Our expectations are never quite what we get in reality. That is true of everything. Especially when moving to a new city and while anyone can wax lyrical about beautiful sights and the sea there are just some things no one quite ever tells you when you about living in Southampton.
England is rainy. We’ve heard the jokes a thousand times. But there’s something just so Southampton of it being the fifth day in a row it’s rained and the days of having a dry pavement are nothing more than a fading memory. In short: invest in a good umbrella.
While living in other places I usually found walking home at night somewhat creepy. Everything would be so still and deserted. This is a non-issue in Southampton. The energetic university town is always full of laughter, football chants and some group of freshers straddling home after way too many jaeger bombs. Maybe you’ll never have those tranquil soul searching moments at night like you’re a character in a dramatic movie but there’s something nice about knowing you’re not alone. Literally.
When I heard a first year express complete disbelief that the Subways in Southampton didn’t have any sweetcorn I had to smile. I had been there. I knew her pain. You’ll be hard pressed to find a Subway in Southampton that does. But good news. There’s one by the train station. A trek at times but who said getting fast food had to actually be efficient?
There was nothing more jarring than returning to my home of London after months of being in Southampton than wanting to leave my house and having to take two buses a train and a tube to go where I needed to be. Southampton isn’t a small village by any stretch but it’s comfortably sized enough that you can pretty much walk everywhere. This may seem like no big deal but in contrast to spending average of £8 a day around London, it’s a dream come true. That’s living in Southampton.
There’s no such thing as scrambling to order pizza before eleven when you’re a struggling student in Southampton. Like I said before, this is a town geared around student life. With two universities the shop keepers of Southampton are too smart to be closing up at a respectable hour. You can order take away as deep into the night (morning?) as 5am. So, if you’re just starving after a night of clubbing or needing something to fuel you through these last desperate hours before your assignment’s due in, fire up Just Eat or call up Dominos because they have your back.
Southampton isn’t tiny. But it also isn’t that big. While a Tinder profile in London will be overflowing with choice, Southampton isn’t going to have half the variety. But I don’t know, if swiping past that guy who dropped out of your course first year and your thrice divorced lecturer is your jam, go for it.
Usually when someone says “oh (insert name here) lives there! Maybe you’ll see them!” it means you will never lay eyes on (insert name here) for as long as you both shall live. But in the case of Southampton I ran into all those people within a week. While it may not be the tight knit quirky community of Stars Hollow, the same rules apply: news travels fast and you will 100% run into people you’d rather not run into when living in Southampton.
If you move here you will come to know the 17,000 parks which reside in the small town centre. You will always be confused about which one is which and you will walk through every single one approximately 30,000 times before your degree is up. When you do, take it in. They just don’t make them like that anymore.
The takeaway food 90% of the time is bad. Really bad. Like that viral Friday song bad. Sure, it’s readily available but a lot of it sucks. The takeaway Chinese leaves a lot to be desired. And yes even the beloved franchise pizza places can’t seem to hit the mark a lot of the time. But, university is full of challenges. Such as collecting food you know will be good instead of getting meh food delivered to your doorstep.
You haven’t lived until your windows are literally shaking because of the sound of the boat horns. If you ever wondered “I wonder what a boat which mimics the sound of a great whale dying sounds like?” well look no further than Southampton to teach you that all too valuable lesson.
I mean, if you have had to give it a few good guys to get your feet unstuck from the floor at a club so you could follow your friends have you even really had a proper Southampton university experience? I think not.
There’s a O2 Venue right in the centre of town so you’ll never be far from the action. While other places involve you trekking and taking the last train home after gigs, in Southampton you can watch your favourite band and hobble home happily afterwards, thinking of only how much fun you had living in Southampton.
Being in the nation’s capital can be fun and exciting at times. But it will instantly become a luxury. With prices as high as £48 per ticket, you’re gonna need to make do with what you have. Walk in the park. The park is fun if you’re living in Southampton.
Another amazing perk of university towns is you can throw a rock and hit a place you can get drunk at. There’s no shortage of bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants to go when the going gets tough, or when you fail to get a first on the assignment you started 2 hours before your final deadline. Bottoms up for living in Southampton.
Living here isn’t perfect. There’s downsides. But it’s ultimately the place where most people will learn how to survive on their own and carve out their own life for themselves for the first time. No matter where else you go, that first rush of true independence will never be matched and always be missed. Don’t you love living in Southampton.
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