Sussex university-how expensive is Brighton??

[Appuskidu]

I have seen a few posts saying it’s nearly as expensive living in Brighton as living in London-is that really true?!

Is there anyone with a DC at university there and can tell me a bit more about their halls/rent/travel-just general student living expenses? The university looks great, but is it going to be massively more expensive than eg Norwich?

Is it Sussex University? DD has been offered a place there. She went on the open day and found out that on-campus accommodation costs £160 a week which seems a lot! Also it’s quite a distance from Brighton.
I’d be interested to hear from people with more information than me so watching with interest.

Ah just seen you put Sussex University in the subject line! 🤦‍♀️ Sorry!

Is it Sussex University?

Yes, sorry-I thought I’d written that.

The city is lovely, but I keep hearing how expensive it is (particularly for 2/3rd years when living in a house). The university isn’t in the city either, so I was wondering about travel costs/getting back to halls after a night out?

Brighton is very expensive, yes.

@Omicrone

Brighton is very expensive, yes.

Yes, are you able to elaborate any more? Do you live there yourself?

Rent in Brighton is expensive. But the Sussex campus being outside the city isn't a problem, it's a 10 minute train ride or there are frequent buses.

I don't live there, have been there quite a few times though. Food and drink when eating out is pretty much London prices, and I think properties/rents are very high as well (probably not quite London but pretty close). I don't know about travel or specifically uni halls though.

But generally, I think it's a fairly expensive place to live. It's a great town though!

Yes Brighton is outrageously expensive. Also how the students at Sussex University hounded out Prof Kathleen stock was also outrageous, I would dissuade my DC to go there.

@GreenTeaPingPong

Rent in Brighton is expensive. But the Sussex campus being outside the city isn't a problem, it's a 10 minute train ride or there are frequent buses.

I was also wondering about the last bus/train times for going out? If the last ones leave at 11.30, would it have to be taxis to get home if you went to a club?

I lived in Hove for 15 years, Brighton is expensive compared to Norwich. Not as expensive as London but not far off. It's a great city though, I only moved out because I couldn't afford to buy a house there.

There are night buses, the N25 runs to Falmer.

Ahh, a night bus-that’s useful to know!

I’d wonder if anyone on here knows how much students are paying per month on shared housing in the 2/3rd year? My DC and friends in the midlands are paying about £470/£490 a month including bills (houses of 5/6).

I went to Sussex, but it was 20 years ago! The campus is absolutely beautiful and I loved living there. What I wasn’t prepared for though was that, at least while I was there, at least 50% of students were from London and they all went home every weekend so campus was really really quiet at the weekend. Living in Brighton was nice, but certainly then lots of the accommodation was in a poor state, awful damp issues in Victorian housing that hadn’t been maintained, as property has shot up so much in price that may be much better now.
Prices for going out at the weekend were crazy because it’s such a destination, but there were lots of cheap student nights midweek.

Norwich is a gorgeous city and UEA also has a beautiful campus, and you won’t have the exodus every weekend I don’t think.

As a Sussex graduate that would get my vote! First year living on campus was great to get used to uni life (and kept costs down). 2/3rd year was awesome living in town though more expensive.

I would look into the Kathleen Stock thing if your DC is seriously considering Sussex Uni. Obviously we have only seen what happened publicly, but there were students in balaclavas wielding smoke flares on campus demanding the sacking of one of the Professors because her views differed from theirs on a particular issue. And they succeeded in harassing her out of her job, she no longer works there because she was no longer able to cope with the harassment.

I would be quite worried about the culture on campus, particularly for women, if this has been allowed to happen.

Cost of living in Brighton is much higher than Norwich. It's not the same as london but not far off. I would dissuade her tbh.

160 isn't that expensive

My ds is at a university and paying 184 (not big city)

Second year housing is expensive probably looking at £600 per month for anything half decent. My son is at Brighton uni and says it's expensive, he seems to get through his student loan very quickly.

Brighton is expensive for sure. I have a DC at the university and he loves it. I'd say it's definitely a university with a very left wing/activist-y ethos but it always has been a bit that way, even when I was a student back in the day. That's partly a reflection of the courses taught there - it's absolutely THE place if your DC want to study international development, plus it's very strong in sociology, anthropology, peace studies, international relations or politics, and all those tend to appeal to a lot of very politically active students.

Amazing social life though, very vibrant city, close to London if that matters, loads of opportunities for volunteering & internships, great place to build solid networks.

Norwich, from what I know of it, is also really nice. Very warm friendly campus, great faculty, I think slightly better for the creative subjects actually - it's English Lit department is second to none. Probably a bit more chilled out than Sussex, a little more conservative (but not in a bad way). I will say Norwich is a surprisingly long journey out east - DH went there and I somehow never got over how long the train ride was - and it's much more of a small town experience than big city - you can feel slightly stuck out in the sticks at times.

@whereshalligo

Second year housing is expensive probably looking at £600 per month for anything half decent. My son is at Brighton uni and says it's expensive, he seems to get through his student loan very quickly.

That’s really useful-thank you for giving an approximate figure.

It's a lovely campus with a great student union

You can get buses directly to central Brighton and the train.

There are plenty of discounted student nights and events so not that expensive at all tbh.

Plus there is the beach in the summer and loads of free festivals etc so a great place to be a student.

DH went there (Norwich) and I somehow never got over how long the train ride was - and it's much more of a small town experience than big city - you can feel slightly stuck out in the sticks at times. You can do it in just over two hours now.

I have known a few young people go to University of Brighton and come unstuck with the cost of living there.

There are plenty of discounted student nights and events so not that expensive at all tbh

It’s more the accommodation costs that I was thinking, to be honest.

If it helps, DS is currently paying £663 per month for accommodation. That's for a room in a shared flat with three others.

@owlinnahat

If it helps, DS is currently paying £663 per month for accommodation. That's for a room in a shared flat with three others.

That is really helpful, thank you!

You can get a room in a shared house for £500 inc bills but will be out of town a bit.
As PP said, lots of places ah e student discounts and there are night buses to the uni. Brighton is such a great place for young people, very friendly and sociable.