Live at uni or stay home?
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Reply 1
Original post by kass03
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Hi there,
Apologies if I'm just parroting what you've already heard, but there really are pros and cons to both.
Based on my experience, when I lived in accoms in first year I did go home most weekends to do my shopping, see my family and do volunteering and I still felt that it gave me a taste of independence as I was living with flatmates during the week. If anything it made me feel more settled being there because I wasn't too far from home.
In second year when I commuted I found I saved quite a bit of money as I wasn't paying rent, and it provided a good separation between work life and home life, but I had to be extra organised to make sure I'd get to uni on time for lectures each day. I'd have found this more difficult if I'd have had to be on campus every day of the week. It also meant I had to make extra effort to get involved with societies and clubs I wanted to, which sometimes involved coming home quite late.
Overall I'd say I found living in accoms the most convenient way to do first year but was happy to swap over and commute for subsequent years to save more money.
I hope some of this helped! Any questions please post away 🙂 Best of luck.
Holly
University of Bath
Reply 2
Original post by kass03
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Hey there,
Deciding between living at home and commuting or living in halls was something I struggled with too. I know it can be overwhelming. So, I also studied an art foundation course but at my college and lived about 40 mins train ride away from the university, but decided to move out.
For me it was very important to be on campus, have access to all the facilities and become more independent. I know accommodation rooms can be small but I still felt like I had my own space and most importantly a space where I could get on with my work without any distractions. For any projects where I needed more room, I would just go into university or use other facilities on campus which being a ten minute walk from makes a difference to getting a 40 minute train plus getting to the trains station and walking to uni.
Having to commute five days a week could also become tiring. I know this from many of my course mates complaining about the commutes, both who drove or used public transport. It's great that you have a job and can commute to it easily if you did move out once a week or always check for jobs closer to your campus or even jobs at your uni. Studying a creative course, you often have larger things to bring in too which being on campus makes so much easier. What course are you studying after your foundation year?
Lastly, there are many pros and cons to both such as not paying rent if commuting or being able to go to any university events and not worrying about how late you will be commuting to get home. Doing a pros and cons list isn't the most exciting task however it did help me to make my mind up for sure. 🙂
Hope this helps and best of luck 🙂
^Zac
(edited 2 months ago)
Reply 3
Original post by kass03
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Hi
I hope you are okay.
I think this can be a tough position to be within, this is because living at a University can be a really enjoyable and fun experience. However, living at home can help to save you money in the long term although it can be quite taxing coming back and forth to university every day will be a potential problem to consider.
I hope this helps,
Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps
Original post by kass03
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Hi there,
There's loads of great advice in this thread already so I won't repeat what the others have already said but my top tip is always try for uni accommodation first year to make your firm friends, get to grips with the uni and gain some independence, then if you prefer you can decide to commute for the rest of the years which is what several of my friends did.
Hope this helps
Amber
Coventry University Student Ambassador
Reply 5
Original post by kass03
I'm hoping to start uni this September and am debating the whole living in accomms vs at home situation. I live about a 30-40 minute bus ride / 40 minute walk from the uni, so all in all it's local, same city that I'm in, and all that.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
I know a lot of people will say its a personal decision and to look at the pros and cons, but it feels quite difficult.
A few factors are these: I will have a full 5 day timetable essentially, and of course will be required to do self-study (will be doing art and design foundation year, so in a way i will have two "first" years when i then move onto a 3 year degree).
I don't actually have much space to comfortably work on my art/studies at home, especially in my own room which could afford the privacy for me to focus.
I do have a job, and hopefully will continue to work a day at the weekend once I go to uni. This is good because it means I'm earning money still, but right now my job is so close to my house, whereas it will be further if I go to uni, and the hours on the weekend can be early (although ideally I could just go home the night before a shift so I am closer to work, but then would living in accomms be worth it?).
I'm also liking the idea of joining a couple of societies, some of these run late to be getting a bus/walking.
I'm just really unsure because the idea of my own space appeals to me so much, but then the idea of leaving home is so crazy and different that I feel like I may be doing the wrong thing. It would be great to hear from anyone who lived so close to their uni but still went to accomms, especially if you were a 'Mature' student (im 22). And just in general anyone who has lived in accomms, had to travel from uni to their work, maybe people who can compare living at home vs uni cause theyve done it both.
Hi!
As you said this is a very personal decision as only you know the ins and outs of your circumstance. From what you have said it sounds like living at home would suit you well, buses tend to run late enough for societies and you will make friends who you can always stay with if necessary. In terms of space, the university will have facilities and spaces for you to work on campus so this won't be a hindrance. Additionally, you can try living at home this year and if it doesn't work out move into accommodation the following year.
Hope this helps! Faye 🙂
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