Leamington and Coventry for social life

Pedro87

Hi everyone,

I am going to join Warwick next academic year =)

I am very excited with the idea, but unfortunately I was not accepted for on campus accommodation.

So now I am searching places!
(btw, if anyone needs a housemate, here I am!)

I have read a lot about Leamington and Coventry. People apparently say that leamington is prettier and more student-like and that coventry is closer and bigger...

Well, my question is about transportation.
I know that leamington is 40 min far, but I am worried on how this might impact my social life.
Say, I want to go to a club in Coventry or even to the Student Union for a society meeting or a night out.
Are there buses running at night? Is it safe?
And what about weekends? Suppose I want to take a coach to London (that I saw is cheaper than taking a train...).
How easy is to get to Cannon Park on weekends?

Thanks in advance!!!!

Social life in Leamington is much more diverse than the social life in Coventry, at least for the Warwick student. Coventry consists of Kasbah and the stuff around the Skydome, whereas Leamington there are loads of clubs and pubs in a close proximity to each other in and around the Parade.

Buses run until midnight or so, check out the Stagecoach Warwickshire website (who run the U1) and the Travel Coventry website (who run the 12) for the times. Annual bus pass is around £200-250, depending on the company you choose. The buses are safe.

Later on in the evening, you have to rely on taxis. To get from Coventry to central Leam costs about £20. This can be split between 5 of you.

Cannon Park is 5 minutes walk from campus, in fact the 12 and U1 should stop 2 minutes away from the Megabus Cannon Park stop. Check out this map. Cannon Park is to the top right. See how close to main campus it is.

Reply 2

OP

Thank you for the answerer.
But if possible I still would like to ask more things.

About the societies and the events on the student union.
What time does the meetings start and what time does the bigger events (I saw that there is even a club there!?) start?
I am worried that living in Leamington will hinder my link with the (night life) University.

Besides I would like to ask how "safe" is to look for a place not rented by the university.
I saw a lot of houses on Gumtree in Coventry that seems close to the University and also cheap.

Any more thoughts about Leamington?

Reply 3

Pedro87

Thank you for the answerer.
But if possible I still would like to ask more things.

About the societies and the events on the student union.
What time does the meetings start and what time does the bigger events (I saw that there is even a club there!?) start?
I am worried that living in Leamington will hinder my link with the (night life) University.

Besides I would like to ask how "safe" is to look for a place not rented by the university.
I saw a lot of houses on Gumtree in Coventry that seems close to the University and also cheap.

Any more thoughts about Leamington?

The times the societies and sports clubs set their events depends on the society and sports club :p:

Wednesday is a popular day as usually there are no lectures on Wednesday afternoon. Events that go later into the night can involve social nights (which may involve going to Cov or Leam). The club (the Copper Rooms) has events at least 3 nights a week, sometimes up to 5 (and obviously 7 nights during Freshers fortnight). These end between 1am to 5am. Most end at 2am. The club nights start at 7 for Pop (for Sports club circling), probably 8 for Manic Mondays (previously called Top B) and 10 for most other events. Times and dates will be given on an SU poster you can pick up from SUHQ/Union North.

My personal view is that Leamington is a bit too far away and that I will waste more time travelling to and from uni rather than if I live in Earlsdon. Being in close proximity to the uni has it's plus sides, especially when many of the people who you meet will live on campus (eg other postgrads with places on campus). On the other hand, for second year undergraduates, nearly all live off campus and are therefore all spread over Leamington and Coventry and so the benefits of living with a group of people in Leamington are better (more nights out in Leam) and outweigh the distance disadvantage. Conversely if you know others in Coventry then you can always go out with them to Leam and share the cab fare back (£4-5 each), while still being in close proxmity to the uni.

Reply 4

Katymcc

Pedro87

Thank you for the answerer.
But if possible I still would like to ask more things.

About the societies and the events on the student union.
What time does the meetings start and what time does the bigger events (I saw that there is even a club there!?) start?
I am worried that living in Leamington will hinder my link with the (night life) University.

Besides I would like to ask how "safe" is to look for a place not rented by the university.
I saw a lot of houses on Gumtree in Coventry that seems close to the University and also cheap.

Any more thoughts about Leamington?

If you're thinking of joining any societies/sports clubs, you'll probably find the majority of the socials that aren't on campus will be in Leam. However, a second or third year will tend to meet freshers on campus and get a bus together.

Coventry is a lot closer, and if you can take a car it'll only take you about 5 minutes to drive. The bus is longer at like 20. Are Warwick accom not helping you find a place at all? Did they not offer you Liberty Park?

Anyway, train from Leam to LDN is cheaper than from Cov. Cannon Park is next to campus (with Tesco etc) so you'd be able to get there easily from Leam or Cov.

Basically, if it's based on distance, choose Cov. If you want a nicer area to live, choose Leam.

Reply 5

davidcarvalho

1

Pedro87

...

Portuguese / Spanish ?

Reply 6

OP

@David:
I am Brazilian/Italian.
Well, I was born in Brazil, but I have lived also in Italy. I did my graduation there.

@Katy:
Thank you for the info!
Liberty park is full and the housing office gave me a house that seems horrible.
It is in coventry, but it is 25 min away from the Bus stop!
I mean, I can find a better place by myself...
It is sooo hard to chose when you have never been to Warwick.
I think that social life depends on your friends, but since I am new I am worried that staying too far away from campus will make me loose the link with the University...
Moreover I tend to like big cities, but people are always saying that Leamington, even being smaller is better for student life...

@thetallone

thank you for the info!
It really seems to be easier to be closer.
It makes sense.
The major problem is that most of the contracts for the houses in Coventry start in September, but I need the place only from October.
What are your views about looking for houses in sites like gumtree??

Reply 7

Pedro87

The major problem is that most of the contracts for the houses in Coventry start in September, but I need the place only from October.
What are your views about looking for houses in sites like gumtree??

I went with Warwick Accommodation this year and have the house from the second week of September, even though I won't need it for 2 weeks or so.

Gumtree - you can do it. Just be careful at some look awful. If you want to live close to campus try Canley or Cannon Park. Alternatively try look on Facebook for 'housemate canley' or 'flatmate earlsdon'. Finally there are fliers on campus at the start of term with people needing to find an additional resident, if you are really that desperate.

Reply 8

OP

I have found a good/cheap place in Coventry from a private.
It is on Walsgrave Road.
Does anyone know if it is a good area?
Is it easy to get to the university by bus from there???
Are there any other students living around????

Reply 9

Pedro87

I have found a good/cheap place in Coventry from a private.
It is on Walsgrave Road.
Does anyone know if it is a good area?
Is it easy to get to the university by bus from there???
Are there any other students living around????

It's a bit far from the uni (to be honest on the wrong side). It looks like you will need to take a bus to central Coventry and change bus there to the university. You'd be better off living in Leamington than on Walsgrave Road.

Not many students live there (that I know of) perhaps Coventry students, I don't quite know.

I suggest you look closer/on bus routes. Anything like Earlsdon/Chapel Fiels/Tile Hill/Canley/Cannon Park.

Reply 10