Starting university in London is a big deal.
New university. New people. New home. And, for most, a completely new city or even a new country.
There are a few things that are much easier to learn from people who’ve actually done it.
1.London gets smaller surprisingly quickly
London can feel enormous when you first arrive.
Then you find your supermarket. Your coffee shop. The bus you always get. The shortcut to university. The place you meet your friends.
Suddenly you’re not navigating all of London. You’re living in your little bit of it.
Tip: Save a few essentials in Google Maps during your first week: your accommodation, university building, nearest supermarket, GP, pharmacy and your favourite coffee spot.
It makes a new city feel familiar much faster.
2. You don’t have to take the Tube everywhere
This one catches almost everyone out.
Two places that look miles apart on the Tube map might be a 15-minute walk from each other.
Before heading underground, check the walking time. You’ll save money and start learning how London actually fits together.
And don’t overlook the bus. Sitting upstairs and watching the city go past is one of the easiest ways to get your bearings.
Everyone else wants to make friends too
That first shared-kitchen hello can feel awkward.
Do it anyway.
The person making toast next to you might have moved hundreds or thousands of miles to be there and be wondering exactly the same thing: how am I going to meet people?
You don’t need a brilliant opening line. Say hello. Ask what they’re studying. Suggest getting coffee. Once you’ve met everyone, start a flat WhatsApp group. Suggest a first flat dinner.
And go to things.
At YourTRIBE, September starts with welcome get together and neighbourhood walks, followed by everything from coffee mornings and cookery workshops to yoga, creative sessions and social events.
Tip: If walking into an event alone feels daunting, ask someone from your flat if they fancy going with you. There’s a good chance they’ll be pleased you asked.
4. Your flatmates don’t have to become your best friends
Maybe they will. That would be great.
Your closest friends might end up being someone from your course, a society, another floor, an event or someone you haven’t even met yet.
A good flat doesn’t require six best friends. Being friendly, talking to each other, respecting noise and keeping shared spaces nice goes a very long way.
Give friendships time.
5. You don’t need to do everything during Freshers’ Week
Freshers’ Week can make it feel like you need to say yes to absolutely everything.
You don’t.
Go out if you want to. Stay in if you want to. Go to a party one night and yoga the next morning. Have dinner with your flat. Explore London. Call home. Have an early night.
There isn’t one correct way to start university.
And missing one night out will not ruin your entire university experience. Promise.
Tip: Pick a few things you genuinely want to do rather than trying to do everything because you think everyone else is.
6.Your accommodation matters for more than sleeping
Your room is important, obviously. But university life doesn’t happen entirely inside it.
Where will you study when you need a change of scenery? Where can you sit with friends? Where do you go when you want company but don’t necessarily want a big night out?
At YourTRIBE, you’ve got spaces for all of those things, from study areas and shared lounges to gyms and social spaces.
There are also the little routines that make somewhere feel like home. Grabbing your free coffee in the morning, having breakfast downstairs twice a week or bumping into the same people in the lounge can be just as important as the big events.
Tip: Don’t spend your first month going straight from your bedroom to university and back again. Use the building. That’s where a lot of the everyday community happens.
7. You will become weirdly attached to your local area
Before moving to London, you might care about Big Ben, Camden and Oxford Street.
A few weeks later, you’ll have strong opinions about which local supermarket is best and exactly where to get a good coffee.
That’s a good thing.
London gets much more interesting when you stop treating it like a collection of famous landmarks and start discovering neighbourhoods.
Tip: In your first couple of weeks, go for a walk around your new area without somewhere specific to be. Find the park, the cheap lunch spot, the good bakery and somewhere you’d actually like to spend a Sunday morning.
YourTRIBE also runs neighbourhood walks for new residents, so you don’t have to work everything out alone.
8. Some of your best London days will cost almost nothing
London can be expensive. London can also be brilliant for free.
Walk along the Thames. Explore a new neighbourhood. Visit one of the major free museums or galleries. Take your lunch to a park. Wander around a market without buying anything. Find a viewpoint and watch the city.
You don’t need an expensive plan every weekend.
Tip: Keep a note on your phone called “Things to do in London”. Every time somebody mentions somewhere interesting, add it. When you have a free Saturday, you’ve already got a list.
9. It’s completely normal if it takes a little while to feel settled
The first few days can be such a blur that homesickness doesn’t always arrive immediately.
It might be week three when everything suddenly feels a bit strange.
Call home. Make your favourite dinner. Go for a walk. Ask a flatmate if they want a coffee. Give yourself a quiet evening if that’s what you need.
And if you need more support, ask for it.
It’s worth finding your university’s wellbeing team and registering with a local GP and dentist once you’ve moved in. At YourTRIBE, the property team is there 24/7, and team members are Mental Health First Aid trained if you need someone to talk to or help point you towards support.
Tip: Register with a GP early. It’s much easier to sort it when you’re feeling fine than wait until the day you actually need one.
You don’t need to have it all planned
One of the best things about starting university in London is that you have no idea yet what your favourite bits are going to be.
The friend you meet by chance. The café that becomes your regular. The event you nearly didn’t go to. The part of London you’d never heard of before you moved here.
So make plans, but leave room for the unexpected too.
Say yes to something new. Take a different route home. Explore somewhere because someone mentioned it. Invite people along.
Your first term isn’t about following the perfect plan. It’s about starting to make London your own.
Tip: Pick one new thing to try each week. A place, an event, a food, a society or simply a different part of London.