What it’s like going to uni in your hometown

At the beginning of my second year at UEA, I wrote about what it was like being a fresher and living at home. Now, part way through third year, I have finally moved out from the Norfolk countryside to the Golden Triangle. A far-flung eleven miles, or a whole twenty minutes, away from home.

Freshers

Upon finishing A Levels I was glad to have chosen UEA as my first choice university because I just was not ready to move out from the cushion of my family home. But it did only take freshers week for me to realise that my decision was the wrong one and it was not just because of those £20 taxi rides home.

However, living at home and going to UEA did have its benefits in that I was not having to pay for rent, food or Circuit laundry.

Dates and mates

You’re automatically assumed to know where everything is and the where the best places are to go.

Funny thing is, I haven’t made my way around every single coffee shop and restaurant in Norwich.

However, there is always the worry of accidentally bumping into your parents and accidentally making the ‘meet the parents’ moment come a bit too soon.

Family

The ‘homebird’ comment. I quite like my parents. I message the family group chat most days and keep them updated but had no desire to escape and move as far away from them as possible. Yet I am lucky enough that they do give me my own independence but are always willing to just pick me up when I really need them. This provides a good solid ground for when university really does just get too much as I don’t need to pay for a train to get home.

Also means that if I forget something (forgot my duvet moving in this year didn’t I), they’re only twenty minutes away.

Jobs

Having a job at university is so much easier. There is no need for finding temporary employment for over Christmas, Easter and summer. I’ve managed to keep the same job since I was sixteen which has allowed me to move up the hierarchy and gain so much experience without the need for change. I have been able to create a solid base for myself in Norwich.

However, now being in third year, I have definitely thought that maybe I should have just grown a pair and spent three years getting to know somewhere new. My university experience has been taken some turns, to say the least, but it almost feels like I did play it safe.