How Close should I live to university?

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

Reply 1

Crazy Jamie

Life & Style Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

In a vacuum my view is that you should live as close to the university as you can, certainly within walking distance or a short public transport journey if possible. It just makes the whole experience more accessible and enjoyable for a range of reasons, none of which necessarily include alcohol. Ultimately, though, this is all personal choice, and depends on your personal circumstances as well as those of your boyfriend. If there's a particular reason why he needs to live there, or living there is a compromise between your needs and his, then living there makes more sense. But solely for the purposes of university life, I would live closer if you can.

Original post by avictoriad

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

Hi there @avictoriad , if the cost of renting a place near university is not much different from renting slightly further away, I would personally recommend living closer towards university! Although this entirely depends on the location and course of study! Personally, living within 15-20mins walking distance from university has been such a great experience for me as I barely have any travel expenses and can easily meet up with friends while not having to worry about being late for class! Hope this helps!

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

Reply 3

avictoriad

OP

9

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hi there @avictoriad , if the cost of renting a place near university is not much different from renting slightly further away, I would personally recommend living closer towards university! Although this entirely depends on the location and course of study! Personally, living within 15-20mins walking distance from university has been such a great experience for me as I barely have any travel expenses and can easily meet up with friends while not having to worry about being late for class! Hope this helps!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

There are flats which are closer to my university, however I am so tempted by this one because it is much more modern and spacious for the price compared to any other flat I have seen before

Reply 4

martin7

20

Original post by avictoriad

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

You need to look at the logistics of having a car and using it to commute.

When you're at the flat, where will you park the car? Have you looked into how much car insurance will cost at that location? Is there somewhere to park the car when you travel to university? How much will that cost? Have you budgeted for the costs of having/maintaining the car, and fuel costs? Will you be sharing the car with your boyfriend, and if so how will that work out?

" dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out" -- if you're driving please take the approach of "I'm driving so I'm not drinking"; don't start thinking "I'm driving so I'll only have one". If you're driving, don't drink at all.

Reply 5

avictoriad

OP

9

There is two parking spaces at the flat for me and my boyfriend, and my car insurance is cheaper in the new location than it currently is where I live now. I should be able to apply for a parking permit, and If not then I have found a carpark close by which is not too expensive. And no im the first advocate for not drinking anything whilst driving, not worth it!

Original post by avictoriad

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

Hi there,

This isn't too far of a commute so it wouldn't be a problem living this far away from the uni as you are still within easy driving distance of uni. However, it's worth looking into where you would park when you get to uni. Is there easily accessible parking and how much is it? I know you have said there is parking at your flat which is good but it's worth just checking the parking situation at uni too.

It might be easier if you were closer by and could walk to uni but a lot of the times people do get public transport to uni anyway so this wouldn't be a big problem it would just be a little bit easier if you were close by. Have a look if there is a public transport link from where you are living to uni.

With nights out, a 15/20 minute drive wouldn't be too bad for getting a taxi back home if you did want to go on a night out and drink, especially if you were splitting it with your boyfriend. So this could be an option too!

I hope this helps,

Lucy -SHU student ambassador :smile:

Original post by avictoriad

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

Hey!

This is not a bad commute at all! A lot of people drive further to work so I don't think this is too bad! It is worth making sure you can get a parking permit though for your university or working out how much you'll have to pay in parking as this can be a hidden cost of commuting!

I hope this helps,
Rebecca

Reply 8

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by avictoriad

I am looking at renting a flat with my boyfriend which is a 15/20 minute drive away from my university, but much longer if i took public transport (which hopefully I wouldnt have to do). Do you think this is a bad idea and I should be closer to the uni. Im already used to driving quite often and dont drink much so would be fine to drive home after a night out.

Bear in mind driving may not be an option anyway as every university has extremely limited parking, even more limited (if even available) to students, and among students undergraduates are at the very bottom of that chain. Generally unless you have a specific accessibility need to drive in (which would normally come up after applying for DSA and having your needs assessment) as an undergraduate you almost certainly won't be able to get on-campus parking.

Also some unis have policies to formally discourage or prohibit students from bringing their car to the city (e.g. Cambridge has something about that in the statutes and ordinances as I recall). Of course the extent to which this is actually monitored and/or enforced is probably limited...

Realistically having a car in a university town is often going to cost a lot for very limited benefit. You may want to look at living closer and accounting for the savings from not having a car against potentially higher rental costs.

How Close should I live to university?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you