London living vs Bristol Living

Hi, Im about to be moving to either London or Bristol. Could anyone with experience help people such as myself with regards to imagining what it would be like to live in these places?

Whats it like as a student in these places? People say London is really expensive, but it cant be that much more can it? how much do you all pay for private accommodation? And how is life in London, are you isolated due to having to live so far from the centre? Do you get to go out?

Im moving with my gf, who will be working, and either commuting to Kings college from an outer zone, or commuting to bath from bristol. Wed both rather live in bristol due to the cost and hassle of london, but the kings course is much more interesting and im not fond of bath uni...

also to settle a little bet, how long would it take to commute, say from a typical zone 3 station to the centre?

thankyou for any input

Reply 1

Bristol all the way!!!!! crackin night life, not overly expensive and something different to do most nights... i know this due to my g/f being at Bristol Uni, and spending a heck of a lot of time there..

Reply 2

Angelharpist

Well I live in Bromley when I'm at home, which is roughly Zone 3ish, and it takes about 20/25 minutes on a train to get to Charing Cross, which is where the main KCL buildings are.

I'm also at Bristol uni, and absolutely love it - cannot even begin to express how much fun the city is! There's always lots and lots to do, and it's so so so much cheaper than London. EG in London I'll usually be charged £5.50 for a single spirit and mixer or small glass of wine, but here in Bristol I'll usually pay under £2.50.

Housing is another monetary issue - in London you'll be paying easily over £100 for a single room per week that isn't terribly nice, whereas I'll be paying about £85 per week to live with friends in a beautiful 4 bedroom townhouse with kitchen, dining room, conservatory, utility room, garden, several bathrooms etc.

In all honesty, I prefer Bristol to London as it's a bit more manageable and student friendly, not to mention cheaper! It's still an 'expensive' city to live in (in comparison to somewhere further out or up North) but you do definintely get more for your money.

Hope this helps

Reply 3

sezchwarn

few more questions- is there anywhere to meet/ hang out with friends other than the expensive pubs/ clubs of the centre, in london? and is everything way more expensive ie clubs of other sorts, like martial arts, societies etc

Reply 4

With london everything and i mean everything is more expensive, from a bus journey to a pint at the local.....but then it is the capital....and i can't fault the night life..i've had a fair few good nights out in london, most of them ending up rather expensive due to buying one 2 many cocktails....but i've always enjoyed the night life in bristol...if your budget can stretch to it then why not go to kings college....but personally i rate Bath university better...have a weekend away in bristol and london and see how it goes...

Reply 5

Luize

Bristol is a good place for students, cheap students nights everywhere.
Buses can be expensive but student rail cards can be bought and there are different ways of commuting to Bath, car and train.

The houses are nice, Not as much as London but not as cheap as elsewhere.

Reply 6

thesuperficial

everything is just expensive in london, i know people who find it cheaper to commute for over an hour and a half each way (every day) than to live in london. (friend of a friend, no idea where she commutes from but she goes to st martins). but, that said, its an amazing city and you get a higher loan allowance if you live there. bristol is still bloody expensive compared to more places but you dont get the loan allowance (i.e. people in manchester pay about £240 a month for an average house in the studently areas but bristol is £300+...) and, well, its just not london. why not live in london when you're getting a loan to help you afford it and you can always have a part time job to supplement that?

Reply 7

Juichiro

Original post by PJ

What type of accommodation I can get in Bristol earning around £25,000?

Reply 8

Origami Bullets

Original post by Juichiro

What type of accommodation I can get in Bristol earning around £25,000?

You need to sit down and work out a budget, looking at everything from food to shampoo to council tax to water bills. Then you can work out how much you have left to spend on accommodation, and have a look at the websites of local estate agents like CJ Hole and Andrews.

The question you've asked is very open-ended - we have no idea what your budget for accommodation is as we don't know what your outgoings are (for all we know, you have 4 kids).

And finally, please don't bump 5 year old threads!

Reply 9

Juichiro

Original post by Origami Bullets

And finally, please don't bump 5 year old threads!

Apologies, Origami. :colondollar:

Reply 10

Ajreallife187

London trust me all good for night life bristol is rubbish no night life hardly any 24hr shops after 12 it becomes a ghost town. Trust me London all the way