Anyone commuting from Home to Hertfordshire?

Im curious to see if iv'e made the wrong decision about living at home. Will making friends be harder and if so what else am i missing out on?

Reply 1

Reality Check

22

Original post by The particle

Im curious to see if iv'e made the wrong decision about living at home. Will making friends be harder and if so what else am i missing out on?

It's hard to suggest that living at home is going to enrich your social life and contacts compared to living on campus... Yes I would always choose campus living rather than home living... But if you've made your decision, the question is rather academic.

Living at home doesn't mean that you can't join in with anything - of course it doesn't. But it does make things a bit harder, from a logistics point of view. You can't be spontaneous with new friends if you live at home. You can't wander around campus and see something in the Forum which catches your interest. You have to plan everything.... I personally wouldn't recommend anyone lives at home during uni unless they absolutely have to, because by doing so you're missing out on one of the primary functions of university: to make a transition from home life to adult independent living.

@University of Hertfordshire - David, what do you think about this? :smile:

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

Doones

21

Original post by The particle

Im curious to see if iv'e made the wrong decision about living at home. Will making friends be harder and if so what else am i missing out on?

As per RC above. And how far is "home"...?

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Reply 3

The particle

OP

2

Original post by Doonesbury

As per RC above. And how far is "home"...?

Posted from TSR Mobile

i live near finsbury park, so 40 ish minutes travel

Reply 4

Doones

21

Original post by The particle

i live near finsbury park, so 40 ish minutes travel

So an hour and half each way in rush hour.

Not ideal, unless you have good reason to be at home.

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Reply 5

Herts PG Student Repsdafaf

12

Hey The particle,

(also thanks for the tag Reality Check!)

I'd second what Reality Check has said. It doesn't make things impossible with regards to socialising, but it does make things a bit more difficult. You'll miss out on making friends with people you live with in halls or around campus. BUT, you will still have the opportunity to have friends through classes and societies.

I traveled/travel in from home and face a similar commute time to yourself. I made friends on my course and we went out for drinks after class, went to the forum clubbing a few times and generally had good fun.I wont lie and say that having the 1 hour travel time wasn't a hindrance. On occasion, I missed out on some social activities, as I couldn't get home easily late at night. But, I made arrangements in advance for other events and found I could take part in them.

The one advantage you'll likely have over me is you'll have a decent late night train link to where you live. So if you want to stay out later, you can. There is also the possibility you'll make friends you can stay over with like I did.Also, if you drive that gives you some flexibility in arranging things.

Again, being brutally honest as I'd rather give you the facts. Many of the clubs and societies have activities that gravitate towards the evenings. For me, this proved to be a big pain due to the mode of transport I had to use! But again, this didn't make things impossible with some pre-planning.

The long/short of it is. You can and will make friends regardless. But, you'll be missing out on a part of the University life experience.

All the best,

David

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

The particle

OP

2

Original post by David Trebus

Hey The particle,

(also thanks for the tag Reality Check!)

I'd second what Reality Check has said. It doesn't make things impossible with regards to socialising, but it does make things a bit more difficult. You'll miss out on making friends with people you live with in halls or around campus. BUT, you will still have the opportunity to have friends through classes and societies.

I traveled/travel in from home and face a similar commute time to yourself. I made friends on my course and we went out for drinks after class, went to the forum clubbing a few times and generally had good fun.I wont lie and say that having the 1 hour travel time wasn't a hindrance. On occasion, I missed out on some social activities, as I couldn't get home easily late at night. But, I made arrangements in advance for other events and found I could take part in them.

The one advantage you'll likely have over me is you'll have a decent late night train link to where you live. So if you want to stay out later, you can. There is also the possibility you'll make friends you can stay over with like I did.Also, if you drive that gives you some flexibility in arranging things.

Again, being brutally honest as I'd rather give you the facts. Many of the clubs and societies have activities that gravitate towards the evenings. For me, this proved to be a big pain due to the mode of transport I had to use! But again, this didn't make things impossible with some pre-planning.

The long/short of it is. You can and will make friends regardless. But, you'll be missing out on a part of the University life experience.

All the best,

David

My biggest fear was not being able to make friends, thanks for clearing that up for me.

Reply 7

Herts PG Student Repsdafaf

12

Hey The Particle,

I honestly think you will make friends. If you're friendly and open I just can't see it not happening!

What are you studying?

All the best,

David

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

The particle

OP

2

Original post by David Trebus

Hey The Particle,

I honestly think you will make friends. If your friendly and open I just can't see it not happening!

What are you studying?

All the best,

David

I will be studying biomedical science

Reply 9

Herts PG Student Repsdafaf

12

Sounds good :smile:

Hopefully you'll make loads of good friends on your course!

I'd highly recommend you attend fresher's week and any introductory events centered around your course. It'll give you a great chance to meet new people and have a bit of fun!