Nine types of people when it comes to moving out of Exeter Uni

1.) The TP cup hoarder


No matter how hard you try to fight it, you’ll almost always fit into to some variation of stereotype when studying at Exeter Uni. Even when it comes to moving out, it’s inescapable. You get all sorts of people who love to hoard, love to remain unhygienic or even those who could not WAIT to leave. Moving out of uni can take many forms and vastly depends on where you live or even how you spent the year (you can tell who went to one too many TP Wednesdays). You might be someone who fits into multiple of these categories or you might be someone who doesn’t fit into any of them. Whether you were a party animal or the one who went home every weekend. Which are you from this list? 

1) The TP cup hoarder 

Whether you spent the year in the depths of Overheard fighting for TP Wednesday tickets or can’t get enough of the £1 TP cups, you will soon realise how many cups you have collected by the end of the year. You’re an organised individual who has all their things packed up ready in their respectable boxes. But the one thing that’s coming with you is: THE TP CUPS. They’re sitting on the top of your suitcase ready to save a few pennies when you’re next in Exeter or to show your kids that you were an “Exetah” student back in the good old days. 

2)The Batty Bingo inflatable collector 

In a similar category, yet a completely different person entirely, is the person who went feral at Batty Bingo. This person can be crafted no matter your year. Typically, you’re a first year when you discover you can have, in fact, play bingo with alcohol.  This person’s room is often filled with various deflated inflatables by the end of the year, and they usually don’t know what to do with them. Whether you take them home or throw them is none of my business.  

3)The storer 

This is someone I largely have sympathy for. You might be an exchange student, or you might live as far as Newcastle. It’s a real mood killer when you read the prices of those storage units and envy your friends whose parents are willing to make the journey to collect them. No matter what, you’ll be the one laughing when all your stuff is in Exeter already when you return. Even if it did cost you a pretty penny for the privilege.  

4)The one who leaves immediately 

Look, no judgement if this is you, but do you even like this uni? In all fairness, you could have hellish flatmates as we’ve seen in the Overheard posts, or you might have work commitments that take you home early. In my opinion, term three is the best term with events like EGB, society balls and clubbing with no consequences. Maybe next year could be your opportunity to liven it up a little? 

5) The one who can’t seem to leave 

On the other side of the spectrum is the victim who can’t seem to leave (also me currently). And honestly, post-EGB I’m thinking, what am I even doing now? Everyone’s going home or getting jobs if they’re graduating next month, yet we’re clinging onto the last strings of being a uni student. Despite it being quieter, the sun is shining and there are still a few students creating that uni buzz by desperately getting everyone to come out to TP. These types of people are desperate to cling onto the last few moments of uni and honestly, who can blame them?

6) The cleaner 

Perhaps you’re orderly or perhaps you’re the last in the house to leave. Either way, you have to deal with the monstrosities of mess made by your flatmates. Whilst the rest of your flatmates believe you’re a saint for clearing their mess, you’re raging as you disinfect the whole kitchen. Maybe next year it might be time to create that cleaning routine and stick to it because cleaning that growing mould in the bathroom, defrosting the freezer or the charcoaled black grill just isn’t worth it for one person at the end of the year.  

7) The mess-maker 

Brutally, if the mess-maker and the cleaner are the only two left by the end of the year, that IS NOT a pretty sight. The mess-maker during the year might’ve been the sort of student who leaves their washing up for a week or the one who doesn’t seem to realise that their milk is making a stench of the fridge. And they are “the cleaner’s” worst nightmare. Once all their flatmates aren’t in their sight to remind them how gross they are, trust me they get feral in their grossness. Everyone lives differently, right? 

8) The one that has a meltdown

There’s always a fleeting moment when your parents get down realising all your things won’t fit in the car or if you’re getting the train, you have a funny five minutes over not being able to carry it all. But this person takes it to the next level. This person is knocking on all their flatmates asking what to do and whether they can take things for them otherwise it won’t fit. I’m unsure how one person can accumulate so much stuff, but it happens, and I’ve seen it first-hand. 

9) The recycling runner 

Amongst all the tasks needed to be done before your landlord or accommodation inspection is the dreaded recycle run. This can be particularly bad if you spent the year partying and have ended up with a bar station on your kitchen table full of empty vodka bottles and flat lemonades. What makes this situation worse? You don’t have a car.  If you’re a fortunate soul with cash to spare, it might be worth organising a pickup depending on the load of glass you’re dealing with. All that matters is the memories you made throughout the year. There might be one miserable day of doing the “life maintenance” task of cleaning, but boy is it worth it.  

Recommended articles by this writer: