Canadian exchange student needs some advice!

Hey everyone,

So I'm considering coming to the University of Manchester next year for second semester (JAN-JUNE 2013) and I have tons of questions to ask those of you who attend/live in Manchester.

First of all, after reading a few of the threads regarding accommodation I noticed a lot of the domestic students tend to stay away from residence halls that have a lot of international students - I personally don't want to live in a hall with other international students as I want the full British uni experience so which houses should I avoid?
As Fretter778 said, city is full of internationals, so Fallowfield would probably be better for you.

Secondly I'd be in my final year when I arrive so as a 21 year old which rez would i feel most comfortable in as I don't wanna be stuck entirely with first years? Do a lot of the upper year students move out of rez to private flats?
99% of UK students stay in halls of residence for the first year, and then 99% of those move out into private shared houses / flats for subsequent years. Not because there's anything wrong with halls, it's just that it's what you do. It's the same in just about any UK university. In all fairness, you shouldn't feel too uncomfortable even with first years - some (half of my flat in halls) will have had a gap year, so will be 19/20 when they are in halls. IMHO, there's no noticeable difference between people who are 18 and 20. The only difference comes with the fact that first year doesn't count towards your final grade here, whereas subsequent years do, so second & third year students are a lot more focused on their studies.

And finally is January a bad time to come to Manchester? I want to go out and travel a lot but if the weather is ****ty I don't know if it will be worth it?...
It's a bit chilly, but warmer than Canada! IMHO the UK's tendency towards rain is massively overstated, but that may be because we're used to it!

Sorry for a all the questions hopefully some of you can help!

xx

And finally is January a bad time to come to Manchester? I want to go out and travel a lot but if the weather is ****ty I don't know if it will be worth it?...