University of Exeter and the South West Country

Hello,

I just wanted to introduce myself.  I heard about this site from a friend who's moving over and thought I'd check it out.  This, already, has been a huge help in my getting ready to come over in the fall.

I actually got my accepted last spring...but I had to defer to save some money and I just got married this year.  Wasn't too sure it was smart to do both things 6 months apart.

Anyway, I'll be going to Univ. of Exeter and thought I'd pop in to say "hi" and see who else might be in that area.  Any major advice about what to look out for or expect as I begin the trek through the world of Visas, student loans, housing, etc.

thanks

I'm not anywhere near exeter but I am a postgrad in Manchester...just wanted to say hi!  This forum is great for advice and such

Hey Andrea,

I've actually read a few of your posts before I registered here.  Thanks for all the hints you didn't know you already gave me.  I'll be a postgrad as well...I'm sure I'll have a few million questions.

Hi and welcome to UKY! 

Anyone who is living in Exeter (or nearby)....I need a little help with getting housing.  I know that I'll have to give proof of accomodations for my wife to get a visa with me as a student.  Of course, she'll have a work visa but I'm going to have to get something sight-unseen as I can't afford to come over for home shopping.

My biggest fear is this.  The website I went to (britianusa.com) says that many shared accomodations might not work for visa purposes 

What to do, what to do???

yay, glad some of my previous posts have been helpful to you

About the housing....it seems there are many different ways to deal with this issue.  (I personally didn't have to deal with it as single students don't have to show proof of accommodation, but I understand that married students do.)  If you guys get shared housing it should be fine as long as the house isn't overcrowded... shared housing can be used for spousal visa apps so there's no reason it wouldn't work for a student dependent visa.  You might run into a problem in renting in a "student" house, as full time students are exempt from council tax (so often student houses are all students and don't like to deal with having a non-student like your wife in the house as it messes up the council tax situation a bit.)  However, there are plenty of houses where the mixing of students and professionals are common so it's just something to be aware of.   

I understand not wanting to rent sight-unseen...I'd be more than a little uncomfortable with that as well.  I know others on this site who have been in the same situation have secured temporary accommodation and then got a flat when they moved over....I'd do a search on the forum to find those posts.

And just a nitpicky terminology thing- if your wife is coming over purely attached to your student visa, she won't have a "work visa", but a student dependent visa.  It allows her to work, of course, but it's not quite the same thing.

Thanks again for the info. especially the visa heads-up. 

Anyone have any major culture shocks when moving over?  Such as the little things you didn't expect with the showers in your flat or what is considered rude in public etc.?
I hear the water is harder there than in America?  I can't imagine an entire country of hard water.  Surley this is, like here, a regional thing.  I hope Devon doesn't have hard water.

  I can't imagine an entire country of hard water.  Surley this is, like here, a regional thing. 

Yep ... it's regional.
I live in Scotland, and the water here is very soft, and beautifully drinkable.
I lived in London for 4 years, and the water there was vile tasting and very hard and scaly.

What is there to do in Devon or the South west in general?  I know there are lots of beautiful gardens...but what else?  I'm not too huge of a partier, but I do love good food and good music.

Hi, If its the big city attractions that you like, you'll probably be disappointed down here,,,but if its good food and music,,,then you're coming to the right place!  The Southwest has some of the finest foods in the country.  As for music, depends on your taste, there's usually a good selection. Take a look at the Phoenix website (not sure of the proper web addy, just pop in Exeter Phoenix).  In the summer there are usually concerts at Powderham Castle which are very nice as well.

Exeter is a great place (the Southwest in general is wonderful), hope you enjoy it down here.  I'm about 16 miles from Exeter (Torquay area), just give a shout if you need to know anything!  PS...the water is good, not hard like London area.

Good food and good music is more my style.  I'm glad to hear that's what we're moving into.  I'm from a small town so the huge city life is something I choose to do for a weekend vacation.

I've heard a bit about the surrounding area...Torquay being one of them.  What was is like moving there?  I hope to take some time, between terms, to travel the immediate area very well.  Of course, I'm wanting to see it all by the time I leave school - but I'd like to have an intimate knowledge of the South (or as much as possible).

It has been difficult to find any information about Exeter that isn't University affiliated.  Is there much more to the area?

o.k.

I'm searching for possible flats or houses.  I'll be without a car (or any transportation) so I'll need to consider being in walking distance to Uni.

