University of Exeter and the South West Country

No, I'm not from Exeter.

I'm from Bristol, about 80 miles north of Exeter. I'm currently living back at my parents' house because I'm doing a research masters at Bristol University (and the student rent in Bristol is even higher than Exeter... £70-£100 per week!).

I'm afraid I'm an imposter on this site, since I'm British and not married to or related to anyone American . I stumbled across it when I was doing some research about visas and thought I might be able to help out with some queries!

I'm going to have to ask my husband how he found our current place. It was on a web site but not via an agent. We have used agents before. There is usually an application/credit check, references, and deposit (usually equal to one month's rent). I would think that most of the agents here would be used to dealing with people who don't have UK credit though, but you'll have to ask each one what their particular policy is.

With our landlord, and the other private ones we've had in the past, all we needed was good letters of reference, the deposit and first month's rent.

How would you say U Exeter stands in relation to other Uni's in the UK?  I know what the magazines and papers say....but from personal experience and local knowledge - what is the idea of the school?

I know there are plenty of programs here in the states that have a great name (maybe from past years or something) but aren't currently up to old standards.

ksand - don't worry about being an "imposter".  I've met a few Americans who aren't living there or married to anyone there but have some great advice to offer from having been there.  I certainly appreciate having people with whome I can talk specifically about Exeter.

Hi West!  Sorry I haven't replied to this, I haven't been around much.  I'm doing my PhD at Exeter, and I have a close mate who did the Staging Shakespeare program last year...you will love it!  She got to do all kinds of fun projects, and of course, spend time in Stratford and at the Globe.

I live in a flat in the Mount Pleasant area....about 25 minutes walk to campus, although there is a bus from Sidwell Street.  Something to keep in mind when looking for housing...the drama department is based in a building (I forget the name of it, everyone calls is The White House) that is actually off campus...it's directly across the street from the Imperial, on North Street.  You'll more that likely be spending most of your time there.  (One of my current flatmates is also in the drama department, I can get more info from her). 

As for jobs, you can always check out the local paper, the Express and Echo, online (http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/)...they usually do job adverts on Tuesday, I think (or Wednesday).  But you can find them all online. 

Good luck with everything!

Cassandra - The Drama building is called Thornlea (my first year roommate did Drama).

I actually lived on Sidwell Street in my final year (2004-05), in James Owen Court next to the Odeon cinema, which was a 20 min walk from campus, but only 5-10 min from the high street and shops (although it would take about 30 min to get to Thornlea from there).

How would you say U Exeter stands in relation to other Uni's in the UK?  I know what the magazines and papers say....but from personal experience and local knowledge - what is the idea of the school?

I know there are plenty of programs here in the states that have a great name (maybe from past years or something) but aren't currently up to old standards.

Exeter is a pretty good university, ranked around #30 in the league tables (out of approx 200-300 schools) for all subjects and about #40 for drama - although that also includes all the well-known dance and drama schools in London.

How hard, do you think, it will be to find a house or flat that will allow me to bring a (very) small dog?  I know all about the immigration rules for this...but are there many landlords who let for this?  do you think I'll have a problem finding flatmates who'll accept this?
What should I do?  If I'm going to bring him I have to start planning now.

It's not easy, but it is doable. We have 3 cats. I'd be inclined to think you'd have more luck with a private landlord (you can offer a pet deposit). You'd probably also have more luck if you don't go for the houses that are rented by the room - i.e. just share with one other student/couple as I think I suggested to you in a PM.

Yeah, most student houses (i.e. several people in a house) won't allow pets of any kind, although a friend of mine snuck her dog in and had to hide him whenever the landlord came round, but you may have more luck with a flat for only two people, rather than a student place.

I'm getting really bogged down with research.  I'm so thankful for all your help and advice.  Just as a way of keeping spirits up...what are some of your favorite aspects of Exeter - both the city and the university (for those of you who are/were students). 
as a warning...what are your least favorite/frustratig aspects?

I think the best thing about the university is the campus - apparently it's considered one of the most beautiful in the country! The downside unfortunately is that said campus is on a big hill. Since you'll be studying in the Drama dept, you won't have to make the trip up the hill that often (unless you play a lot of sports - the gym and sports centre are right at the top!). The student union, shops and library are located about halfway up the hill.

My department was also right at the top of the hill, so I had to walk up it every day - here's a picture of the campus taken from the top of the Physics building (on my Graduation day). You can see most of the campus and also the city in the background.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/heavenli24/CIMG0047-1.jpg

The city is really nice too - not too big, but also not too small. Almost everything is within walking distance and it city in general is considered pretty safe. The only thing I ever really worried about was the teenage kids making a nuisance of themselves in the high street on the way home from a night out clubbing.

The only bad thing I can think of is that there is not a big variety of nightclubs - Exeter has 5, compared to more than 20 in Bristol, but there is a wide variety of restaurants, bars and pubs to make up for it.

Hey guys,

Still looking for a place to live.  Dead ends so far.  But I did get some good news the other day.  I'm a finalist for a Fulbright!!! 
So if that happens I won't be under quite the financial strain...but I'm still gonna be homeless unless I find something rather soon.
I've read (somewhere on here) that Easter is a good time to find apartments....is that true?
Thanks to those of you who've sent me information leading to possible flats and such.

But I did get some good news the other day.  I'm a finalist for a Fulbright!!! 

Congratulations! That's very impressive, indeed.

Good luck finding a place to live.

To answer your question, ksand:  I'll be getting my MFA in staging Shakespeare.

How freaky is this? My wife and I were just browsing this forum because I just got accepted to the University of Exeter...in the MFA in Staging Shakespeare program. And my wife is also a graphic artist.

We're obviously also trying to figure out all the logistics of tuition, moving and living expenses, and so on...know of any grants or anything you can point me towards?

If all goes well, looks like we'll be classmates this October. 

Hey Hey, that's awsome.  Good to meet you, future classmate.
No, sorry - I don't know of any grants.  I applied for a Fulbright last October, but the deadline has passed for this year. 

As far as scholarships and such that I find out about, I certainly pass it along to you.  Have you found housing?  We're still looking for housing.  What is your wife going to be doing while there?  Will she be coming with you? 
If you're interested, we could talk about finding a shared house.  Is seems like that is going to be the cheapest option.

Great to meet you!  Please keep in touch so we can help each other out as much as possible.

We're still looking for housing.  What is your wife going to be doing while there?  Will she be coming with you?

We actually haven't even started looking for housing--we're still trying to see if the money's going to work out. (They need a proof of my degree after I graduate in May to even start processing student loans, for one thing.)

And yeah, my wife will be coming along. If it were only a year, maybe it'd be feasible for us to be apart, but two years is a little long. She's going to be trying to find a job over there in her field.

If you're interested, we could talk about finding a shared house.  It seems like that is going to be the cheapest option.

Well...how do you feel about cats?  We have three, all very well-behaved and more or less friendly. (The least friendly they get is the old male will go and hide himself in a closet for a while--he's kind of shy around new people.)