Which college? (e.g. if it's one of the North Oxford ones you probably don't want to live in East Oxford; if Hilda's, then the far end of Jericho's a bit of a slog...)
Sure, but when you do want to be there it'd be good not to start at completely the wrong end of the city. Pembroke's central so you're good almost anywhere.
I'd go for the Plain end of East Oxford (St Clements, Iffley Road, Cowley Road) - easy access to the English faculty by bike or on foot, reasonable walk into town, good studenty neighbourhood inc. Tesco & some of the best pubs and restaurants IMO. But I've spent most of my time this side of the city so I'm biased.
The most students who live out are in the Cowley Road/Iffley Road triangle in East Oxford. Other major area is Jericho (north west), it's a bit more upmarket and quieter, but is much more expensive than Cowley. Another place to consider is Botley, which is close to the station and less expensive, although not so well connected for supermarkets, restaurants etc. To be honest Oxford is so small that very few places will be miles from your college/faculty, especially if you have a bike, you can get from East to West Oxford in 10 minutes.
Yes, I did the medieval strand. Feel free to get in touch -- I lived in Oxford for a year and then just south in Abingdon for a year, which is a great town to visit for a day, but ALSO a great cheap town to live in if you don't mind a 30 minute bus commute into town
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I think a 30 minute bus commute is a bit too much for me, but I will definitely but Abingdon down on my list of places to visit.
The thing is, I can't really say yet where I'll be spending most of my time or whether I'll make friends more with people in my MCR or people from my course. I suppose it probably does make more sense to live near Pembroke. I'm actually taking a virtual look at a room that appears to be very close to Pembroke (near Westgate) tomorrow, so it'd be nice if that works out! And I will look at south Central Oxford as well.
I'm sure it varies a lot, but would you say postgrad social life tends to be more MCR-based? I don't really know much about how this works (in terms of colleges for postgrads and how important they are or are not).
Seconding the East Oxford rec (and the side streets off Cowley and Iffley are actually very quiet - I lived on Temple St and was never bothered by noise at night).
The nice thing about that part of the world is that there is lots going on very close by, but you needn't be bothered by it.
I really loved East Oxford - great food (some excellent student-budget-friendly prices), good shops (the Maroc delicatessen is brilliant), and not as much of a academic/ student ghetto as Jericho. It's not exactly non-gown Oxford - there are a lot of students about, but it's pretty healthy mix.
I really like being near good food and especially good grocery shopping! I live probably less than five minutes' walk from a nice grocery store where I am now, so I'm a bit spoiled in that regard! I do want to live somewhere that has a decent student population, but a place with other things going on as well sounds good.
Hello - I'm just about to hand in my dissertation for the same course! I do English and American Studies, but I did the 1780-1900 strand for the English part, which is what the 1800-1914 used to be. Congrats for getting on - it was a really tough year, I heard
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Thanks for the tip on not going too far out in East Oxford - being somewhere I can feel comfortable walking around at night - not necessarily at 2 in the morning, but certainly at 9 or 10 - is really important to me
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In my experience, if you can get college accommodation, take it. It's a good way to get to know people and have a ready-made group of friends. That said, Botley Road is a good location for most things, but it IS the opposite end of town (like, the VERY opposite) from the English Faculty. :/ Probably a 30-minute walk if you're really legging it.
Really, though, Oxford is not that big. You can get to Christ Church meadow or the University Parks really easily from almost anywhere, and almost all colleges have beautiful green quads that are open to students from other colleges. I spent a lot of time wandering into a random college near the Bodliean (usually Exeter) and reading on a bench there.
I am kind of lazy and would really like to live closer to... things. And the English Faculty. Sad but true. But I will think about that! I don't know, I'm looking into a few things at the moment but if they don't work out maybe I will take the college accommodation.
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I'd go for the Plain end of East Oxford (St Clements, Iffley Road, Cowley Road) - easy access to the English faculty by bike or on foot, reasonable walk into town, good studenty neighbourhood inc. Tesco & some of the best pubs and restaurants IMO. But I've spent most of my time this side of the city so I'm biased.
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Also, feel free to send me an email or IM me (info's in my profile) if you want other tips. :D
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I would love some tips! Will definitely be getting in touch with you.
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The thing is, I can't really say yet where I'll be spending most of my time or whether I'll make friends more with people in my MCR or people from my course. I suppose it probably does make more sense to live near Pembroke. I'm actually taking a virtual look at a room that appears to be very close to Pembroke (near Westgate) tomorrow, so it'd be nice if that works out! And I will look at south Central Oxford as well.
I'm sure it varies a lot, but would you say postgrad social life tends to be more MCR-based? I don't really know much about how this works (in terms of colleges for postgrads and how important they are or are not).
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I really loved East Oxford - great food (some excellent student-budget-friendly prices), good shops (the Maroc delicatessen is brilliant), and not as much of a academic/ student ghetto as Jericho. It's not exactly non-gown Oxford - there are a lot of students about, but it's pretty healthy mix.
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In my experience, if you can get college accommodation, take it. It's a good way to get to know people and have a ready-made group of friends. That said, Botley Road is a good location for most things, but it IS the opposite end of town (like, the VERY opposite) from the English Faculty. :/ Probably a 30-minute walk if you're really legging it.
Really, though, Oxford is not that big. You can get to Christ Church meadow or the University Parks really easily from almost anywhere, and almost all colleges have beautiful green quads that are open to students from other colleges. I spent a lot of time wandering into a random college near the Bodliean (usually Exeter) and reading on a bench there.
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