red light district which also happened to be popular with back packers. The two communities didn't really mix and I felt relatively safe as a young woman walking home from a shift waitressing in the middle of the night. There is something in what you say @NewModelArmyMayhem18 in that they need to become streetwise if they are not already.

My DS house is just off Earlham Road, hoping it will be ok, he grew up in London, but we left when he was 12 and he is so un streetwise, walks around with his head in the clouds!
I do think they adjust quite quickly though, I haven’t looked at the crime figures, I don’t want to worry myself, especially as I’m now not in the UK 😳

@MrsBartlet do you mean Kings Cross? I agree. However, there were other parts of Australia that felt decidedly unsafe despite having very low populations!

I agree that being careful and vigilant are key. Also think it's an idea not to be flaunting expensive technology, watches, clothes although you'd think that students wouldn't have any of those items

Yes Kings Cross @NewModelArmyMayhem18 - feels like a lifetime ago

DS1 lived in West Earlham for year 2 and it was absolutely fine, loads of students. DS2 has just signed up for his year 2 house there and is thrilled it is so close to campus.

Neither of my two are streetwise as we live in a very naice town in a leafy location. However I have seen those stats for our home ward and you would think it was Beirut!! We live very close to the town centre which has a thriving night time economy so it really skews the figures. You only need a couple of pubs and bars with a shop to record what looks like a massive amount of robbery and violence. It's all relative and may have been shoplifting or a push outside the pub.

DS1 never had any problems and was often out at 3am coming home

I agree on that point too @MrsBartlet!!!

That is really good to know @sluj. You are right that we shouldn't read too much into the figures and it doesn't take much to skew them. I have just looked up the figures for where I live as a matter of interest. I live in a village and there were 7 reported crimes in December. This is why Norwich feels like a vast metropolis to me! 6 out of the 7 reported crimes were classed as violence or sexual assault. They are all in residential streets so I am thinking these are domestic matters rather than random assaults and the same may apply in many of the Norwich figures. Anyway, sorry to derail the whole thread with talk of crime. I go to Norwich a lot for work and it always feels like a lovely, safe city!

DD has been asked to provide a council tax exemption certificate for her rental next year. In case any of your DC need to do the same they can find a printable certificate in the student section of evision. Only sharing because DD struggled to find it initially.

that's a fascinating map @MarchingFrogs. and of course includes the Uni campus itself. 4 crimes for December - including two violence and sexual offences (gulp) between Barton and the Medical Centre - although the mapping is approximated to the area rather than exact I presume.

Following some of the links it looks like some 300 different crime types are grouped within violence and sexual offences ranging from genocide through to sending unworthy ship to sea and training of persons under 12 for dangerous performances For any data geeks www.police.uk/about-this-site/faqs/#what-do-the-crime-categories-mean scroll down to the complete mapping link.

More prosaically no news at all on any accommodation developments for DS2, but student society politics (with a very small p ) does seem to be a current focus

@boys3 DS hasn't got anywhere sorted yet either. He implied that they are looking at places this week but not yet heard any news from him. I have advised him/his friends not to go for the first property they visit unless it's too good to miss out on.

DS2 contacted Wiiliam H Brown last week and were told that they were having a student viewing day last Saturday. He saw 9 x 4 beds and there was a walking route between them with the agent. It might be worth your DS's checking if there is another this Saturday? It helped DS and his crew to agree on what they wanted and see what their budget would get. Various groups of house hunters dropped out as the tour continued as they had probably seen the one they wanted.
DS had to pay the holding deposit really quick and show his passport. Hope all your DS's are prepared for the passport showing.

DS2 didn't need to show his passport, just to provide the number

Ds has come home for the weekend with his girlfriend (met at UEA) she seems nice. Though we haven't seen much of them. They were bored last night, so I suggested a Netflix film, she lives in a big town with plenty to do...we live fairly much in the middle of nowhere. So there isn't a lot to do here. I asked what they were doing today and ds just shrugged so I suggested Southwold. It's about 45 mins drive. So that's where they have gone. Life is so much quieter here than Norwich. I can't see ds coming back to live here again. It'll probably be the same for the younger 2 boys when they get to the same age.
I have questioned ds on the house he's renting. He's not telling me much. I don't know where it is apart from half hour walk. He wasn't asked for a guarantor which I thought was strange. The deposit was only £100 I thought it would be much more. So I hope everything is legit. I suggested getting the contract checked at UEA I saw on Facebook that they could do that. But they just signed. I'll try to find out the road it's on later.

@icanbewhatiwant your DS and GF have chosen a nice weekend to visit you - it's quite spring-like isn't it?

I think with the passage of time, more and more people will be working 'virtually' from home, so that the mass exodus of graduates from home to London and other major cities may become less of a thing than previously.

Yes it was a lovely day yesterday. Today is a bit more dull. I'm dropping them back shortly. His girlfriend lives in student accommodation in Norwich near the city centre. I'm dropping her first.
All ds said about his accommodation for next year is it's off Colman road.

Feeling really fed up today and missing DD terribly. There is regular contact between us via text but I'm just really feeling the distance grow between us with her not being at home anymore and us chatting every day. She feels so remote and It's so hard! Go easy on me, I know she's 18, an adult gaining her independence and enjoying uni life ( and I've encouraged her to do all those things). Of course I've got to let go but some days are harder than others.

@juicy0 I can't say I know how you feel, as I've still got 2 boys at home. I do miss ds, of course I do, but it's easier to keep occupied with the other 2 still going about their daily routine. I dread the day my youngest leaves to go to university (if he goes of course) he is only 10.

It's lovely your daughter chats even via text as I don't get much from ds. That is possibly the difference between girls and boys.

I am sure ds's gf said they all have a week off soon. Or did I imagine that one? It's not that long until they are back for Easter.