The Student Room Group

Living at home at Portsmouth Uni

Hey has anyone experienced this before? I’m checking out my options and I do like Portsmouth uni a lot but I’m worried staying at home will limit me a lot? Please share any experiences❤️
Reply 1
Personally for my first year at portsmouth i stayed in an accommodation. I did know some people who struggled with staying home because it was hard to have motivation to go to uni. It all really depends on how far ur home is. If it’s very close I’m sure you’ll be fine. But if it’s an hour plus it may be difficult. I actually knew someone who missed an exam because there was traffic on the way to uni😭. It may also be hard to make friends as someone who commutes, since a lot of people make friends from their accommodation. Hope this helps !
Reply 2
Original post by jkddu
Personally for my first year at portsmouth i stayed in an accommodation. I did know some people who struggled with staying home because it was hard to have motivation to go to uni. It all really depends on how far ur home is. If it’s very close I’m sure you’ll be fine. But if it’s an hour plus it may be difficult. I actually knew someone who missed an exam because there was traffic on the way to uni😭. It may also be hard to make friends as someone who commutes, since a lot of people make friends from their accommodation. Hope this helps !


Hi thankyou so much, did they ever struggle to get social and join in because they weren’t in group accom? Also how did you find Portsmouth uni in general
Reply 3
Original post by Anonymous
Hi thankyou so much, did they ever struggle to get social and join in because they weren’t in group accom? Also how did you find Portsmouth uni in general


Sometimes it would be difficult especially during freshers bcos everyone goes for nights out and things, but when actual uni started it wasn’t hard to speak to friends because we’re always in the same accommodation. And portsmouth is great! I made the mistake of finding 2 friends and then I stopped speaking to anyone else😂. Overall portsmouth is a lovely place, and the uni is SO supportive
Reply 4
I'm going yo portsmouth but staying home (Basingstoke) . But only because I'm a mature student with husband kids and mortgage. If I was younger then I'd stay in halls
Original post by Anonymous
Hi thankyou so much, did they ever struggle to get social and join in because they weren’t in group accom? Also how did you find Portsmouth uni in general


I personally think you will be fine, many people in many unis stay at home and commute. You can make friends through your course or through clubs and societies. Also some uni accommodation can sometimes be further from the uni as well so comuting to uni us still thing for accommodation students.
Original post by Anonymous
Hey has anyone experienced this before? I’m checking out my options and I do like Portsmouth uni a lot but I’m worried staying at home will limit me a lot? Please share any experiences❤️

Hi I hope you are doing well,

Are you looking at living in Portsmouth or somewhere else and travelling in?

I think it all comes down to what you are wanting from University. A lot of our students live at home rather than in accommodation either in the city or further away. There is still so many options for getting the most out of your time at university both academically and socially no matter where you are and with so much going on in the city, there are plenty of opportunities to do things without living in the city. It is just a case of being a bit more flexible I'd say with planning your schedule if you are living outside of the city but if you are living in Portsmouth but not accommodation, there are plenty of chances to make friends on your course or to take part in events to meet people and being in accommodation isn't the be all and end all. Portsmouth is a very small city and therefore everyone is quite close to each other with lots of things going on so just because you aren't in halls, doesn't mean you can't make friends.

As some people were saying in this thread, some people may struggle with motivating themselves to go to university if they have to travel in so it also depends on what style of worker you are and how you study best. If that travelling might be an issue for motivating you, then maybe somewhere closer to home might work better but again that's all down to your work type.

At Portsmouth, many of our courses offer part time or flexible study options so you can fit it in around your lifestyle well so don't be deterred by Portsmouth because of the distance as there are a lot of options and services in place to help you make the most of your course.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions,

All the best,
Daniel
University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Quick Reply