University of Leeds

My local bar ended up being Fab in the main street. It is a place with a very special atmosphere, a must. Walkabout and The Library are greatpubs/bars too, and they all have reasonable prices. The international student cafe was a very good place to meet in the beginning in order to get to know the other international students. There are hundreds of places to go out, in and around Leeds, which makes it a good city to live in.

I was very lucky to live with only English students as this is the best way to learn the language properly. My flatmates became close friends and they were also a great help in the beginning as they would assist me with getting to know my way around Leeds. The rent was twice the amount of what I would have paid for the same standard of housing in Norway, but housing is quite expensive in the U.K. We had cleaners coming by every week, but I would have prefered to do it myself. My overall experience with the accomodation was very good.

My skills in English were very good before I came to Leeds, but the fact that I lived with other English students and heard English every day helped me improve my skills considerably. I also had to write a lot of essays, and this helped me improve my written English. I never had any major problems in this area.

I highly recommend School of English at Leeds University to everyone. Leeds is a very relaxed city and a place where it is easy to feel like home. I advise everyone to try living with English students as this might be the best chance to get to know them. It is also very important to get to know the other students in your modules as soon as possible, the best way is simply to talk to someone on the first day. Getting to know the other international students is much easier, it is too easy to just hang around with them all the time. Enjoy your studies in Leeds!

I thought my money would last longer in the U.K. than in Norway as things are generally less expencive. The living costs turned out to be a little much, and I did not try to save money to begin with, which is always a mistake. A good advice is to find a part-time job as soon as possible as it will help your money last longer and it can also be a great experience.