Hey Vlad.str! Great to hear you're thinking of coming here, we'd love to have you.
I'm a current research student here at Coventry, but I also did my undergraduate degree here too (I just liked it so much I didn't want to leave!). There's a wide range of both university owned and private accommodation in the city, so there should be something for everyone's budget. You can find out all the information you need to know about university owned accommodation
here, but there are also plenty of private halls and houses available very close to the university and in surrounding areas. My advice is to look and book as soon as you can as there is plenty for everybody but if you want your first choice they fill up fast.
Part-time work in Coventry is really readily available too - the city centre has lots of retail outlets and bars which are always hiring, and the university also employs huge numbers of students. (Hey! Look where I'm working right now!). I've had a few jobs since I've been in Coventry, starting in retail and now working for the university both as an Events Ambassador and in the Social Media team which is great
We also do have a massive range of societies, which are listed in full on our SU website
here. I can't stress enough how great these are for meeting new friends and networking professionally. What course are you thinking of studying? As I know a lot of departments also have internal 'society' type clubs which function independently of the SU, but again are a great opportunity especially for professionally networking. The other great thing is that if there isn't something that does exactly what you're looking for you can set-up your own society, and believe me when I say your members will grow quickly!
In terms of living costs, the university estimates the cost of living in Coventry to be around £500 per calendar month, but this will all obviously depend on the individual, your choice of accommodation and your spending habits. I know personally I have managed to do the last 4 years on much less than this, but I budget carefully and I'm happy to walk almost everywhere (which is more than possible living in the city centre or just outside), saving tonnes of money on public transport.
Coventry has a wide range of night clubs, bars, and alternative music venues depending on what you're into. It doesn't have huge clubs like some of the bigger cities might, but what the ones it does have are good, cheap, and a very fun time. Not to mention the fact that Birmingham is only 15 minutes away by train, and if you wanted to go really wild you can get to London by train in under and hour!
I might be biased having been here for 4 years, and working here, but I really do love Coventry. If you have anything else that you want to know at all don't hesitate to ask, Cov Uni is probably one of my favourite subjects :P
Best of luck with your decisions!
- Josh