Living in Leamington!

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all keeping well.

This blog is a bit different to my normal blogs, as I aim to tell you about my second year experience living away from campus.

There are a range of different options for off-campus accommodation, post first year. Though, after speaking to numerous people in higher years, I was instantly attracted to the idea of living in Leamington Spa. After several visits with my friends to some of the bars and restaurants in the area, I got a real feel for the place and how nice it would be to actually live there. One year ago, I could imagine myself living there, and one year later, I am loving it!

Not only is Leamington bustling with students, but it is typical of a small village-like community, which is really nice. I particularly like the student aspect of the area because most of my friends live within various areas of the town, so it is convenient to meet up with them. I can also say that I feel safe here, especially walking to and from clubs in the early hours of the morning, because there are generally students and other locals around. The array of restaurants and shops is great. There are a range of cuisines, which is perfect for a food-lover, like myself, as I aim to get through as many cafes and restaurants in Leamington as I can! In addition to this, there is also a shopping centre, as well as various parks and a whole strip of high-street shops.

Although I’m incredibly fond of the area as a whole, there are some drawbacks to living here. The main thing that I would stress with great emphasis, is the issue I’ve encountered with buses from Leamington to campus. Most students have experienced this in Leamington because there have been strikes from the drivers within the company, thus causing an overall lack of buses. There have been several occasions where I’ve either been late or missed some of my in-person lectures due to buses never arriving, or buses driving past because they’re too full. Twice now, I’ve even had to get an Uber onto campus for my 9am labs, which was incredibly annoying as I had been waiting for up to an hour prior to ordering. Because of this, I’ve had to adapt my schedule to wake up much earlier than otherwise intended, in order to make it on-time for my early morning seminars/lectures. One final thing to note is the access to supermarkets. Most local to me, there is a Tesco Express (which is a bit more on the pricey side if you prefer cheaper supermarkets). I have to travel slightly further out if I want to shop in Aldi or Lidl, either by bus or walking for around 25 minutes. This isn’t too much of an issue… unless it’s during the cold and rainy winter months!

In general, I have loved living in Leamington so far in my second year. It is such a pretty town (especially during Christmas because the most beautiful and festive lights are put up on the main high-street) and it has most of the things I need to get me through the year. I would definitely recommend looking into living in Leamington during your time at Warwick! BTW this is not intended to be Leamington Spa propaganda… there are advantages and disadvantages to living here, but it’s important to ask around and get a variety of opinions into each different area before making your decision for accommodation.

Jess x