Big
decisions are to be made. Uni time is coming…
Well, last year, this time, I was
very undecided, same as you may be. I have applied for 5 universities, but the
same course, Architecture, hoping that at least one will offer me a place.
Here
comes the hard part, slowly but surely I have received offer after offer, and
the pressure was on me, deciding on which path I want to follow, so I very much
feel your indecision right now.
Picking
by heart was not an option as the financial part was for me as it may be for
you also, a very important asset in my final decision.
I
started making a list, arranging all universities by various criteria. First
label was the annual universities league table, but that was not enough to make
me say yes to one or another. When it
came to league tables, Newcastle and Manchester were the highest rated in Architecture. (2015)
Trust me, do not go for the first beat of your
heart, stay clear and analyse all the options. After ordering unis this way,
kick their names out and start looking for the city they are in. Discover the
city and mainly, research the cost of living, from public transport, to accommodation,
or even to the average price difference for your favourite product between the
cities you received an offer from.
Having
to chose between Newcastle, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Manchester and Aberdeen, I
started to do warm up for the uni , doing some research.
First
thing first, student accommodation. It varies a lot between certain cities and
I found a certain stat about decisions in life… always go North, because it is
always cheaper. In this case, searching for the cheapest accommodation,
Newcastle upon Tyne was the obvious top of the list, with Lovaine Hall being in
the heart of the city, delivering a comfortable room with all facilities for
only £70/week.
I
very much like beer and coke, both accompanied by a good meal, whether it is
served in a restaurant or cooked by myself, so why not compare prices? I have
searched and further found out it was for real that Newcastle is way cheaper
even when it comes to food and drinks.
Newcastle
Upon Tyne
|
Manchester
|
Difference
|
|
Restaurants
|
|
|
|
Meal, Inexpensive
Restaurant
|
11.00 £
|
11.50 £
|
+4.55 %
|
McMeal at McDonalds
(or Equivalent Combo Meal)
|
4.80 £
|
5.00 £
|
+4.17 %
|
Domestic Beer (0.5
liter draught)
|
3.00 £
|
3.62 £
|
+13.28 %
|
Imported Beer (0.33
liter bottle)
|
3.00 £
|
3.62 £
|
+20.83 %
|
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter
bottle)
|
0.77 £
|
1.24 £
|
+60.51 %
|
Water (0.33 liter
bottle)
|
0.70 £
|
0.90 £
|
+28.12 %
|
Newcastle
Upon Tyne
|
Edinburgh
|
Difference
|
|
Restaurants
|
|
|
|
Meal, Inexpensive
Restaurant
|
11.00 £
|
10.00 £
|
-9.09 %
|
McMeal at McDonalds
(or Equivalent Combo Meal)
|
4.80 £
|
5.00 £
|
+4.17 %
|
Domestic Beer (0.5
liter draught)
|
3.20 £
|
3.50 £
|
+9.37 %
|
Imported Beer (0.33
liter bottle)
|
3.00 £
|
3.50 £
|
+16.67 %
|
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter
bottle)
|
0.77 £
|
1.03 £
|
+34.26 %
|
Water (0.33 liter
bottle)
|
0.70 £
|
0.75 £
|
+6.50 %
|
Newcastle Upon Tyne
|
Aberdeen
|
Difference
|
|
Restaurants
|
|
||
Meal,
Inexpensive Restaurant
|
11.00 £
|
15.00 £
|
+36.36 %
|
Meal
for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course
|
50.00 £
|
56.00 £
|
+12.00 %
|
McMeal
at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)
|
4.80 £
|
5.50 £
|
+14.58 %
|
Domestic
Beer (0.5 liter draught)
|
3.20 £
|
3.20 £
|
0.00 %
|
Imported
Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
|
3.00 £
|
3.50 £
|
+16.67 %
|
Cappuccino
(regular)
|
2.70 £
|
2.76 £
|
+2.36 %
|
Coke/Pepsi
(0.33 liter bottle)
|
0.77 £
|
1.24 £
|
+60.97 %
|
Water
(0.33 liter bottle)
|
0.70 £
|
0.93 £
|
+33.12 %
|
And
as most of you will have applied and thought about going to London, consider
not only the uni time but the perspective of your career and further expenses,
earnings and needs at the same time. In this case, you should know that You
would need around 4,481.07£ in London to maintain the same
standard of life that you can have with 2,600.00£ in Newcastle
Upon Tyne (assuming you rent in both cities). ( according to numbeo.com)
Newcastle Upon Tyne
|
London
|
Difference
|
|
Restaurants
|
|
|
|
Meal,
Inexpensive Restaurant
|
11.00 £
|
15.00 £
|
+36.36 %
|
Meal
for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course
|
50.00 £
|
50.00 £
|
0.00 %
|
McMeal
at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)
|
4.80 £
|
5.00 £
|
+4.17 %
|
Domestic
Beer (0.5 liter draught)
|
3.20 £
|
4.00 £
|
+25.00 %
|
Imported
Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
|
3.00 £
|
4.00 £
|
+33.33 %
|
Coke/Pepsi
(0.33 liter bottle)
|
0.77 £
|
1.16 £
|
+50.75 %
|
Water
(0.33 liter bottle)
|
0.70 £
|
0.93 £
|
+32.72 %
|
So
far it was clear for me that little things that were cheaper in Newcastle than
in any other city I had on my list, was another reason to strengthen the top of
the table adding more strong points, by financial means.
Last
but not least, even if most of the accommodation facilities are in the city
centre or very near, for accessing some of the other facilities or visiting the
beauties of the North East, you will obviously need public transport. So I also
compared public transport, because in some cases, such as Manchester, the
facilities are spread around the city, and transport will be a main spending
path. Same with Edinburgh and Aberdeen, where the transport costs way more than
in Newcastle.
Another
transport method often used by students is the taxi, used to reach pubs,
restaurants and social areas of the city, whether it is because there is too
late for public transport or you have an a meeting that you cannot afford to be
late on. Even in this sector, Newcastle proved to be the cheapest.
Transportation
|
Newcastle Upon Tyne
|
Manchester
|
Difference
|
One-way
Ticket (Local Transport)
|
2.50 £
|
2.50 £
|
0.00 %
|
Monthly
Pass (Regular Price)
|
53.00 £
|
130.00 £
|
+145.28 %
|
Taxi
Start (Normal Tariff)
|
2.50 £
|
3.00 £
|
+20.00 %
|
Taxi
1km (Normal Tariff)
|
1.11 £
|
2.92 £
|
+163.28 %
|
Taxi
1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
|
12.00 £
|
42.00 £
|
+250.00 %
|
Transportation
|
Newcastle Upon Tyne
|
Manchester
|
Difference
|
One-way
Ticket (Local Transport)
|
2.50 £
|
2.55 £
|
+2.00 %
|
Taxi
Start (Normal Tariff)
|
2.50 £
|
2.50 £
|
0.00 %
|
Taxi
1km (Normal Tariff)
|
1.11 £
|
1.86 £
|
+68.05 %
|
Taxi
1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
|
12.00 £
|
16.15 £
|
+34.55 %
|
|
|
|
|
After
clearly putting all on paper, Northumbria University Newcastle, became an
obvious choice for me as a future student. Of course it had its weak points
but, it had much more stronger points than others in sectors that were very
influent and still are, on my wallet, future and existence.
Blending
with the love for the tradition, history and architecture of Newcastle, it became my strongest option, and here I am
following the paths walked by The Great Roman Emperor Hadrian.
All
data is up to date: April 2016, as collected from: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
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