Six things only a Northerner at uni in Notts can relate to

What the hell is a cloakroom?


As with any uni in the country, the North/South divide is rife in Notts and being a northerner in a uni where it would seem 90 per cent of  the student population are from either London and Surrey can be rough.

Coming from Newcastle myself, I have found myself  living in a house where only two out of five us are from the North. With this, we often find ourselves having to defend some of our habits to our Southern friends who gaze in astonishment.

Despite how much I love my friends who come from the South, they just don’t quite understand our habits or quirks like a fellow Northerner would. If you like myself are Northern, then you will definitely be able to relate to the following:

The confusion when no one says anything as you walk past each other on campus

At home you always smile and say hello to anyone who passes you on the street and no matter how many years you’ve been in Nottingham you can just never understand why all you get is a grumpy face whenever you try the same on the way to your 9am.

the geese are your only friends x

You’re constantly being told you have an accent

At home you have never really felt as though you have an accent and all you can hear at uni is the buzz of the Southern twang. Many of your friends comment on how unique your accent is while you just look back in astonishment as they ask you to repeat certain words like “bath”.

I will always remember during Freshers’ Week when someone once came up and asked if I was American based on my accent. Although I can’t lie, at the time Newcastle did seem like a completely different country.

The shock of finding someone who is also from the North

Whenever you hear that sweet Northerner accent there is an instant smile on your face. Even though Northerners at Notts are in the minority, there are actually more than I first thought.

You instantly ask where they’re from and bond over actually being able to recognise the name of their hometown. From that moment on you become best friends, enjoying making fun of your Southern friends together.

The disgust at having to pay £4.50 for a single in Rock City

Despite all your friends from London and Surrey boasting about how cheap drinks in Nottingham are, you can’t help but dream of being able to get trebles for under a fiver back home.

Rock City may not be the most expensive place in the world but having just come down from the North, you and your northern friends can definitely notice the price hike.

When people try to say that Nottingham is in the North

I can’t even tell you how gobsmacked I was when someone on a group chat said that Nottingham is in the North.

Understandably, if you’re coming from London or further down South, then I could kind of understand, but even then, all Northerners will look at you with utter confusion as you try and argue that point.

People actually wear coats on nights out?!

Before coming to uni, there has never been a question about bringing a coat with you on a night out, you just didn’t. I don’t think I’d even heard of cloakroom being a thing, and even if they were your coat would spoil the outfit and after enough drink the cold didn’t bother you.

Coming to Nottingham was a revelation where your housemates would be arguing over which coat to bring with them. No matter how much you tell them its not worth it you find yourself unamused in the long line at the end of the night as your housemate attempts to find the ticket for their coat.

Who’d want to fork out an extra £2 for cloakroom? It’s not even cold enough in Nottingham anyways.

Related articles recommended by this author:

From two Merseyside girls, here is a Northerner’s guide to studying in Nottingham 

• If Nottingham’s nightclubs were part of your friendship group, who would they be?

• We came up with 63 Notts related Never Have I Evers so you don’t have to