Uni students

[Leeum]

Hi there,

I realise this probably comes down to personal choice rather than anything else but here goes. Did you leave or stay at home to study at University?

I'm faced with two options as there are several local universities (~12 miles or so from here) which run the course I'd like to do. I could live at home and use public transport/ car to travel to somewhere local or leave home and head to a University down south.

The majority of people I've talked to have said moving away helps gain a lot of independence etc. If anyone has any experiences to share it would be greatly appreciated

 

[Noble-Kebab]

if you stay at home you will lose the experience of growing up and being a full blown adult.

 

[Phoebs]

i live and go to uni in manchester. i travel 45mins each way by bus everyday. The advantages are you save a lot of money living at home as student accomodation is a rip off. the down side is the travelling tires me out.

 

[TheMagicPirate]

I stayed at home, its great having the extra cash but part of me does regret not moving out.

If I'd had the chance to do it again I'd fly the nest. It depands on how self sufficent you can be.

 

[Kesnel]

I moved 300 miles away from home to go to Edinburgh, and I think I made the right decision. In my first year I made a lot of friends through living in a university apartment, something I think people who live at home while studying at university really miss out on. The people I lived with in my first year are the people who have become my closest friends here.

In the summer after my first year I moved out of my parents’ house and into the flat I live in now. I think if I'd not moved away to go to university I would have not had the chance to become independent enough to live on my own. I enjoyed that first year of essentially living on my own and taking care of myself so much that I decided not to go back, so naturally I’m going to suggest the moving away option, but it’s certainly not for everyone.

 

[Brum Man]

the down side is the travelling tires me out.

That's not the downside of living at home when going to Uni! (and 45 mins travelling each way to Uni tires you out, are you for real?!)

 

[[TW]Fox]

I am at home for Uni.

Provided you find it easy enough to make friends you get *most* of the Uni experience for considerably lower cost. The only thing I really miss out on is the experience of living with people your own age - everything else is just as easy to do when you live at home - the socialising, the 3-4 nights a week, that sort of thing.

The two best things about living at home is the financial side of things - money wise its MUCH easier - and the certainty. Living at Uni can be either the best or the worst thing you can possibly do and which of these it is is largely down to luck. Of my friends, some are having the time of their life yet another moved back home becuase the experience of living in a shared house was so utterly awful.

At least with living at home you know what you are going to get. How well it works depends entirely on your situation, though - if your parents are the sort who would care if you roll in at 3.30am after a particularly good night at the Union then it might not quite be as enjoyable as it is if they couldnt care less or don't even notice you arriving home.

Location is another thing - I can get to Uni in 15 minutes, just over 10 at night, so random 'Union? ok mate' things are no issue becuase it takes me as long to drive in as it takes them to walk down the road anyway. But if you live 10-50 miles from Uni travelling in becomes a drag and you'll be more tempted to skip social occasions, or you'll find the cost of a night out really mounts up.

It also depends on your finances. If you are entitled to max loan and your LEA will pay your fees living away is a hell of a lot easier than it is if you don't qualify for any of the assistance.

It's worked out great for me - I thoroughly enjoy Uni, have a social life as active as any other student (placement years excepted when everyone is spread randomly around the country), but have the added bonus of not being totally skint all the time.

 

[squawkBOX]

I started uni living at home, and I have to say that I know where the tiring aspect comes from. In the beginning, its really bad - however over time, it just becomes annoying.

Now I am living away from home and I highly recommend it. Although its slightly more expensive, its nice having the independence to do what you want and when you want. You learn a lot about yourself and learn good simple life skills!

 

[touch]

Im living in the uni halls in glasgow atm.
(No unis in Inverness )
I'v found that in some ways i have more independance, and in some ways less.
I have to do all my own cooking/cleaning/washing etc now, which is good to learn (esp cooking). However i cant take my car with me here as i wouldnt get a parking space, which takes away a lot of my independance, i used to love my car - driving to random places for no reason etc. Now if i want to go somewhere i need to get a bus/train

 

[Putty]

Living at home will certainly have its advantages - cheaper, meal on the table when you get home etc. However I would go with moving away from home, it's more of an experience and will certainly teach you a few things. I moved from Northumberland to Nottingham in 1998 and have been here since. The only thing to consider is cost.

 

[Vixen]

I lived at home for a few months before my flat was ready, and it was awful compared to living away from home. I had a 25 mile commute to Edinburgh, which took about an hour due to awful traffic. I had to hang around all day even if I only had a couple of lectures. I couldn't go out at night with my friends without either driving (when I'd been up early to make sure I got in on time), or arranging it in advance (which, lets face it, most students don't do ).

It depends on how far you're going though. I don't live in student accomodation, but I'm really close to uni and on a night bus route, so it has always been really easy for me to go out. If you like living with your parents, then fair enough, but I really think getting my own flat has been one of the best things I've ever done.

 

[kmistry]

if you stay at home you will lose the experience of growing up and being a full blown adult.

Not true at all, I did my placement in London and got all the experience I needed while I was there. Choosing to stay at home for me was good as it meant saving money, home cooked meals , all my washing done I have a lot of freedom at home adn therefore I don't mind it, end of the day its down to personal prereference

 

[normanthefarmer]

im living in uni halls and i must say it is the best thing i have done, i find myself a lot more free and its so social to. some of my friends have stayed home and there regretting it now, they compare it to college which is certainly not how i percieved it. uni is about getting adegree but im enjoying the experience of it as well.
freshers week would not be the same either staying at home and thats an ideal place to meet people on the pub crawls and nights out etc.
i will say that if your tight financially then maybe closer uni is better as halls can be expensive(im on £65 a week which isn't that bad) but you get a loan and a part time job (few hours a week) jsut helps bank balance.
My one bit of advice if you do leave home is know how to cook/ wash clothes i seen way to many people that didn't know how

 

[Conscript]

I live at home. Much cheaper and I was never really that bothered about moving out anyway. I get on really well with the parents, and I see all my best friends at the weekend when they are home from their respective universities.

Most of my socialising is done with these people. I guess that makes me sound kinda sad, that Im not out meeting new people. But meh, they are the best people I know and I try to spend time with them every oppurtunity I get.

Also, it's generally not too hard to get from where I am upto New Cross (Im at Goldsmiths) anyway, if theres a night out at the union planned. But I don't often do that anyway.

 

[Rebelius]

I moved out - and I don't regret it. Yeah, I'm struggling for cash, but so are most of my friends. from my experience, the people who stay at home don't make as many new friends when they go to uni - I was thrown into a flat with 4 other guys I didn't know in a block of about 100 students and made loads of new friends, and the experience was great. I can't imagine first year being anything like as fun if I'd only been at uni in the daytime and going home every night to my parents' house.

 

[Steve09]

I've stayed at home.
Saved myself spending another ~£3000 a year on student housing.
Plus, may not happen with everyone, but theres a lot of students in my class who are quite far behind on work due to always being out/drunk, whereas I'm on top of my work which is where I like to be.

Plus you get the perks of parents doing washing etc

 

[trojan698]

Stuff the money, move away from home, it's much more fun.

 

[Simonnn]

If you can afford or budget for it, move out! For me there's no question about it, I'm in my 3rd year now and hate thinking about moving back home, sure theres the perks of free meals washing etc, but how long do you really want to do that for? Move out and live!

 

[Dave]

I'm away from home, purely because home is the South of France

 

[benneh]

I chose to move away (in-fact I chose to study 100 miles away). I say move out. The people that I know that live at home are all pretty much like fox .