Bristol Uni housing crisis

[RosyCheekedBird]

Are any of you concerned about your DCs applying to Bristol Uni, considering the massive student housing crisis?

To even that out, my DD knows no one who went to boarding school. Most, like her, are ex state school students who are pretty normal. Lots have jobs.

We’re definitely not poor, 4 bed house in Home Counties, both work full time. In Bristol my son is definitely from a lower income family. And fine to everyone saying, live further out, but friends don’t need to. This years rent £8,000 excl bills.
Son at Warwick was mid level economically and had friends whose families were betted of worse off. Never paid more than £4,500 a year for rent.

Sorry better off and worse off.

@mumsneedwine that’s quite an unusual demographic in Bristol Uni - but it probably also depends on the course being studied too.

Vet med. She knows law, lots of STEM stuff, Medics etc. Maybe the rich kids all stick together because DD yet to find them 🤷‍♀️.
Some are not badly off families (but no Porsches or mansions), but most are just normal and get jobs to afford the high rents.
My eldest said there was a group they called the 'posh medics' at her Uni, who had gone to those posh schools you read about. Now they were rich !

Isn't this normal...uni accomodation for 1st year then out into house shares for 2nd and 3rd year

If you want house shares for 2nd/3rd year that are close to the uni thrn pick a smaller town university not a big city where everyone will be spread out

@Youcancallmeirrelevant Many are not spread out in Bristol. That’s the point. Clifton is the most desirable and big houses are not £1m. More like double that. There are several other student areas but they tend to want to be near friends and hardly anyone lives alone in y2 or 3.

Bristol has been tricky for accommodation for years. So expensive and the city is rougher and less attractive than many other cities. Clifton is quite nice but it is a small area of a large sprawling city. Unless the DC loves the university and/or course I could think of much nicer places to study.

🤷‍♀️they need to go where they feel they'll get a good degree and have a good time. Other Unis are available.
All I know is that DD has had an amazing time so far. Loves Bristol, has great friends and a v good social life. Accommodation hasn't been an issue more than her friends elsewhere. Expensive compared to some, but not London.
But if it's not your cup of tea. Then go else where.

And most students live in Redlands, not Clifton.

I didn't say luve alone in yr2 and yr3, you rent a place wuth friends, still atudent accomodation just not done by the uni.

I wasn’t referring to your post. I was referring to the one bed flat for over £900 a month. Obviously if you cannot afford Clifton, you can go elsewhere. Demand is pretty high in Redland and Cotham too.

It is called Redland. —Not Redlands—. I grew up in Bristol both my sons have attended UWE. They have lived/ live on the Gloucester Road. Very vibrant with good transport links. Stokey Bish, Redland, Cotham and Clifton is well out of the pockets of people who are earning. Ds1 now lives in St Paul’s. There are lots of places in Bristol

You will find different types of students on different courses. As MFL has dropped off a cliff in state schools (not all obviously) MFL degrees have more private and grammar dc on them. Vet med not necessarily as the subjects needed are taught everywhere. Many dc of vets know the business but are not privately educated. Plus, what does it matter? DDs best female friend from uni (medic) had her dad go to prison whilst she was at uni. She was on one of the generous Bristol contextual offers.

Bristol is a great city in which to be a student. There are options for living in y2 onwards but Clifton is lovely but there’s a price tag. Other areas are available! Even St Paul’s!

My daughter graduated in June after 4 years in Bristol, she loved it and many of her friends went to state school, and some to private too. They all lived in the areas around the university and you just have to accept the cost, which increased each of the three years she was there, the last house was £650 per month not including bills. More stressful was getting the house, but she and her friends always got something eventually. I have some experience of Glasgow which is worse, with people taking months to find somewhere. I think Edinburghs pretty bad too. Bristol was a great student experience , just a bit more expensive than some other places but not massively more so than, say, Manchester, and on a par with edinburgh and Glasgow. My DD and most of her friends had jobs.

Yes, DC has applied for Bristol UWE and the costs and lack of availability (there is not even a first year accommodation guarantee for UWE) are hugely worrying me. I hope to steer them to choose elsewhere.

I think your child has been quite lucky. Mine at Bristol said their friends in Warwick, Leeds and even Edinburgh have had an easier time finding affordable housing for the second and third years, without the rush and panic.

I think Bristol is one of the places where it is harder than most. I don’t see any point in pretending otherwise. It’s not a criticism of the university as such.

This is all very interesting and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

I think my DC will still apply (UCAS being finalised now) but, if they are lucky enough to get an offer, we will have to think very carefully.

@EternalHeadache I think Bristol is harder than some, if you want to be within 15/20 minutes of Uni ( eg. Redland, no s, that's very important).
If you're happy to be further out it's pretty easy and much cheaper. Many of DDs friends cycled (how they got up St Michaels hill I'll never know 😊). But buses are cheap and scooters are everywhere. Friends this year didn't look at accommodation until June and still found things for Sept.

Nottingham, for example, is much cheaper and there is much more student housing, but it's spread over a much bigger area.

It really doesn't matter where anyone went to school and I only mentioned it as Bristol seems to have a reputation on here as a posh, ex private school Uni. The majority of its students come from state schools and lots of the students have part time jobs. Some are very rich and ex boarding/public school, but most are not. I feel for the Uni as they put so much effort into WP, and because of it lots of underprivileged students choose it. Insight into Bristol is one such fantastic scheme which we send lots of kids to every year. If nothing else, the summer school gives them a great weeks experience of Uni life.

The OPs child is applying to UWE rather than Bristol Uni, so so think will be less likely to be living in Clifton, Redland or near Bristol Uni. I think OP that UWE students do tend to live further out as one of the UWE campuses is further (not an expert!). The lack of first year guaranteed accommodation would worry me too, but it's not that unusual for a post 92 uni or creative arts college for a example. There are lots of private halls in the city centre but these are expensive.

Bristol seems to have had these problems since I was a student (more than 2 decades ago!)

Anyway, I wouldn't not choose Bristol over it. There are lots of others with major accommodation problems as well. Bristol seems more known for it though.

@Motherhubbardscupboard OP asked about Bristol Uni ?

Ah sorry, think I confused her with another poster who mentioned UWE

University of Bristol, not UWE.