The Student Room Group
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London

Commute or live in London?

Hey, I have an unconditional offer for Adult Nursing at Kings College for September 2017.

At the moment I'm not sure whether it would be best to travel to London or to live there. I live in Kent so from my station to London Charring Cross it's about an hour journey.


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Do you think you would be able to do the commute as well as all the uni work? How much would it cost for you to live in London? Are you independent enough to live on your own? Are you prepared to leave behind family? These are all factors you'll need to consider before making your decision. Good luck!
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London
I found myself planning on commuting then I outlined my plans to a friend who just raised his eyebrows and made me realise that, for me personally, commuting from Kent wouldn't have been a great idea, but it depends on a few different things.

1. Where are you in Kent and what are your current living arrangements? I was in Chatham and I worked out that it's cheaper to live in London than commute 4 or 5 days a week whilst paying rent. Of course, if you're living with parents then it would be cheaper for you to commute but don't forget to factor in time taken to get from the station to campus, and any tube costs. Peak time rail tickets into London are expensive, and I'd have been on a 7am (ish) train to make it to campus for 9am lectures.
2. Do you want to do other things at uni other than study? I realised that between lectures and societies (I like sports!) I'd be looking at 15 or 16 hour days if I commuted, 4 or 5 days a week and then I have a weekend job too. For me personally I could just about manage that, but functioning at a minimal level and I would be so exhausted that my degree would suffer so I wouldn't get the grades I'm capable of.
3. Do you mind about missing out on the social side? I had friends who lived at home last year and they didn't make a single night out, and struggled to meet people outside of the course. Personally I LOVE meeting people from other courses, and some of my closest friends are people I wouldn't have gotten to know if I'd excluded myself from social events through societies. Societies are a great way to meet people with common interests, but sometimes it's hard to get to really know people if you're completely preoccupied with a hobby.

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