social life Uni of Exeter V Uni of Birmingham?

I really like both of the courses here for Law, so was wondering if anyone has any advice on the social scenes there/which has more to do. I wasn't/am not able to go to any open days in person bc of the pandemic so any insight would be great!

Reply 1

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Omgcobbly

Birmingham is a much bigger city, probably a lot more nightlife.

As for the Student Unions id imagine both have plenty of societies & sports perhaps look at their websites.

Reply 2

username3508100

Birmingham, definitely.
Exeter's my nearest city, and it's pretty small and quiet. Can't comment specifically on the uni though, sorry

Reply 3

UoB - Arts and Law

Official Rep

Original post by Omgcobbly

Hey @Omgcobbly,

This is such a common question. It can be so hard to figure out what the nightlife is like without actually having experienced it first hand.

I really enjoyed the nightlife in Birmingham, there's something going on nearly every night and events to suit all tastes. It's not just the fact that Birmingham is such a big city that creates such a busy nightlife but also the fact that there are so many Universities in Birmingham (5 by my count) this means that the student nights are huge.

Tuesday nights are usually Stuesdays at Players, Wednesday Nights are Sports Night at the Guild, Thursdays are Vodbull at Rosie's and Saturday's are Fab N Fresh. Of course there are so many other clubs on Broad Street and a huge range of events on offer in Digbeth too - think The Mill and Lab 11 for events like Soul Jam, Tektu, Magic Door and Bingo Lingo. This is really just a taste of whats on offer but the events mentioned are some of the most popular and sell out nearly every week.

I also really liked the fact that there's a lot of nightlife 'on your doorstep' in second and third year with things like the Guild, Circo and loads of pubs in walking distance from the student houses. This is great as it saves you so much on taxi fares and means that you can easily decide to go out spontaneously without it costing too much.

The Guild is a massive part of student life at Birmingham and there really is every sport and society that you could possibly imagine. The only problem you'd likely have is finding the time to do everything you're interested in. I was part of the Photography Society and made some great friends through that, I also took part in the Carnival RAG charity hitchhike with my housemates in final year which was so memorable. Suffice to say there's plenty to try out whatever you're interested in.

I hope this helps but if you have any more questions just give me a shout!

Molly :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 4

UniofExeterRep 2

Official Rep

Hi @Omgcobbly

Exeter is undeniably the smaller of the two cities however that is by no means a bad thing! We have so much to do and a huge variety of places to go. I have really enjoyed the nightlife at Exeter as every night there is lots of options of places to go - take a Thursday night - you have Quids in at one of the biggest clubs (Unit 1), Dirty beats at another, Timepiece an Art Deco themed club upstairs and a pub with food carts downstairs and a good handful of other more indie clubs depending on what you are into! And that’s just Thursday…,

They are all close no matter where you live in Exeter and this means you don’t need to waste any money on Taxis. We also have on campus the Guild bar ‘The Ram’ which hosts Rameoke, Quiz nights, Sports events and is always just there whenever you need a livener on campus - you have to have curly fries though, they are legendary! There is also the Student Guild’s nightclub, The Lemon Grove referred too as “The Lemmy’, which hosts Lost Saturdays as well as many gig events and different themed events which has in more recent times been a weekly sell out. We have had the Kaiser Chiefs play on campus and a few others in the Lemmy such as Rizzle Kicks, Wretch 32 and DJ Fresh.

So there is a lot going on in Exeter but at the same time it feels a very safe city to be in and we have the uni security, our Estate Patrol, which patrol campus and town and can be called if needed (https://www.exeter.ac.uk/campusservices/facilitiesoperations/estatepatrol/). The city is a bit smaller but that means you get to know and recognise more students and there is always someone you know in a club. So, you are constantly bumping in to friends! In my experience the best nights out happen when you bump in to another group of mates and go from there :smile:

. There are a lot of pubs in Exeter too if clubs aren’t so much your thing and these are also bustling with events and socials almost every night of the week.

Also in summer, a lot of students head to the beach which is a short and very cheap train ride away and so Exmouth is filled with celebrating students, a lot of BBQs and a huge amount of fun. That is something that Birmingham unfortunately doesn’t have to offer! We have a good range of transport links including the airport so it is very easy to get to and get around.

There’s such a huge range of societies, socials and different people to meet and I can say you won’t get bored. But you may struggle to fit everything in that you want to.

Hope this helps- let me know if you have any further questions about Exeter! Good luck with your decision making.

Saf, Student Ambassador

Reply 5