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Living in Southampton

I'm an international student and have an offer to study in Soton. Having never visited UK, I would really appreciate all your input on what it's like living in Southampton.

I often hear people complaining that Southampton's a little dull. Why is it so? Currently, what attracts me to Southampton is the comparatively warmer weather, its proximity to the seas, and proximity to London (seems like so much fun stuff to do there).
Reply 1
I've never found Southampton dull. The weather does seem to be pretty good and you can get pretty cheap trains to Bournemouth for the sea. Getting to London is also fairly simple.

Where are you from btw?
On campus at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
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Reply 2
Original post by hamijack
I've never found Southampton dull. The weather does seem to be pretty good and you can get pretty cheap trains to Bournemouth for the sea. Getting to London is also fairly simple.

Where are you from btw?


I'm from Singapore. I've heard that Southampton's weather is pretty gloomy, the architecture's boring and there's not much to do there. What's your opinion on this?
Reply 3
Original post by Ergo
I'm from Singapore. I've heard that Southampton's weather is pretty gloomy, the architecture's boring and there's not much to do there. What's your opinion on this?


The weather's British weather so it will be gloomy some of the time but I've found that it's generally fairly sunny. The architecture isn't anything special but I don't really see why that would have any influence over your decision. One of the great thing's about being a student is the uni has loads of societies and athletic clubs to join. Southampton has more than 200 so if you can't find something to do then you have no-one to blame but yourself.
Reply 4
If you want a great British Uni in a lovely part of the country (New Forest etc) with a great social life and really nice people, then look no further than Soton. You'll have plenty of opportunity to explore the rest of the UK during your time here.
Reply 5
Southampton is one of the largest universities with some of the best facilities and societies. The architecture isn't mind boggling but apart from the really old universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, some of which was built (I think) in the Gothic era; you're not going to find it. Of course, if architecture is what you look for you could go to Royal Holloway, but that's in Egham, the middle of nowhere.

I've always found the nightlife pretty good. It's definitely one of the warmer places in the UK including sunny weather!
Reply 6
Original post by Ergo
I'm an international student and have an offer to study in Soton. Having never visited UK, I would really appreciate all your input on what it's like living in Southampton.

I often hear people complaining that Southampton's a little dull. Why is it so? Currently, what attracts me to Southampton is the comparatively warmer weather, its proximity to the seas, and proximity to London (seems like so much fun stuff to do there).


Hi! I have a conditional offer from Southampton as well, and I've recently firmed it. I just loved the vibe of the campus - everyone was so nice and helpful, and I did like the buildings and the scenaries of the university. I must say, the town itself is not boring at ALL! West Quay is a fantastic place to shop and eat, and the town centre has loads of places to have fun :biggrin:

Having stayed there for a week, I absolutely loved the area... I hope to see you in the upcoming schoolyear! :biggrin:

p.s. Did I see you in the Medicine Forum? I thought I saw your username around... Grats on your offer nonetheless!
Reply 7
Original post by doctork2
Hi! I have a conditional offer from Southampton as well, and I've recently firmed it. I just loved the vibe of the campus - everyone was so nice and helpful, and I did like the buildings and the scenaries of the university. I must say, the town itself is not boring at ALL! West Quay is a fantastic place to shop and eat, and the town centre has loads of places to have fun :biggrin:

Having stayed there for a week, I absolutely loved the area... I hope to see you in the upcoming schoolyear! :biggrin:

p.s. Did I see you in the Medicine Forum? I thought I saw your username around... Grats on your offer nonetheless!


Yup Medicine offer! Maybe future classmates :wink:

Thanks for your input. So what kind of activities do people do there?

The main plus point for me with regards to Southampton's location right now is its proximity to London, which doesn't really count right? :colondollar:
Reply 8
Original post by Ergo


The main plus point for me with regards to Southampton's location right now is its proximity to London, which doesn't really count right? :colondollar:


It takes me about an hour to drive back to West London so it's great for popping home. You can get a coach from the intersection on campus to Heathrow. Really convenient and takes a couple of hours.
I'm going to soton in september but live just down the road so can probably chip in a bit.

I think soton is a great city, it's 30 minutes away from bournemouth which has amazing beaches, about 10 minutes away from the new forest, an hour or so from london and is on the main line that goes up to birmingham and manchester. There are millions of shops, cinemas, bowling, bars, restaurants etc.

For me the campus felt really positive and generally it was the best city/uni combo I found :yes:

Oh and £1.35 for a 9 piece breakfast and coffee/tea at ikea pretty much sold it for me :laugh:
(edited 11 years ago)

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