The Student Room Group

Manchester Accomodation Review

Ok guys im at manchester this year and my advice is for:
1st get a city campus hall
If u cant get 1 in the city campus go for fallowfield, victoria is rly a dead place to b but still it can b fun sometimes.
Ok il try and giv some info on halls:
- All city campuses r gd cause theyr located next to uni. Trust me havin to take a bus cost money and is a real pain in the ass. Weston hall and Whithworth Park is wat i would personally recommend socially and gd location.
- Victoria Park Campus halls can b bad if u fall with non sociable ppl in ur flats. The place is far from uni and badly located for clubs and pubs.
Canterbury court is v quiet but has amazin rooms, st anselm is just wrong to b in, Hulme hall is probly the best out of the lot, st gabriels: not recommended.
- Fallowfield Campus, extremely far from uni and city clubs but has quite a lively social scene as its the student city. I would recomment richmond park, owens park is cool but can get annoyin sometimes, oak house and woolton r ok, oak house i hav no idea but some friends say its ok, ashburne is bad and sheavyn can b nice, allen hall - euh i dont rly know that 1.
Basically this is my overall advice on accomodation. Im not 100% sure of wat i just wrote but lets say im 95% sure.
So hope this was helpful, enjoy Manchester, trust me its the best place in the world to study !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :eek:

Oh one last thing, dont expect to find much green and trees here... If thats wat u want well this is the wrong place, expect to see more bricks and roads than anythin else!

C ya :wink:

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I've heard that Allen Hall is really nice. In fact I stayed there and it was nice. If manchester is my firm choice, will I get the exact accomodation I choose or do I have to choose like quite a few in case i dont get my first choice?
go to whitworth park!! it's very central, and actually has trees and greenery!! i highly recommend it!
Reply 3
I'm in Sheavyn House at Fallowfield and I really recommend it; firstly, because it isn't right in the middle of Owen's Park its a little bit quieter if you feel like getting some sleep. Rooms are a nice size, most ensuite and you get ten people in a flat which is a good size for socialising. Plenty of takeaways within drunken staggering distance. The OP bar is rubbish but the buses go from right outside Owen's Park so that isn't really a problem.
>>>>So hope this was helpful, enjoy Manchester, trust me its the best place in the world to study !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't know how good the university is, but goodness, I wouldn't go into Manchester accommodation. I've lived here all my life and know exactly what it's like: it's right on top of REALLY rough areas (I'm talking like some of the worst areas in Manchester). It's unattractive- a concrete jungle with not much greenery- and the accommodation all the way down Oxford Road: useful for lectures etc, but quite far away from the shops and city centre. I wouldn't trust the dodgy takeaway shops on Ox Rd either. The Odeon and KFC shut recently, McDonalds is a scummy dive; and the train station isn't even THAT close to the uni. Bus fares are also quite expensive: £1 Stagecoach (RNCM bus stop- Piccadilly gardens), 50p finglands/other branches are about 60/70p student fare (but the low-fare buses are really irregular).

Now the good: plenty of music venues/ pubs/ clubs. Great student city; great vibe; loads of part time job opportunities (if you don't mind retail or flipping burgers); it's pretty alternative over past Piccadilly Gardens (ie: Afflecks). Great variety of shops- there's Trafford Centre and City Centre. It's really quite cultural; after hours Manchester becomes pretty shady though. Oxford Rd is not too bad, with quite a lot of students hanging around in the evening, but I wouldn't venture elsewhere unless a) it's Saturday (and the hordes of shoppers are out) or b) There's a big group of you. Avoid the bins in the city centre. They stink of vomit. There's loads of pollution/ rubbish/ sick oh and chavs. Manchester is a really scallie-ridden/chav city. Have I deterred you yet?? :biggrin: I just see the bad side though, as I've lived here a long time and therefore it no longer enamours me :smile:

Ooh and another thing: several students have been killed on Oxford Rd (either run over or I *think* (but don't quote me on it, as I might be getting it mixed up with Salford uni) there have been several knivings down there. Salford Uni accommodation is nicer than Manchester's...at least there are trees and a river and greenery..and only 15 mins from the city centre- bus ride that is
:p:
So many generalisations - many misinformed!
Reply 6
Owens Park is a bit of a dump (apart from the tower), and you have to put up with fire alarms all the time, and people banging on your window, generally very noisy. Good social aspect though.

Fallowfield is not 'extremely far from uni'. It's 15 mins on the bus, 30 mins walking. I walked the same distance to school and back every day for 13 years. It is a longer ride to the clubs, but not much traffic at night.
Reply 7
I had much more fun living in fallowfield that i am this year living nearer uni (i was in oak house last year). Fallowfield was just such much more friendly and it wasn't exactly hard to get to uni or into town. You can buy weekly bus passes for £2 or yearly ones which you can use on more buses for about £140 i think and it doesn't take more than about 20mins at peak time and when the road is clear it only takes about 10mins. I think the accommodation thing all come downs to personal preference though and what you're willing to pay. And it's a lot easier to do your food shopping in fallowfield than near uni!

