Going to uni and living at home

I’m currently trying to decide whether i should live at home when doing my uni education or do accommodation. Anyone who’s lived at home during uni, that could provide me with some pros, cons and their overall experience?

Reply 1

YSJstudents

Official Rep

Hi there,

I did not live at home during my first year of university but lived in student accommodation. I had quite a good experience with student accommodation and really enjoyed my time. I had some lovely flat mates who have become some of my closest friends. Due to going to a university far away from my parents meant that I was unable to choose to live in student accommodation but I think I would have chosen to live in student accommodation regardless as it gives you more freedom than living at home does.

Although I lived in student accommodation in my first year of university I had may friends who did not and choose to commute for various reasons. They have enjoyed the commuting and found it an ideal way to save a bit of money especially on rent. However, the main con they have found is that commuting can really take it out of you and they find it can be quite tiring especially when they have a lecture which runs till late. This con of commuting can be dependent on how far away from the university you are planning to study at is from your home as if it is within the same city or area then commuting will not be as bad then if it was about an hours drive or so.

I would say think about your options and which one would be the most viable especially with the distance you would be commuting. Another thing to take into consideration is how often you are in for lectures and seminars as if your are in everyday costs of commuting can become pricey as well as tiring. A lot of universities offer commuters accommodation for their commuting students a couple of times a week at a low cost. This could be something to look into if you decide to commute.

I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck with you studies at university 😊
Katie - Student Ambassador

Reply 2

Cerise01

Original post

by YSJstudents

Hi there,
I did not live at home during my first year of university but lived in student accommodation. I had quite a good experience with student accommodation and really enjoyed my time. I had some lovely flat mates who have become some of my closest friends. Due to going to a university far away from my parents meant that I was unable to choose to live in student accommodation but I think I would have chosen to live in student accommodation regardless as it gives you more freedom than living at home does.
Although I lived in student accommodation in my first year of university I had may friends who did not and choose to commute for various reasons. They have enjoyed the commuting and found it an ideal way to save a bit of money especially on rent. However, the main con they have found is that commuting can really take it out of you and they find it can be quite tiring especially when they have a lecture which runs till late. This con of commuting can be dependent on how far away from the university you are planning to study at is from your home as if it is within the same city or area then commuting will not be as bad then if it was about an hours drive or so.
I would say think about your options and which one would be the most viable especially with the distance you would be commuting. Another thing to take into consideration is how often you are in for lectures and seminars as if your are in everyday costs of commuting can become pricey as well as tiring. A lot of universities offer commuters accommodation for their commuting students a couple of times a week at a low cost. This could be something to look into if you decide to commute.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck with you studies at university 😊
Katie - Student Ambassador

Thank you for the help 😊

Reply 3

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Hi there 👋.

It's entirely your choice and completely depends on your circumstances. I would suggest writing a pros and cons list between living in halls and commuting home. This way you can weigh up your options and consider the benefits to both, here are some pros and cons to start you off!:

Pros of living in halls:

•Living in Halls allows you especially in your first year to meet new people easier, and get to know people that are not necessarily in your course.
•Allows you to gain vital life skills such as cooking, cleaning, finance management, and time management.
•Automatically gives you more independence and allows you to try new things.
•Closer to the campus meaning you do not have to get up too early for lectures
•As you are living in the town, more opportunities to go out and socialise.

Cons to living in halls:

•Not everyone is clean and tidy
•Can be quite pricey
•Having to pay for laundry on-site
•The possibility of people borrowing your stuff

Pros of living at home:

•If you have pets, meaning you do not have to leave them behind with family
•Having your own independent space at the family home and not having to share with teenagers
•Reducing bills such as laundry, food, and going out.
•Easier to stay in contact with family and friends

Cons to living at home:

•You may not learn life skills as quickly if you are living with your parents
•The price of petrol/diesel can be quite expensive
•May miss out on going out and socialising as much

I have many friends at university who have decided to live in halls this year and commute home at weekends, in order to get the university experience but still remain close to home. It's about assessing what is the best for you as an individual.

Good luck,
Hannah - 1st Year Mental Health Nursing#
WrexhamUniReps

Reply 4

InnateImpunity

Pros:
Get home to a nice meal
Stay with family
Save money

Cons:
Get treated like a kid
Travel a ridiculous amount
Not get to stay at uni late for events and such

Reply 5

LancashireRep1

Official Rep

Original post

by Cerise01

Hi @Cerise01

I lived at home during my first 2 years and now I've moved out for my final few years!

One of the main pro's of living at home is that you save a lot more money! This is great if you're saving up for something like a car as it gives you a good head start!

As for the cons, I found that the commute was quite tiring each day - you don't realize it until you're in walking distance of the campus! Another con Is that if you want to go out at night, it does take a bit more planning on how you're getting there / getting home if you are driving or can't drive.

If you can afford to, I really enjoyed it when I moved out but either way, I'm sure you'll still have a great time at university - it is a really great experience!

I hope this helps,
Rebecca, UCLan

Reply 6

jonathanemptage

Original post

by Cerise01

I lived in halls and there are so many benefits to it.

1/ Independence while independence is big reason people want to stay in halls but people often don't really know quite what it entails. Yes you can go out or not and nobody will tell you off for coming home blind drunk at 03:00 but there much more to it than that you'll learn how to do a food shop and cook for your self how to stay healthy on your own terms how to deal if your sick or injured how to budget it's not always fun but it's worth it. you kind of learn how to adult after those 3 years.

