Fabio in Manchester
Table of Contents
Overall Thoughts & Feelings
While Manchester itself is for sure not the most beautiful city, its vibe and the people definitely make it worth a longer stay. The city’s size is just about perfect, you can reach most pubs, clubs, uni buildings and cafés just by walking. The best part about Manchester is definitely its rich music culture and the nightlife in general: there is not a single day in the week where you can’t go out and have the time of your life. Especially when you are into all kinds of indie- or electronic music, Manchester is probably the best city in the whole UK for you. However, it is also true what they say about the weather in the UK, especially in fall, so be prepared to have a runny nose.
Expenses
- Rent: 700 pounds
- Groceries and eating out: 300 pounds
- Going out: beer can be anywhere between 2.50 in a student bar and 5.50 in a bar in the hip area of town, so hard to tell.
- Club entrance: 7 to 15 pounds, bigger events or other things can be more expensive.
- Traveling: went on a bunch of trips, but depends where you are going. Flights from Manchester airport to/from EU cities are quite cheap.
Accommodation
Uni Halls are all in the same area (south of the city center) and the one I was staying at is not even 5 mins away from uni by foot. It was an ensuite room with a shared kitchen and 5 other flatmates. The city center is about a 10-15 min walk away, but there are also a bunch of buses in case you can’t or don’t want to walk.
Studies
The business school is a quite nice, modern building and all classes were within that building. I took 4 classes:
- International Business Strategy
- Foundations of Management
- Industrial relations
- HR Management
All of them consist of both a lecture and a seminar (either weekly or bi-weekly). However, the grades only consist of one component which is a written essay of about 3000-4000 words. Overall, the effort theoretically is very high, as there are a lot of readings to do for each session of each course, but if you miss one from time to time it’s still more than manageable.
Events
I did not attend any events organized by the Uni, and there haven’t been a lot I think.
Places to Visit
Both lake district and peak district (national parks) are just a 1 hr train ride away from Manchester and quite nice for hiking and spending time in nature. What I liked most there was some horseback riding I did with my friends. Also Liverpool is just 1 hr by train, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow are about 3-4 hrs by train, and Dublin 1 hr by plane.
Country & City Vibes
Manchester is one of the most vibrant cities of the UK and famous for its party scene. You could literally go out to a pub or a club 7 days a week if you wanted to and it would be crowded. There are loads of live gigs all throughout the city, some of the coolest bars and clubs I’ve ever been to, and just a chill and outgoing vibe in general. Since the city itself does not offer a lot of sights, there are not a lot of tourists besides other British people visiting Manchester to go out. I would say it is quite the authentic experience of England.
Visa
Not needed if you’re there for less than 6 months.