Home or away: Does staying in Belfast for uni make you a bit of a loser
Or do you just get to judge everyone who lives in England
Coming out of A Levels, if you’re Northern Irish you’re faced with a tough choice. Go further afield (well, England), see the world, meet new people, or stay at home, spend more money, and have the advantage of going home at the weekends to have your mammy wash your clothes.
We spoke to some brave souls who took the plunge and moved to The Mainland for uni, as well as some who stayed at home and say they don’t regret it at all
Shane McCormick has been completely won over from the uni experience in England, saying, “One massive advantage of London is that it has literally everything.”
“London is a hive of activity for the opera and classical music scene, I have been able to make contact with some very influential and further my career.”
For Shane, moving away means he has the chance to tour China and Japan, appear on BBC Proms, and even make an appearance on Loose Women. Thats right, Loose Women. It’s just something which would just not have been possible if he had stayed in Ireland.
But not everyone has the same experience as Shane. Some Irish students find it harder to integrate into English culture and think the experience is less enjoyable than staying at home.
Amber Murphy has just finished her first year studying classics at Royal Holloway. She said: “I initially chose to leave Northern Ireland for university as I wanted to have the feeling of complete independence, which I believe is key to the uni experience.”
But the experience didn’t live up to Belfast and left Amber, 19, feeling underwhelmed and homesick. She explained: “There was one nightclub and no one really ‘partied’. I was also broke. The rent for halls was through the roof because of the location, and due to the lack of nightclubs there was no student deals in the SU. Nights out cost me upwards of £30 every time.
“St Patrick’s Day was the worst, I was seeing Snapchats from the Holylands from 10am and felt like the loneliest leprechaun in Surrey. No one really wanted to celebrate so needless to say a one man party was had that night.”
It hasn’t been all bad for Amber though, as she says that the people she met in her brief stint at Royal Holloway were lovely, but that the uni just wasn’t for her.
Following advice from a friend she’s now headed off to Liverpool in September, where, coincidentally, there are a lot more Irish students than Surrey. Amber said: “I’m striving for that adventure I feel I was robbed off last year and aiming to try out this challenge of a night out on a tenner.”
Johnny O’Hare went even further afield, leaving Northern Ireland to study Dentistry at University of Szeged in Hungary.
He said: “Going to uni abroad lets you enjoy and get to know yourself.”
But Johnny, who has just finished his second year, adds: “Being away from your family and friends from home is really difficult. You have to learn about other cultures and about how others live, experiencing this and applying it to your life.
“I have met some fantastic people that I have learnt a lot from, some are now my best friends”.
Despite the exodus of students leaving the country, the majority choose to stay close to home, in the epicentre of all craic – The Holylands.
Conor Evans a second year Linguist at QUB, said: “I mostly stayed in Ireland because all my mates were as well, and I wanted to stick with them because we’re all really close. I think it’s better to try and maintain friendships rather than break them and make new ones.
“Also 90p shots in Box.”
Music Technology second year Caolán Daly claims his reasons for staying at home was a simple one.
“I’m a home bird like. I wouldn’t want to be far away from Newry even if there’s nothing to do there. Most of Newry go to Belfast anyway so it’s like home away from home.”
Gerard Mc Creesh and Conor O’Hanlon have the same simplistic reasons. Conor a Marketing student in Jordanstown, explained: “You get to go home on weekends for your ma’s cooking.”
Philosophy fresher Gerard saw things even more clearly: “Everyone else stays in Belfast, that’s the main reason. And I was too lazy to travel.”
Niall Morris, a History and International Politics second year at QUB, puts more a little more thought into his decision to stay at home. “Four generations of my family went to Queen’s. Two still there when I started and I thought it wouldn’t be a bad to combine home comforts and a Russell group university wouldn’t be a bad choice”