Totally agree with everything you've said
Many people think ah mates for life just cause its uni but the reality is most of them lose contact with each other its far better to have a small circle like you said than a giant fake one.
What I still cant believe is how many kids who pretend to be independent in school then it comes to uni and they don't know how to use a washing machine XD My friends who went to uni complain about mess, loneliness, etc & I'm just like you expected a party?? Hopefully uni will go back to its old academic true nature and all you can expect is sitting down reading up your subject without having to bump up expectations.
I've went to London last year with mate last year your right its the best (I'm an old Londoner so going back always going to be good)
my friend goes to Lancaster & he was in awe have you been up to the nightclub in leicester square its next to M&M(you have to go up tons of stairs) got a balcony its very small like a little room bar sofa so much better than the campy nightclubs up north!
Awesome idea on the uni house lots of rental income. Also I find uni students are the best customers if you want to set up a business like cookery lessons etc because many of them need a lot of help so will pay their way to get what they want rather than come up with ideas themselves (Richard Brandson did student magazine first)
Your right about the close minded people they think uni can teach them all about independence etc. but the reality is it was only ever designed as a lead u for the future academics like professors & doctors etc. who need higher education not as a life altering event.
Also I was once a carer so money ,looking after someone & myself is a walk in the park. Also dealt with family death now uni doesn't teach people how to handle that and that is probably one of life's biggest tasks to overcome until we all face our own deaths.
Good luck on the job btw I think you will do much better than the average Joe
This is a great thread btw good to hear likeminded opinions