Hi everyone, I joined the University of Leeds last year as a mature student on a four year degree programme and completed my first year. Now this year I have taken as a gap year because of circumstances however I will be returning to the university full time from September 06 to finish off my course.
Now the pre-amble is over the advice I need is that when I return I will be moving to Leeds fulltime, previously I lived elsewhere and not as part of the student community. So my question is do any of you have any recommendations of where I should look to re-locate myself and any tips on how to fit in with my future fellow students?
When I return to uni I will be 26 so not too much older than regular uni entrants, I am generally outgoing and easy to get on with so I don't envisage much difficulty in befriending people but I don't really know what to expect when I move into student accommodation and indeed whether mature students are well received socially by regular entrants?
I am an openly gay man and hope to get more involved with the LGBT society, I have a long history of charitable work and am currently a trustee for a local HIV support charity so I do tend to get involved.
So what i'm looking for are any tips, pointers and advice.
Anonymous wrote: So my question is do any of you have any recommendations of where I should look to re-locate myself and any tips on how to fit in with my future fellow students?
When I return to uni I will be 26 so not too much older than regular uni entrants, I am generally outgoing and easy to get on with so I don't envisage much difficulty in befriending people but I don't really know what to expect when I move into student accommodation and indeed whether mature students are well received socially by regular entrants?
I am an openly gay man and hope to get more involved with the LGBT society, I have a long history of charitable work and am currently a trustee for a local HIV support charity so I do tend to get involved.
So what i'm looking for are any tips, pointers and advice.
Thanks in advance.
Robert
I'm living in Woodhouse and loving it. It's got the right mix of studenty and not-studenty and is so central to both uni, Headingley, Hyde Park and the city centre. The house I live in is £50pw. Admittedly it's a little bit of a ****hole, but if you want somewhere that's not too studenty and fairly quiet without being away from the action, I'd recommend having a look.
My boyfriend's 28 and lives on Ash Grove which is really near to Hyde Park corner. It's very studenty and can be a bit noisy so if you're looking for somewhere more vibrant, I'd recommend that. The area around Hyde Park itself has quite a lot in the way of one bedroom flats/bedsits which might be worth a look if you don't want housemates. But there is no shortage of shared houses whatsoever.
From what I can ascertain, mature students don't seem to have many problems once the initial settling down period is over (but I'm only two years older than most of the people in my year, so I can't claim to be too mature.) If you're outgoing then I can see no problems whatsoever. What are your interests outside of LGBT stuff? I'd recommend joining a couple of societies as keeping yourself busy can really help.
As these guys are pointing out, the options are varied. But bear in mind that students start looking for accommodation for the next academic year in January/February. If you think you won't be able to get to Leeds for that time of year, I'd recommend you let the University sort out your accommodation, as opposed to juggling with the private sector when you get here. If yo state your situation and your personal likes/disliked, they'll probably allocate you with like-minded people.
Anyway, sometimes house-hunting is a right pain, but none of us are homeless, so good luck and hope you find a nice place!
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'I've discovered the secret of life. A lot of hard work, a lot of sense of humor, a lot of joy and a whole lot of tra la la.' Kay Thompson
That's not true at all. There is NO shortage of housing for students in Leeds. Please don't be fooled into thinking you have to start looking in January/February.
I'm not too fond of uni accommodation at all. I think it offers poor value for money and there's no guarantee of who'll you'll be put with. Better to choose ones own house/flatmates, methinks. Though you might want to consider being a subwarden if you're looking into uni-owned accommodation. In return for looking after perpetually drunk 19 year-olds in a hall of residence, you got a 50% rent discount.
Alice and Sash are right. There is a huge surplus of housing in Leeds.
Of course, it all depends on what it is you are looking for, like Alice said.
I moved further away from the action, to Meanwood, this year.
Although it is a far distance from things, it is a comfortable half-hours walk from Univesrity and a ten minute bus ride from the city. it is nice and quiet, reasonably priced and much less studenty.
I lived in Woodhouse last year though and did enjoys its good mix of students and non-students and it is definitely more reasonably priced than a lot of places.
Headingley is the overpriced area of Leeds that really has few perks in my opinion. It is busy, noisy, the traffic is awful around there and it is quite a way from the uni. The busy road means getting to and from town can take ages.
Anyway, good luck!
x
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Johnk
The only freedom that you’ll ever really know
Is written in books from long ago
I contacted UniPol a few weeks ago and they advised me that I ought to start looking around Feb / March time which is no problem for me as I will only be living in Doncaster but working in Wakefield so Leeds is no problem.
I guess what worried me more than anything else was how do I decide who to live with because of course I won't know anyone and I would imagine that the majority of students living in shared houses will be in their second year and upwards, and will have already worked out their social circles.
I am a very friendly and outgoing person so don't envisage any problems in making friends, but I am worried that I will make an error in judgement when choosing housemates. I am concerned that I will have to live with potentionally awful and unfriendly people but this of course I will only discover when I actually move in.
I didn't realise though that you could place adverts for housemates in UniPol so that could be a good idea. Ideally I would hope to live with about three or four other people, close to the uni but also close to town and would want a mix of male / female in the house to give it a nice friendly atmosphere.
Interest wise I am into mixing and publishing music on the internet through my podcast so I guess I could look at joining the lsrfm radio and of course I would join the LGBT group. I am also heavily involved in charitable work at the minute too so that could be a introduction point to some other socities in the uni. I also like to ski but i'm not joining the ski club, I joined last year and found the core of ski club members to be very elitist and pretentious. Just not the type of people I get on with unfortunately so they won't be getting my membership next year.
It's a daunting thought returning to uni after working for a number of years. It's a bold step giving up a well paid job in return for three years of study at not much money but hey, life is too short and there's so much to do so that's why i'm taking this leap of faith.
Right time for my dinner. Many thanks again to everyone for responding.
Hopefully I will get to meet some of you next year.
Just a thought. I am enrolled at the uni of leeds, I am currently enjoying a gap year. Does this prohibit me from joining the LGBT society until I return in Sept 06?
Might be useful to experience the uni LGBT scene and get to know a few people before I return full time.
hopefully you'll read this soon and not leave it til jan/feb.
i'm not sure what my accommodation plans are for next year yet. i'm probably gonna be moving out of my current flat though and one of my options will be moving into a new house with new people.
i think it could be fun living with another gay though.
Alice, I never said there was any shortage of housing in Leeds. I just said people start looking very early in the year. My own experience in 2003 told me never to leave looking for accommodation till later in the year.
Glad Unipol were of use, Robert.
Take care, guys.
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'I've discovered the secret of life. A lot of hard work, a lot of sense of humor, a lot of joy and a whole lot of tra la la.' Kay Thompson
Hi, I have just come back from a year out, I decided to go into halls as I didn't know anyone and had a v. bad experience with housemates that I didn't get on with in my second year. Halls are ok if you don't mind paper thin walls and people coming back from nights out at 2am. I am living with first years and they are all messy, but on the whole it is not too bad and where I am it is pretty new so not manky. The advantage with halls is that if there is a personality clash you can move to a different room. You want to be very careful about who you move in with if it is an independant landlord because you are stuck in the contract for a year, its a nightmare if you don't get on with the people you live with. Most of all, do your research, if halls aren't for you them talk to whoever you will be living with and make sure there are no potential clashes or irritating habits.