I've found a few good websites but they keep asking "what part of Exeter:  Central, Heavitree, Mount Pleasant, St. James" 

Any advice which would be the best place for the Streadham campus???
    [online maps can really only take you so far so experience is better]

Hi west_0515,

I attended Exeter University for 4 years (although I spent one of those years studying in the US), so hopefully I can help you out a little . Exeter is a pretty small city (only 100,000 people, 12,000 of which are students), so pretty much anywhere is within walking distance (not counting the residential areas on the outskirts of town)!

Most of the student accomodation is within 20 minutes walk of Streatham campus and some of the on-campus flats cater for couples (although I'm not sure if there are any restrictions for international students/spouses).

Off-campus, areas close to the university include St. Davids (down near the train station), near and around Pennsylvania Road (although this area is popular and there is competition to get housing), possibly Central (near the main shopping centre) and maybe Heavitree. Watch out though, for places near St. Luke's Campus because they can be up to thirty minutes walk from Streatham campus and also, anything down near the quay and the river are pretty far from campus too.

However, there is also a frequent student bus service from campus to various parts of town and most students do not have cars because unless you're going to be driving out of the city a lot, you won't need one.

You'll probably want to look for a small flat rather than a house because most houses cater for 4-8 people and getting one just for 2 will cost a lot of money - even an apartment within a house could cost up to £500 a month for two people.

I would recommend joining the Erasmus and Study Abroad Society (which I helped to set up in 2004) - they provide social events for international students and arrange trips to various landmarks and other cities.

The city centre is good for shopping (all the high street names, plus some cool independent shops) and for pubs and bars. The nightclubs are okay, but since Exeter is not that big, they are limited. The campus has several student bars (which sell cheap drinks) and it's own nightclub, the Lemon Grove (affectionately known as the 'Lemmy') and there are several concerts hosted in the Great Hall and the Lemmy each year, including pop/rock stars and also classical orchestras.

The university holds several balls and big events each year, including the Fresher's Ball (primarily for freshman, but I think anyone can purchase a ticket), the Law Ball, the Safer Sex Ball (to raise money for charity - anything goes at this one!), Powderham Ball (held at Powderham Castle) and the Summer Ball - an all-nighter held on campus until 6am!

I am ashamed to say that I have never even been to Torquay or much of the surrounding area, despite living nearby for 3 years and only living 80 miles away for my entire life!

Hope some of this helps.

Hi!! And welcome to the site.

Sorry I missed this earlier but we were in the US over xmas. My husband is a PhD student at Exeter and we live within walking distance of the Uni (about 10 minutes). We 're a tad older than most Uni students (36) and we have a baby, but we are pretty familiar with what's available in the area - both from a housing perspective and from a 'what to do' perspective!

We live in St Davids but are actually not right by the train station - that's at the other end of the neighborhood.

I would not recommend shared housing, especially as you are married. You just never know what kind of house mates you will end up with. There are plenty of houses and flats to rent on your own. We went through a private landlord which I personally prefer.

As for things to do, there are good restaurants and pubs in the area though not having a car will limit your ability to really explore the area - especially the countryside which is what the southwest is famous for. The previously mentioned Phoenix is good for music. There's a pub with jazz nights and a live music venue (very small) of which the name currently escapes me.

As for culture shock, if you are used to everything easily accessible and you like a big choice (such as at your grocery store), you will find it harder going. The city centre food shopping is more expensive and much less choice. However, online ordering and delivery does make this easier if you like to do that.

Hope this is useful.

Let me know if I can help out at all...

Oh Thank you guys soooo much for the info. 
As you can imagine I'm getting pretty stressed out with all the paper work and deadlines.

I would not recommend shared housing, especially as you are married. You just never know what kind of house mates you will end up with. There are plenty of houses and flats to rent on your own. We went through a private landlord which I personally prefer.

I would love to have a flat just the two of us - or even with one roommate - but I'm having to rent sightu-unseen and all I've been able to find on the internet is shared housing.  Do you have any private renters you know of I should contact? 

I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible....but we want to be in a safe area as well.  I would greatly appreciate any names, emails, phone numbers, website you could send my way about this.

Any pictures, even, that you have of the area you wouldn't mind sharing would be very nice to see.

Balmerhon....what is your husband's PhD study?  How does he like Exeter?

Ksand24.....What are you feelings of Exeter now that you've finished and how did it compare with your year in the US at university?

AND what is "DH" I keep seeing??  Dear Husband?

Thanks so much. 

Yea!!! I have peps in Exeter!!!