As long as you're sensible about your safety (don't walk home alone etc...) then i think it's generally safe. obviously there's always going to be some problems in a city this size.

petrolxfumes
I've heard that Allen Hall is really nice. In fact I stayed there and it was nice. If manchester is my firm choice, will I get the exact accomodation I choose or do I have to choose like quite a few in case i dont get my first choice?


you can chose up to 3 choices in order of preference and they apparently try and locate you in order of preference (yet someone i know still managed to get richmond park when they'd put oak house down as their 1st choice... :cool: ) It depends on how popular the halls are to the likelihood of you getting your 1st choice.
Reply 8
st anselm hall is just wrong to be in....????...can you explain?
Reply 9
i've got the accommodation booklet today - so keep advice coming please :smile:
Reply 10
I don't know what the OP was talking about - Ashburne's lovely

* Massive rooms
* Nice building, in good condition
* No bar means you can get work done undisturbed
* When you wanna go to a bar, you're only a few steps away from OP bar, and a few more steps away from the pubs and clubs of Fallowfield
* Rooms recently refurbished, with nice decor
* Friendly atmosphere - people know who should and shouldn't be around
* Looks homely, especially at night (much better than crawling home to an unwelcoming tower block)
* Exchange dinners with Slems (aka St Anslems), Xmas dinners, stuff like that
* Own library and computer room (you may laugh now, but when it's freezing cold outside and exams are approaching....)
* Telephones and Ethernet connections in all rooms
* Generous bathroom provision (I share a kitchen and bathroom with only four others)
* Unlimited toast and cereal in the mornings (some halls ration toast)
* Plenty of green and trees (so much, in fact, that we're a bit overrun with squirrels)

And why, may I ask, is the OP giving advice about both male-only and female-only halls? Surely they're one or the other?
Reply 11
tigger1430
st anselm hall is just wrong to be in....????...can you explain?


I don't know what he's on about either! I was in slems last year and had a great time. Granted, I didn't choose to go there (its all male) but i'm very glad i did.

In a house in fallowfield this year.... with girls!
Reply 12
Sorry.. :frown: OP = Owens Park? Who is 'the OP'? Thanks

Hey Princess Ana just saw your sig, I am also doing Physics with Study in Europe :smile:
Reply 13
Htrac
Sorry.. :frown: OP = Owens Park? Who is 'the OP'? Thanks

Hey Princess Ana just saw your sig, I am also doing Physics with Study in Europe :smile:


"The OP" = "The original poster" :biggrin:

You are, Htrac? What year?
Reply 14
First year :smile:
Reply 15
which campus is the closest to the humanities department?
Reply 16
I think the Humanities Lime Grove building is on the South Campus (I have lessons there).

Check out the campus map on this page.

I really wouldn't worry about how close it is, unless it's a big thing for you. There are very frequent buses running from Fallowfield, and it's not far to walk.
Reply 17
I have all my lectures in Lime Grove, the humanities building and i live in Dalton Ellis hall, i hate it when people say that its quiet and boring because its not been like that since iv been hear! its a 10/15 minute walk to Lime Grove and you can actually see some greenery on the way which is always nice. It is a bit of a distance from the clubs but for 50p and a 10min ride on the bus, who cares! Sometimes its nice not to hear cars and breathe some fresh air hence why i chose this hall. Admitedly Hulme Hall is better, their bar is swish and they have there own cash machine to save you the wait on oxford road. Our bar sucks it has to be said but there is a pool table, squash court etc.
When i stayed with ma mate whos at manc he was in the tower block at owens park. Was kool cause there were bare loadsa peeps n most seem'd cool. There are bars in fallowfield as well so u dont have to go right into the centre. If i get a place on the IBFE course i'll be applying for owens park. :biggrin:

Still havent heard anything yet :frown:. They did offer me a place for economics and social studies though. :biggrin:
Blates as
I don't know what he's on about either! I was in slems last year and had a great time. Granted, I didn't choose to go there (its all male) but i'm very glad i did.

In a house in fallowfield this year.... with girls!



Yeah lol, obviously I haven't lived in it because I am female! But my boyfriend has been in there for the last 2 years, he's in a house this year. It may not be massive, it may not be modern....but it makes up for it with the sense of community spirit that all other halls seem to have lost! Every time I was there, there was never a week where there was nothing on for people to get involved in whether it was the old boys sports day or a bbq or just a general piss up to drink all the gone off beer in the bar. I loved it when I was there, and just because its' all male doesn't mean it's gay or "just wrong to be in".

I don't think anyone chooses to be there, because not many guys want to live with just guys - they think university SHAG! lol but hey there's ashuburne and gabs "tripleted" with you and their always in the bar. And you have canterbury court opposite you, although tended to be a little dickish there were girls there. But most people who do go to slems, often choose to go back and never regret there time there!