University life for our soon to be Year 2 undergrads (2019 intake): social bubbles (bursting?), the new normal and hopefully no second wave

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@bigTillyMint
Second year DS is at Durham and in the viaduct, he says that's where all the second years are. Seven of them sharing, landlord has converted what would have been the dining room into another bedroom so the shared space including the kitchen is fairly small. It will be a challenge!

DS is ‘admin’ for his shared house. I’m a little worried about confusion with money - I’ve recommended he looks at a separate account so he knows everyone is paying in, and not into his regular account which has to also pay his rent/living expenses. Main thing IMO is to have a clean account for living expenses he can focus on and not be distracted by 4 other peoples’ standing orders coming in for rent and bills etc.

He still hasn’t fully engaged with prep - will follow up this weekend. He had a resit of one exam due to misreading the original date, but now he is done he has no excuse. I’ll even offer to help him get stuff packed up but we want him to own the list this year (unlike last year’s backpacking)

Looks like all our DC will be neighbours

@MrKlaw, my DS is admin for his house too! I have no idea how that happened, but as the bills are included in the rent I am hoping it will be very straightforward as he is not super organised

DS is in the Viaduct area too- - it's the central place to be for 2nd years! He's back home now for a week and already eating loads.

@MrKlaw DS still needs some 'backpacking' with admin even though in some ways he's very independent. UEA hadn't taken off the £220 they had to pay (for rent) for the summer term. He paid it back in May but hadn't followed through with ensuring the 'outstanding balance' had been cancelled (which only happened with my chivvying of him in recent weeks!).

Do the letting agencies let the council know that lets are student ones? I ask because there's another 'to do' I've had to remind DS that needs to be done with his flatmates, sooner rather than later. But that's assuming it's not already been done for them? I suspect not but just checking to see if there is a rule of thumb.

So it's a time of comings and goings for our DCs as they start their journey into the second year. Good luck to them all. Nice for them to have a few weeks in which to settle in and meet up with friends.

I think our food bills will go down markedly without DS eating his way through the best of what's available!

I honestly can't believe how much I have spent on food this last few months. I buy things for the DC that I don't buy for us, and DS seems to eat an enormous amount for such a modestly proportioned chap. He still hasn't enrolled for 2nd year. Keeps mentioning things he needs to do, doesn't do them because one of his mates proposes a social event and he's off. I despair!

I’m trying to be at the point where the only prodding from us is reminding him to pay us his student loan when it comes in - we’re paying the rent because loan won’t cover it all. But if he wants help with admin tips I’m all ears. Just bloody do something - only three weeks to go

Do the letting agencies let the council know that lets are student ones?

Not usually - someone in the household will have to make a declaration to the council, to apply for the exemption. Some councils are fully 'do it online' for this ,(I think ours probably is), but others still insist on good old pen and paper.

@MrKlaw what prep? Is it not just packing?

Thanks for letting me know @MarchingFrogs - I suspected that would be the case.

Today is the day my dd heads back to University. She arranged to go early as wanted to get back to Cardiff and lots of her friends had already moved back. We live in a village with nothing here so she could not wait. I'm feeling bad as today is also my step sons daughters christening so my dd is moving by herself. It so hard to know what to do as dont want to let either down but dd would not change her moving in date.

DD went back a month ago for the same reasons. We live in a village, not many friends to hang around with and nothing to do. She is home for the weekend, but is going back mid week.

Can your daughter move in with a few bits, and you take the rest and visit her next weekend?

DS is going to be in a house with a trainee paramedic and a healthcare student.

At least the paramedic will be able to administer a test! that said, it has just struck me this all rather increases their risk!

I'll buy DS a big box of masks but other than that I just have to trust that he will be sensible (hmmm). He has been reading a bit too much nonsense online for my liking so he will need a pep talk about being thoughtful and sensible before he returns. Not that he can get up to much, since I imagine all the pubs are being quite careful. But pictures I see online of city centres do suggest otherwise...

@Benjispruce Yes but he left some stuff behind when he left in March. Mostly kitchen bits which may be in storage somewhere but safer to get some replacements just in case. We gave him our printed out list and he needs to at least check off and pack what we have, and point out what he still needs.

What the heck is with the news this morning? One radio station made it sound official, one made it sound like unions recommending. Woudl be nice to have proper information.

They’re already doing online lectures for likely the entire first semester and very limited face to face. I don’t see why it matters if students are local. If my DS is moving from a location with low infection rates to another location with low infection rates, the risk should be low. If you’re somewhere like my old hometown of Leicester then travel restrictions should prevent you travelling anyway.

Its been 6 months with DS trapped at home. He’ll probably shrug if he had to stay because he’s too easy going. But I think he needs to be down by the Uni with his peers.

When you look at today's news headlines it seems that the media has only just realised the Covid risk associated with all the students moving back to their university cities, particularly those in an area where levels were low. Duh!

Well @MrKlaw I think 3 weeks to their age group is equivalent to 3 months for us! In my experience anyway. It’s hard but I’m sure he’ll cope or learn the hard way if he has to eat sandwiches for 3 months!

Yes the press seem to have just woken up to the university situation don’t they? Deaths are so low now, even with increased cases, do we not need to move to a plan of shield if you’re at higher risk, everyone else crack on?

@Benjispruce2 I have to agree. I honestly think we should have done that in the first place, like Sweden, but that may be a discussion for another time.

I have been reading a thread on "that page" on Facebook where posters are talking about how often they phone/message their children at university.

How often do the parents on here "Talk" to their student DC while they are away?

Once a week plus texts when he can't do something...

I should have added that we keep in contact on an as and when basis, so sometimes it might be once a week and sometimes more often. We don't have a set day that we do video calls.

I think in the beginning it was right to lockdown as not enough was known and there were fewer treatments but we seem to be in a better position now. DD was moaning yesterday about the ott worry over an increase in symptomless virus. My life hasn’t changed much through Covid but for her and other young people this is huge. Universities should test them on return and regularly thereafter, lecturers should be distanced, behind a screen, masks in lecture halls if need be and just get on with it. Vulnerable students still have online lectures available as usual.

I can’t remember, was so long ago @Ginfordinner! Never had a set time. Normally a few texts started by me and calls from DD when she needed something!

Complete agree @Benjispruce2 Our youngsters need to get back to some sort of normality. It is v unlikely that there will be high rates of young people getting seriously ill. We live in inner London and there is a lot of congregating amongst young people. I imagine many have had it, probably without noticeably feeling ill.

Re contact - very variable. Mostly short texts or text conversations with a ft maybe once a week at a random time!