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University of Dundee

Living In Dundee...

Hi guys, today i got an offer from dundee university.

i originally picked dundee for three reasons;
a) High Ranking
b) Low Entry Requirments
c) Reasonable Rep

can anyone tell me what its like living in dundee?

i live in the north east of england (middlesbrough) and i like it here.. its got a medium/big town centre and its usually packed.. i love busy places.

whats it like in dundee? are there many well known shops.. is it a vibrant town?

i feel like im talking about another planet here but most people from england have a really distorted opinion about scotland.. the general opinion is that it is full of hills and nothing to do.. which i know isnt true.. the reason i didnt apply to aberdeen was because it felt miles away and secluded! whats dundee like? thanks

also.. i have also applied to stirling, and i know thats dead! :eek:

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Reply 1

L i b

Well, there's a big hill. And some sheep. That's about your lot. The Union is based in a bothy, which gets a bit draughty in the winter.

Somewhat more seriously: Dundee is not a big city. It's a small to lower-medium sized one. Then again, I'm used to Glasgow, the 3rd city of the UK, so I may be slightly biased on this front.

It has all the usual high street shops you'd expect in any British city centre. You'll be fine on that front. Edinburgh is also under 45 minutes away on the train.

I'd say it's quite vibrant insofar as it is quite optimistic about its future. There's a lot of great plans floating about as to the development of the city and where its future lies, which is very interesting. There's also been a lot of inward investment in recent years, so evidently others are getting excited too.

As for seclusion, Dundee definitely feels less isolated than Aberdeen. It's close to the central belt, which is the main corridor of population in Scotland, and plenty of places are nearby - Edinburgh, as mentioned, and also Glasgow isn't that distant. It's also incredibly inexpensive to get around to such places.

Stirling really is dead, yes. Some people like that, I suppose.

If you're concerned about size: well, Dundee's bigger than Middlesborough, but what it perhaps lacks is the outlying population. While cities like Glasgow have a huge number of satellite towns, Dundee has perhaps Perth and a few smaller places like Forfar nearby which can perhaps make it less filled with amenities. I certainly didn't find it particularly lacking during my time there.

I'd strongly recommend a visit, though. Really, even if only a day-trip. You might like it, you might not. Realistically, the overall impression of a place is not something you can easily transmit in text.

University of Dundee

Reply 2

FoeGeddaBowDeet

I haven't studied at the university but from having been there every summer for the past 10 or so years my impression of it is that it's an absolute ****hole. It's grey, depressing and boring. Aberdeen is much nicer IMO. Are the two really that far away from each other? I'm sure Aberdeen is the next stop after Dundee on the GNER.

Reply 3

L i b

Dundee over summer is a bit boring. Not really surprising considering it's got one of the highest populations of students per capita in the UK. I stayed up one summer and I have to admit being bored out of my skull as everyone seemed to have gone home.

I wouldn't describe it as "grey" though - to echo old Stephen Fry's words, it's one of the best positioned cities in Britain. You never feel enclosed, there's rivers and hills and brilliant sunsets over the waterfront. I'd also say most of the new architecture is quite vibrant and impressive, and I'm certainly no modernist in most occasions.

Aberdeen is about an hour and a half from Dundee by car.

Reply 4

FoeGeddaBowDeet

Libertinus Septentrionalis

Not grey in the sense of its surroundings(the perthshire area is beautiful), just in the urban sense, a lot of it actually quite reminds me of east germany and poland. Misplaced slabs of tower block etc. Yeah, there are some really nice views from the hill.

Reply 5

L i b

Hmm... there's two main towers in the town centre that annoy me. One's at the Overgate, the other is the City Council offices which are apparently getting demolished soon.

But the architecture is quite good, I think, particularly around the west of the centre. Very nice buildings there, and not the sameiness of Glasgow.

Reply 6

Rocafella89

Hey thanks for the help guys.. ill have to pay it a visit

Reply 7

iceman0011

Hey, if anyone is come to Dundee, I've found a new student accommodation website has been set up here. It is 100% FREE!! You can search for accommodation or advertise any vacancies you have in your flat. Photographs can be uploaded with your listings too. If you are looking for somewhere to stay you can create a profile and people who have rooms to let can find you! It's really easy to use and best of all it's totally free.

Come and check it out at www.mightysnail.co.uk

Reply 8

FoeGeddaBowDeet

iceman0011

Mug.

Reply 9

lolimemma

Libertinus Septentrionalis

If you're concerned about size: well, Dundee's bigger than Middlesborough.

Dundee as a city is smaller than Middlesbrough. I'm originally from about 15mins away from Middlesbrough but study in Dundee. With Dundee, everything is close to everything, so it's really different to Middlesbrough in that respect.
It's far from secluded. It's about an hour away from Edinburgh and Aberdeen (which are REALLY cheap to get to using Megabus) and there's a direct train service from Newcastle a few times daily. I can get home in about 3.5 hours. There are 2 universities here and St Andrews is pretty close which gives the place a buzz about it. Also, it has all the shops that you'd generally find on a UK highstreet.
Don't be worried about what people are saying about the place being grey. Trust me, it's nicer than Middlesbrough!! (Mind you, most places in the UK are.)
PM me if you have anymore questions. =]

Reply 10

Beebee_bloo

Hi, I live in France but am Scottish. I have applied to do History and Geography at Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Edinburgh is meant to be the best university, but I think thats just because rich kids from private school go there. From what i have read from all the statistics and stuff Dundee seems to be the overall best for my subjects. Anyway, Dundee is my favorite place in general. :biggrin:

I have only visited the place for one day in my life, but liked it a lot. What's Dundee like as a place to live in. I guess you can't really compare it to anywhere in France, so whats it like compared to other place in the UK? My brother is at Aberdeen and from what he says the soul object of life there is getting drunk, is that what its like in Dundee? :confused:

Beebee_bloo

Reply 11

SmilerNuts

Beebee_bloo

Can't argue with that.

Reply 12

DirtyHarry

Dundee > Aberdeen

Worst taxi service ever, Aberdeen that is.

Reply 13

L i b

Yeah, I got in a taxi in Aberdeen once...

Well, I say taxi. It wasn't, just looked like one. It was arse rape. Yep. Arse rape disguised as a taxi. Only in Aberdeen.

Reply 14

SmilerNuts

L i b

Yeah, I got in a taxi in Aberdeen once...

Well, I say taxi. It wasn't, just looked like one. It was arse rape. Yep. Arse rape disguised as a taxi. Only in Aberdeen.

Sorry about that. I didn't know you weren't up for that sort of thing at the time. Lesson learnt.

Reply 15

lolimemma

L i b

Yeah, I got in a taxi in Aberdeen once...

Well, I say taxi. It wasn't, just looked like one. It was arse rape. Yep. Arse rape disguised as a taxi. Only in Aberdeen.

I thought they preferred sheep to humans?

Anyway, Dundee taxi drivers are usually Irish and 90% of the time have the most atrocious music taste ever :frown:

Reply 16

DirtyHarry

I've never had an Irish taxi driver here.

I've had so many!

I can't say I ever really used taxis in Dundee... almost everything is within walking distance, with the possible exception of Camperdown and liquid picnics in Baxter Park...