Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield for quiet non party-er?

[Mueslikid]

Anyone with a quiet introvert at any of Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle?

Dc, who has asd, will apply in the winter. Likes these best for the course, though a bit worried about the rest of student life in a big “party” city.

Thought would prefer a campus but has rejected a few campus unis because course looks “rubbish”.
Chosen course is not offered that widely anyway.

Newcastle was favourite, but dc was put off by the phrase “work hard, play hard” about the student accommodation village and thinks it just means everyone will be noisy and partying all the time.

Sheffield doesn’t offer catered accommodation, which is a big negative, though does have “quiet accommodation” which is a big positive.

Manchester is the biggest city and uni, so quite overwhelming.

Don’t know about Leeds.

Anyone have any insights?

@RampantIvy
Im not sure it’s helpful to refer to young people as “rahs”. Would you think it OK if I’d told my DDs to avoid “chavs” and other people identified by poverty or ethnicity? Can we not have a discussion without being rude and judgemental about young people? They are who they are. Just like everyone else. We should learn to accept everyone.

This is what the students in Newcastle call the privately educated students who think they are better than everyone else (on the unofficial Facebook page and in real life). I have seen some of the comments so I am not making it up. DD is friends with privately educated students as well, but they are nice and down to earth. This term is only used for the ones who are considered "up themselves"

I am not being judgemental, but it is a fact that a lot of privately educated, and boarding school educated students stay at Castle Leazes (party central).

You sound rather defensive TBH.

An anecdote:
My friend's student DS was playing pool in a pub in Newcastle. Some students were watching, so he asked if they wanted to join him and his friend. They were really snooty and commented negatively on his (Yorkshire) accent and wouldn't consider playing pool with them.

These are the type of students that other students call rahs.

It is a universal term at all universities BTW.

@RampantIvy

I’ve been to three universities and worked in one for ten years. I’ve never heard anyone use the term rahs.

Also at ours, students can stay in halls for duration of their course if they want.

Which university is that?
If the student has extra needs I believe that they can stay in halls for the entirety of their degree course, but most universities just don't have enough halls capacity to allow all students to stay in halls for 3 years.

The term rahs is in common usage among students. I doubt if university staff are privy to most student conversations.

My DS is an introvert at Manchester. Safe to say he found first year ‘interesting’ in cheap uni student accommodation in Fallowfield which was very much party central despite lockdown. His flatmates were actually quite nice but were noisy, drunken and very, very messy! He’s a lot happier in a small private hall doing DnD.

Are you able to say what the subject is? I suspect courses attract different social types and that may influence how much partying goes on.
DC1 is at Leeds, not a hard partying type but does like pubs and live music.
DC3 is looking at York, which seems a good fit for those who enjoy socialising but not so much hardcore clubbing etc, so it's a shame the course doesn't suit.

I would also recommend Sheffield. It's a fantastic place to be a student as it's a friendly walkable city near lovely countryside. There is something for everyone to be themselves.

Sheffield used to offer a catered option which consisted of topping a food card up with £50 a week to spend in the various eateries around campus and at Ranmoor/Encliffe student village. The food card still exists so you could just add the funds yourself to cover his meals. The only difference I guess is that there won't be a cohort of catered students eating together in the same way as in a catered halls at another uni.

I went to Newcastle 30 + years ago and they were known as Rahs then. At that time they were all in the now long gone Henderson( also known as Hendersloane!)

I went to Newcastle , it's where I met DH.
Both of us did long degree courses (architecture & medicine) and still have relationships with the schools.
It does have a vibrant night life but it's also fairly easy to avoid and find lots of students who are interested in other stuff.
I worked with a lovely group of students last year who were quite reserved but absolutely delightful and loved the Uni. There are quite a few foreign students who aren't into the party life and they have influenced the change in the student union, which is definitely more balanced with regards to study and student life rather than the central focus of drinking it was when I was there.
I would avoid Castle Leazes for halls but there are lots of options, some are quieter than others. I'm not sure if all the current options.
I lived in non catered halls first year and in that first week it was apparent lots of people had never cooked before, one that sticks in my mind had never even made a cup of tea before. None of us starved, we all managed - lots of subsidised uni places to eat, cheap places to eat in town, easy food options, flats often cook together or cold food. It seems a scary prospect but lots will be in the same boat.
It's easy to visit the coast you can get the metro out there so as students we went out there. The Town Moor and the park are a lovely part of the town.
The city has changed quite a bit however it's still extremely welcoming to students, fairly small and compact for a city and I'd still recommend it.

With catered halls they may not like the food and the timing of it may clash with lectures. There is still plenty of time to work on cooking skills. If they use tins the food is often already chopped up, they could look at some Jack Monroe recipes. As others have said they will probably need to cook in later years anyway so better to practice In the 1st year.

And to the pp who asked, it doesn’t have to be in the North! But Dc has done lots of research into the course, and that has been the main criteria (although London was discounted immediately, and I think Scotland too because acquaintances in years above had some negative experiences around covid in Scotland and also very high offers.)York would have been a lovely location but the course wasn’t right, and I know Keele and Loughborough don’t offer it. Warwick is “rubbish” apparently, despite DH trying to sing its praises.

