Is living at uni for the first year worth it?

I live in Warrington atm. Its a 30 minute train ride from Liverpool Uni where im hoping to go, so living at home and commuting would not be a problem at all. But I realise that i probably wont make as many friends and experiences if I live at home. Thing is, idk if Id have a lot of time or money for these experiences if I lived at uni aswell.

Accomodation in Liverpool is very pricey and I get the minimum maintenance allowance, so id need a part time job along side uni. Looking at the Physics timetable, I rekon theres about 24 hours in uni per week of study, not counting what id need to do outside uni. At the same time my girlfriend will be living in Warrington and Im hoping to visit her or her visit me atleast once a week or so. Ive worked out the costs and can afford to live at uni only just with a part time job.

What do people think? Will I have enough time to fit everything in and get a decent degree? Is living in at uni all that worth it? Also, whats your living costs for the year (excluding accomodation)?

Hello

First of all, why would you not 'have time' to live in accommodation? You're using more time commuting to and back from home - it may sound easy and do-able on paper but you have to remember if there is a problem with the train line, a train is delayed, if there is strikes, if you run late, if the train is late etc - therefore, you have to factor in those sort of things. Living on campus/in accommodation means you are always around and within walking distance of university. You are close to the library and support services of your university and generally anything else you may need on campus. Some people do commute and do well at university, others don't. It's down to personal preference and what you feel is right for you at the end of the day.
I'd say living in halls for first year is worth it - it gives you the full picture and 'university experience' - it really submerges you into that lifestyle of independence etc.

Living costs wise? For me in first year, I started off looking around £20 for a weekly shop (this when down because I started doing group shops) and then petrol, because i have my car with me and travelled so that's about £10-20 per week and then any extras and stuff came with that. My SF allowed me around £80 a week where as in second year it's allowed me around £30 a week because my student housing was more expensive.

Best of luck!

Hmm thats true, The commute would probably be an hour either way. How much free time do you think id get with working a 10 hour job each week? One of the most important things for me is to be able to have time to visit my girlfriend atleast once a week, and I want to be able to have funand socialise in the week aswell. So say if my timetable is 25 hours contact, 10 hours job and about 5 hours in the gym, would i have enough time for socialising at the end of shopping and cooking and all that?

Hmm thats true, The commute would probably be an hour either way. How much free time do you think id get with working a 10 hour job each week? One of the most important things for me is to be able to have time to visit my girlfriend atleast once a week, and I want to be able to have funand socialise in the week aswell. So say if my timetable is 25 hours contact, 10 hours job and about 5 hours in the gym, would i have enough time for socialising at the end of shopping and cooking and all that?