No argument with Xenia at all.
The point I was trying to make was that Clifton allows more escape if things are going wrong.
Sometimes posters on threads like these act as if it is the fault of an individual student if things don't go according to plan during their first year, as if they are some sort of Billy-no-mates.
Things did go wrong for DD. Flat of twelve in Stoke Bishop. One of the stronger personalities got a bit carried away with being away from home and started partying hard, stopped attending lectures and became entirely nocturnal. Anyone who did not keep pace was "boring" and did not deserve basic courtesy. Made worse by the fact that DD played University sport so had to be a lesbian. (Obviously!) It was like Year 7 all over again. DD's now best friend, faced a similar problem in another flat and quickly asked for a move, finding herself with some great people who she then shared with for the next two years. DD tried to stick it out, which was a mistake, until a dangerous drug related incident triggered an emergency move.
She got through the year and the next year was much easier. (Plus reports that her previous flatmates who went on to share a house together had a huge second year bust up.) The advantage of Clifton or City Centre is that if things are tense you can go to the library, SU, or simply hang out with friends. Flats tend to socialise together, and it is difficult if you don't share interests.
To some extent it is luck. If you are reasonably sociable, you will meet your people sooner or later, but not necessarily in your first term. (The old adage about spending the second year shedding the friends you made in your first.) DD met a lovely group during a summer placement before the start of her second year, and indeed, despite the trials of online learning, found fellow students during her intercalation year in London, warm and supportive (they have even invited her on next year's sports tour.)
I think it is important to recognise that the transition from school to University can be challenging. (DD was lucky in that she had had a gap year, and had also moved school for sixth form, so was in a better position to resist the peer pressure.) Not all will have a soft landing and there is often not much that can be done about it, other than to seek a quick move if things are clearly not working out. Judging from the number of DMs I received following similar posts (this was the year when Bristol had a significant suicide problem, and from DDs experience there were quite serious issues with their pastoral support mechanisms) DD was far from alone.
Perhaps DD's problem was a failure to hang out with OH's. 