Blimey, this is like a round of Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?.
Could you not just say what the subject is? It can't be particularly outing, given how many places offer it.

If they use tins the food is often already chopped up

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor our otherwise perfectly practical (Scouts Knife and Axe cert holder, qualified lifeguard) DD managed to slice her thumb quite badly one lunchtime on a ring-pull opening can of soup. Frozen / dried might be safer...

Ah yes, I forget about sharp edges because I always use an electric tin opener due to my joints which smooths the edges out.

I really recommend Newcastle. Although it has the reputation of being a party city, that social side is there if you want it, you are not forced to join in - and I'm sure that there are partying students at all universities.

I went to Newcastle and loved it so much I still live in the NE. It's a great little city, compact, attractive, well connected, and I would say the perfect place to be a student. D1 is now away at university and she and some of her friends were really quite annoyed they already lived in Newcastle so they couldn't come here as students! The catered option is Castle Leazes, but there are university cafes and coffee shops all over the campus and as the university is right in the city, hundreds of great places to eat literally on the doorstep.

I'm not aware of Newcastle having a worse drinking culture than any other city tbh, ditto drugs.

There are lots of green spaces - the park, the Town Moor, Jesmond Dene - the quayside is great and the coast is a metro ride away.

Sheffield, I’ve also been to three universities as a student (well, 4 really) and never heard the word so perhaps it’s not as universally used as thought?

I went to Manchester. It's a long time ago now and obviously things will be different now, but I think one of the pluses is that it is so big that there is a lot of variety. There are lots of different types of accomodation and a huge range of people.
I am very quiet and was definitely not a "party person" but i found it quite easy to make friends with people with a similar outlook.
I lived in one of the traditional, catered halls which was quite "sheltered" in some ways, so I felt fairly secure, and unlike self catering where you obviously have do fo all your cooking in communal kitchens with others that you might not have a lot in common with I felt I had my own space to retreat to when needed. I actually preferred to be on a corridor with more people than in a flat with say half a dozen, as there were more different people and if you didnt really hit it off with your immediate neighbours there was probably someone down the corridor who was more like you. Whereas if you end up in a flat with 4 or 5 party animals it could feel quite overwhelming.
If your DD has a hobby or interest, no matter how obscure, there is almost certainly a club for it in a big University like Manchester, so that's a good way to make friends.
Sometimes big places can work quite well for very quiet people paradoxically.

Actually, my sister stayed in halls all the way through - in Sheffield, but it was because she was secretary of one of the societies (it was a long time ago 1978 - 1981).

On catering you just need to come up with 7 evening meals he can have/make and then he can eat them in rotation. When the time comes I may buy my DS an air fryer - nuggets and chips in one basket less likely to burn himself! I would choose quiet halls above anything else. I know your DS is restricted by course but a busy city is not where we will be looking. Good luck.

All big city unis will attract all sorts and have all kinds of crowds.
I went to Leeds and came across plenty of introverted quiet sorts and would imagine you’d find them everywhere
certain types of accommodation will attract certain types though so I’d pay more attention to the accommodation options once the uni is decided

From what you have said so far, Sheffield without a doubt. I appreciate that catered is an issue but at Sheffield, when you choose your accommodation, you put a bio about yourself and can read about the other potential students who have already chosen rooms in your flat. Easier to find the right type of flatmates to suit your DC’s personality. It’s also the one on your list that doesn’t have a party reputation amongst students.

A friends DC, who loved partying, left Manchester at the end of year 1 as they didn’t like the constant partying/drugs. Switched to a different uni, same course. I know all unis will have this, but Manchester definitely has a reputation as being a party uni.

Your DS may need to add 'universities where air-fryers are not on the list of proscribed items in the accommodation handbook' to his criteria when choosing where to study. Some university accommodation is quite relaxed about what personal electrical items can be brought in by residents, others less so.

Does Birmingham not offer your DC's course? Students can add a 'meal plan' to accommodation. With the rising prices of food in supermarkets it is looking quite good value.

My DS will learn to cook but bit by bit. He wants to eat proper meals and is wary of the crap his older DS eats when fending for himself so he has chosen meal plan and will stick to prepping food a day or two a week .

Bath also does this. Aberystwyth. Nottingham does fully catered.

I think it's OK to want this.

I went to Sheffield recently on an offer holder day. It was our nicest visit, even though it tipped down! The accommodation is nice and very self contained. It's quite walk to a decent supermarket . They had a really nice little place where students can go and pick up bread and other things going out of date donated by local shops. Its SU is very famous so it definitely has a lively scene - all unis do really.

I have heard nothing but positive things about Sheffield. It is on our doorstep so DD had no interest in going there.

Why is catered accommodation more difficult to find these days?

Partly fashion. Partly unis expanding so needing more accommodation spread about, some by private providers. Costs unis too , staffing wise.