{"id":25952,"date":"2024-03-20T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T07:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/?p=25952"},"modified":"2024-03-13T11:32:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T10:32:14","slug":"embracing-the-local-university-experience-navigating-life-at-home-as-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2024\/03\/20\/embracing-the-local-university-experience-navigating-life-at-home-as-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the local university experience while living at home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1380-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-25953 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1380-1-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Sarah stands outside the create lecture theatre next to the big BU light up signs\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1380-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1380-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1380-1.jpeg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being a university student living at home in the local area offers a unique set of advantages and challenges that contribute to a distinctive academic journey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many students opt out of traditional student accommodation for various reasons, such as familial ties, pets, financial constraints, relationships, or even health considerations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I\u2019m a mature Masters student studying part-time due to health reasons. I live in Southampton and have an hour commute each way to BU\u2019s Talbot Campus for my studies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through my MSc course at BU I realised I am autistic, and was diagnosed part way through my course. I\u2019ve always struggled socially and struggled to make friends, but these days I&#8217;m a lot more confident and outgoing\u2026 so perhaps this makes some of the tips in this blog post more critical as I know a lot of people in the BU community and I am hugely grateful for the support I\u2019m getting here to thrive!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I lived in halls and student accommodation when I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Southampton.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having an hour commute each way to BU for my Masters course means I quickly had to learn to manage time and my fatigue levels a lot more efficiently. Successful students who commute to uni often strike a balance between academic commitments, part-time work, and socialising, emphasising the importance of effective time and fatigue management.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Depending on your mode of transport, journeys between home and university can sometimes be transformed into productive periods with podcasts or audiobooks &#8211; turning a mundane commute into a valuable learning opportunity.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-25962 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680-248x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Sarah stands in front of a piece of art \" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680-248x300.jpeg 248w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680-846x1024.jpeg 846w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680-768x930.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2024\/03\/IMG_1680.jpeg 991w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Making friends and socialising may require additional effort when not living on campus, but it&#8217;s certainly possible. Keep an eye on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.subu.org.uk\/social\/whats_on\/\">SUBU events page<\/a> for fun things to do. Join study groups, participate in campus extra-curricular activities, and attend social events to build a strong social network.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Join <a href=\"https:\/\/www.subu.org.uk\/involved\/clubs_societies\/\">some of the clubs<\/a> and societies, and\/or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/why-bu\/sportbu\">BU Sports teams<\/a>. Go on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.subu.org.uk\/social\/tripsandtours\/\">SUBU trip<\/a> &#8211; explore the local area.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can thoroughly recommend the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/students\/things-do\/graduate-skills-programme\/graduate-skills-masterclasses\">BU Careers Graduate Masterclasse<\/a>s and I&#8217;ve made great friends through attending these. However, so that your studies don\u2019t lag behind, prioritising which campus activities to attend is essential \u2013 choose those aligned with personal and academic interests.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Establishing a routine, maintaining structure, and planning ahead are indispensable tips for success. Additionally, budgeting wisely and seeking student deals can significantly ease cost-of living financial strains.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em><strong>Living at home while attending university doesn&#8217;t mean missing out; instead, it&#8217;s an opportunity to embrace a distinct university experience filled with valuable lessons and connections.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being a university student living at home in the local area offers a unique set of advantages and challenges that contribute to a distinctive academic journey. Many students opt out of traditional student accommodation for various reasons, such as familial ties, pets, financial constraints, relationships, or even health considerations. I\u2019m a mature Masters student studying&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2024\/03\/20\/embracing-the-local-university-experience-navigating-life-at-home-as-a-student\/\">Read more &raquo;<span class=\"sr-only\"> about Embracing the local university experience while living at home<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3753,"featured_media":25953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1643,1646,2777,1663,12,704,1649],"tags":[3224,90,3550,592],"class_list":["post-25952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accommodation","category-health-wellbeing","category-local-area","category-mature-students","category-postgraduate","category-student-blogs","category-student-life","category-top-tips","tag-a-place-to-call-home","tag-accommodation-2","tag-home-student","tag-student-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25952"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25991,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25952\/revisions\/25991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}