2/Finance is a big reason people choose to commute but it's not a simple as that you get less loan if you live at home so even if halls are let's say £121 a week and your weekly commute costs £183 a week ( London Paddington to Reading return) obviously halls are less so take that into account. Your probably thinking what about bills though well in university halls bills are included in the price all you need to pay for aside from the rent is food and drink an optional TV license if you want to to watch broadcast TV.

3/ Comfort What I mean by that is having a place close to the university is useful for a few reasons first of all you won’t need to get up so early for nine am lectures! If you have a late lecture (like 8pm) you don’t need to worry about getting home because it’s a short walk to where you live. You have a place to retreat to if you have a long break you could of course study in the library but if you’re writing an assignments or formalising some notes or working on an assignment having a comfortable place where you can have a mug of tea while you work is so much better. You might have some very long breaks (I had 9 hours in my second year). S obviously being able to go home then helps a lot.

4/Social Life This is a big part of uni. If you get on with your flatmates you obviously will go out together clubbing but you’ll also have movie nights video game tournaments maybe go to the beach if it’s nice. If not there are societies and sports clubs and things which will be much harder to take part in social nights and the thing the society is actually for like rock climbing or whatever, and there are also your course mates who you’ll likely go out with sometimes too.on that front you will also have group work which can end fairly late sometimes and they won’t thank you if your running of to the train all the time.

As others have said it’s very easy to think “oh it’s only an hour today I’ll give it a miss.” If you have a long train journey at either end it’s less likely you’ll do that in halls and it’s a slippery slope that so many commuters fall down.

A lot of commuters will tell you I commuted all 3 years an I didn’t miss out at all it’s good they had a good time but they did miss out what I say to them is “you don’t know man you weren’t there.”

Reply 7

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by Cerise01

Good evening @Cerise01 ,

I am a current commuter student with varied experience with commuting. It's great to commute as you go home and back to your place, and you haven't got to start over with accommodation. However, the commute can be tiring after a long day at university, and commuting makes it harder to attend any socials or evening activities.

I have written a blog about commuting, which you might find helpful. I hope this helps.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

All the best,
Ella 😃
BSc Ecology

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 8

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post

by Cerise01

Hi Cerise01, I have just finished my first year at Lancaster studying Law with criminology and commuting around an hour/40 miles to and from uni most days. There are certainly pros and cons, but overall I think it was the best decision for me.
Pros-

•

You save a lot of money on accommodation costs/student loans

•

You can still participate in societies and other social activities

•

More and more students are commuting nowadays, so it is easy to make friends in similar positions

•

Having to wait on campus between lectures is great for getting work done, for me this helped with a work-life balance since I didn't have as much to do when I got home

•

Ive found it great to be able to come home at the end of the day and switch off from university- again helping my work life balance and separation between home and uni

•

I found it helped aid in the "settling in to uni", making it less of an overwhelming process

•

You can potentially keep a part time job at home, which aids you in experience and finances (and may be easier than getting a job in a uni city)

Cons-

•

9ams (goes without saying) can be rough, especially in 8am rush hour traffic

•

you may have long days/gaps between lectures, which can be frustrating but also productive for getting self-directed work done

•

May be slightly harder to make friends, you have to put yourself out there more

•

If many of your friends move away for uni, being at home can be slightly isolating during term time, but this makes summer holidays/ Christmas more special when everyone is back home

•

Can be seen as missing out on the "uni experience" but this totally depends on your personality/preferences with university. For me I was always going to university for my degree more than the experience, so I don't mind this, and I still get many elements of the experience which people want.

My overall experience has been great, and I don't regret commuting at all, but this can be down to personal preferences and can be a big decision to make. I hope my thoughts can help you make the decision!
Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Beth (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

Reply 9

jonathanemptage

Original post

by Lancaster Student Ambassador

•

You save a lot of money on accommodation costs/student loans

•

You can still participate in societies and other social activities

•

More and more students are commuting nowadays, so it is easy to make friends in similar positions

•

Having to wait on campus between lectures is great for getting work done, for me this helped with a work-life balance since I didn't have as much to do when I got home

•

Ive found it great to be able to come home at the end of the day and switch off from university- again helping my work life balance and separation between home and uni

•

I found it helped aid in the "settling in to uni", making it less of an overwhelming process

•

You can potentially keep a part time job at home, which aids you in experience and finances (and may be easier than getting a job in a uni city)

Cons-

•

9ams (goes without saying) can be rough, especially in 8am rush hour traffic

•

you may have long days/gaps between lectures, which can be frustrating but also productive for getting self-directed work done

•

May be slightly harder to make friends, you have to put yourself out there more

•

If many of your friends move away for uni, being at home can be slightly isolating during term time, but this makes summer holidays/ Christmas more special when everyone is back home

•

Nice post but I disagree with your point about saving money if you live at home while you might be able to save money or depends on a few factors such as distance and mode of transport. Even if you do initially seem to save money travel costs do mount up and you get less loan if you choose to commute so you need to consider if your loan amount will cover your travel costs because if not halls might be cheaper even if you drive university’s don’t have much in the way of student parking most parking is taken up. Y staff or disabled students who (quite rightly) will get priority. Which will mean you’d need to find parking either on the street or in a public car park which can also cost.quite a lot.depending on where you are and could involve a lengthy walk.

Commuting can also be exhausting what with changes delays and cancellations.A lot of commuters say “oh I’ll work on the train “ They have massively underestimated how university works you cannot do meaningful work on a train to the standard required for university (this is not school)).