Nightlife in London is, in general, great, there’s always something going on – wherever you are.
But, as university students living in London, we have all come to realise that there is no such thing as ‘uni nightlife’.
For most events in central London you need the right kind of money to join in – an average night out in London costs around £30-40, and we all know that is a LOT of money for only one night.
After starting university in 2014, all I heard from my friends who were studying in other cities was “it’s so cheap here”, and “how are you coping with central London prices?”
As you can imagine my facial expression said it all.
Artefact spoke to some students around the country to ask them about the nightlife they experience in the cities they study in…
Edinburgh:
Nights out up North are known to be quite cheap.
Heriot-Watt University students confirmed that they don’t spend an excessive amount of money while on nights out, only around £10-20, this enables them to get out at least twice a week.
According to Edinburgh students: “drinks are reasonably cheap”, however, students still choose to drink before going out.
Leeds:
Students studying in Leeds seem to go out at least twice a week, on average, spending around £10-£15 on each night out.
Leeds Beckett University student, Jessica Hayre, told Artefact that some students travel to cities such as Manchester and Sheffield for nights out because it’s: “so easy to get around on the train”.
When Hayre stays in the city she spends around £12 on Ubers while on nights out, however, that cost is split between passengers.
Overall, students studying in Leeds are able to experience relatively cheap nights out.
Hull:
According to University of Hull students, the nightlife in their city is: “decent”.
Hull students go clubbing at least once a week and just like every other university student they mainly pre-drink before going out.
Considering most cities in the North of the country are moderately cheap, getting taxies/transporting around the city to get to and from clubs sounds quite expensive, but it’s not.
Law student Krishnaa Mistry, told Artefact that she only spends: “around £7/£8” to travel to clubs.
Manchester:
Manchester on social media is known for its fun nightlife, the costs of nights out in seem average, not overly cheap or stupidly expensive.
Students in Manchester go out once a week, on average, rating nights out at around seven out of ten.
The main forms of transport for Manchester students are taxies or Ubers, costing around £12 per journey, again, shared between a number of passengers.
Liverpool:
Liverpool-Hope University student, Victor Chinyere, to us he goes out around twice a month spending only £15 on a night out.
Artefact asked Chinyere whether he was happy with the nightlife in the city that he studies in: “Yeah, Liverpool is really good for nights out.”
Students travel to and from their club destinations via taxies, spending around £10 both ways.
Sheffield:
After talking to a few University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam students it seems as if Sheffield students have one of the best clubbing scenes.
In Sheffield, students go clubbing two or three times a week and spend less than £20 on a good night out.
[pullquote align=”right”]“Nightlife in Sheffield is cheap, I love going out here.” [/pullquote]University of Sheffield student, Mira Modhwadia, told Artefact: “Nightlife in Sheffield is cheap, I love going out here.”
Modhwadia also added that Sheffield has good local transport links, so many students go clubbing in close-by cities such as Leeds and Manchester, both of which are within range for nights out.
Nottingham:
Artefact spoke to a range of Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham students finding out what they think about the nightlife in their city. Nottingham is a hot spot for students studying in close-by cities to visit for a night out.
Students studying in Nottingham go on nights out around once or twice a week, spending £10-£15.
Nottingham Trent student, Tajal Patel informed Artefact: “DMU (De Montfort University) hold better student events compared to Notts’, that’s why I go out in Leicester just as much.”
Loughborough:
Loughborough is a small town, so the nightlife can be limited. However, because it has such a small city centre students are able to walk to their chosen destination.
Loughborough students are also able to travel and go out in cities such as Leicester, Nottingham and Birmingham because there are direct transport links.
Leicester:
Leicester is known for having a very lively nightlife. There are a wide range of nights and events dedicated to students specifically with drinks costing £2 and under.
Artefact had a chat with De Montfort student, Christian Oganyi who goes out once a week and only spends £20, including transport costs. Oganyi said his main reason to go out is to: “have fun.”
Oganyi rated the nightlife in Leicester a strong eight out of ten.
Birmingham:
At the heart of the West Midlands, Birmingham is one of the most popular cities students choose to continue with further education – the nightlife in Birmingham sounds popular, too.
Artefact spoke to a few students from Birmingham City University who told us that on average they go out clubbing around once or twice a week. Of course they do, standard nights out on Broad Street cost around £10. Insane.
We spoke to Karishma Patel, who is in her third year of university; she revealed to Artefact that her main reason to go out is to get her “mind off uni work” and “get drunk,” which is easily done with those prices!
Coventry:
According to Coventry University students, nightlife in their city seems average; indeed they rated it as five out of ten.
Artefact spoke to one student in particular, second year journalism student, Oin Naps, who said he’d rather go out clubbing in nearby Birmingham, which has a lively nightlife.
Naps, goes clubbing in Coventry around two or three times a month, he told Artefact that he would have rather gone to university in Manchester or Nottingham, based on the nightlife there.
Essex:
University of Essex student, Henry Obam shared his thoughts on nightlife where he studies. Nights out cost £20-£30 on average (which is no surprise, considering how close it is to London) and that includes pre-drinking.
Luckily, Obam spends less than £10 on transport to and from clubs. He did explain that he definitely prefers house parties.
Surveys have shown that nine out of ten students prefer house/flat parties instead of going out to clubs because of the relaxed atmosphere.
London:
On behalf of Artefact, I decided to create a short podcast with three students from University of the Arts, London (UAL, LCC) to get a deeper insight about the London nightlife that they have experienced while living here.
Chloe Smith, Ella Wilkinson and Charlie Howes all agree that London nightlife can be expensive, however, they do cover the positive factors that London nightlife has to offer.
Egham:
With Egham being so close to London the average prices for nights out don’t tend to differ much.
Royal Holloway student, Meera Odedra goes on nights out most weekends. Odedra spends around £20-£25 on taxi fares on one night getting to and from her chosen destination.
We asked Odedra what other cities she enjoys going out in, she chose Harrow.
Kingston:
Kingston University student Erolet White goes out twice a month. Since Kingston is so close to central London we could’ve guessed that a normal night out would be extortionate. White told Artefact that she can “easily spend £40 on one night out, which is nuts.”
White told us that she prefers house parties, as going out in Kingston is “too expensive, house parties are way more chilled out,” she added.
Bristol:
According to Bristolian students, nights out in Bristol are great.
Artefact spoke with Anil Chouhan who told us how much he loved the nightlife in Bristol: “I love the music. Good music on a good sound system is always great.”
[pullquote align=”right”]“Good music on a good sound system is always great.”[/pullquote]Chouhan goes out around four times a week, spending around £20, which is surprising considering how South Bristol is. He told Artefact that he prefers going out instead of attending house parties.
Portsmouth:
Nights out down south can be quite expensive.
Artefact spoke to some University of Portsmouth students it became clear that they don’t tend to go on as many nights out a month in comparison to the Midlands and students from the north.
Students spend around £20-£30 on a night out, including transport.
Featured image by Naveena Patel