The Student Room Group
The Great Hall at University of Leeds
University of Leeds
Leeds

What is Leeds Uni and surroundings like...?

I am considering Leeds University has a highly potential Clearing university...as it offers the kind of course I am looking for..(Management with work placement)...and was wondering if someone would tell me what the uni and the surrouding area is like...

Honestly...stereotypical mates of mine have said "don't go there...its next to Bradford...and its rough..etc etc.." ...but I wanted to hear the opinion of people there...and as I won't get the chance to visit Leeds in the next few weeks...I thought the next best thing would be to ask TSR students who are there or have visited...

Having researched a bit myself...one bad point that seemes to stick out was the fact that the burglary rate/ crime was double that of the national rate...etc etc...

What is it like a place at night...for example...during second year...you would have found private accomodation...and say you are walking at midnight...is it a safe place..?

Your info would be much appreciated... :smile:
Reply 1
hi.... i went to leeds uni last yaer to do a foundation year in law and i lived right oopsite the main building ( parkinsons building) and can tell you it is quite safe!! town is about a 20min walk and so is the train station but you got lots of litle sandwich shops and cafes and takeaways about!! but the main student area is in headingly...thats where its buzzing lots of cafes, bars, takeaways, estate agents evan got boots and safeaways etc...so its like a litle vilage area with everything!! its very nice and very safe..me and my mates had absoulutly no problems at all.

evan at night its really lively and buzzing, as long as your not walking around 4 at night on your own then its fine, if you just stay together with your mates and you know what your doing uve got nothing to worry about! i was a bit like you, worrid about the crime rate etc before i went there but didnt experience any of that! there are some ruff areas in leeds but the main aresa headingly and central..where you got nothing to worry about!

evan tho bradford is close by thats honestly not a problem, nightlife is great and the people are overall very nice!! so if its a place you really wana go to i suggest you dont overule it cz im talking from experience and im telling you its a great place!!! hope that helps
The Great Hall at University of Leeds
University of Leeds
Leeds
Reply 2
Hey mate. I live in Ilkley (you may have heard of Ilkley moor and the cow n calf etc etc (I won't sing the song), a very affluent place about 15 miles NW of Leeds and about 12 miles NNW of Bradford. Anyway I'll get to the point. The stereotypes the north suffers (especially the very cosmopolitan county of West Yorkshire) are usually very wrong and people from the south often have a very negative idea of the place. I myself am originally from Maidstone, Kent so I feel I am qualified to say such things.

I have lots of friends in the city and its suberbs and of course some suberbs are rougher than others (Harehills, seacroft, chapeltown) but this is the same in every city in the country. I go out into Leeds all the time and have done for many years and I have never come across any trouble night or day. The areas in which you will live whilst at leeds uni are great areas with one of the biggest student populations in the whole country. They contain lots of green areas and the great thing is being in Leeds is you can enjoy the positives of urban life in and around the city whilst only being a few minutes train/bus ride into some of the most tranquill and beautiful countryside in the UK. I know we're young people and we like the hustle a bustle of fast paced city life but theres nothing like getting away from it all for the day and you can really do that in Leeds unlike many cities in the UK.

Although I live near to Leeds already, I am going to study at a Leeds uni in september just because I find it such a great city with such a good atmosphere and lots of character. And lets not forget the excellent nightlife, shopping an dining out that the city has to offer! And you mention Bradford, well Im not a huge fan of Bradford but then again I don't mind it, the place certainly has character and Ive never had any trouble there. True it does need alot of work doing to it but this is already happenning and sometimes it just makes a change from Leeds everynow and then, especially if you want a decent curry which i frequently do. Leeds and Bradford are about 10 miles appart but I find it amazing how different the two places are. Bradford isn't a great city like Leeds is now but that doesn't make Bradford a terrible place to be avoided at all costs!

Hope this helps at all. Tom
Reply 3
Of course, Leeds has its rough areas, but not wanting to go to Leeds uni for that reason makes about as much sense as saying 'i don't want to go to UCL because i've heard bad things about Hackney, Tower Hamlets, etc'.

It's worth remembering that Leeds is the 44th wealthiest city in Europe (3rd in England) in terms of GDP per head, and North East Leeds is the 4th most affluent constituency in Britain in relative terms. For every Chapeltown or Gipton there's an Alwoodley or Bramhope, much like every other city in the world.