I find rent expensive here in relation to salaries but socializing and shopping is cheap enough. There is a lot of choice for eating out. The shopping, whilst cheap, is not very interesting though. The public transport is really good here.
On 7th November 15
StudentCrowd Location Rankings
| Chester | #68 |
| Headingley | #69 |
| Hyde Park and Woodhouse | #70 |
| Lancaster | #71 |
| Loughborough | #72 |
| Canterbury | #73 |
| Aberystwyth | #74 |
| Coventry | #75 |
| Durham | #76 |
| Preston | #77 |
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I find rent expensive here in relation to salaries but socializing and shopping is cheap enough. There is a lot of choice for eating out. The shopping, whilst cheap, is not very interesting though. The public transport is really good here.
On 7th November 15
Living in Loughborough
The small town of Loughborough (or ‘Lufbra’, or even ‘Loogabarooga’) is very much geared towards student living, which is great news for you!
Top 10 Tips for Students in Loughborough...
1. Shop around. Wilkinsons in town is a good shout for getting set up in your new accommodation. However, you might do well to visit the less obvious laces such as Home Bargains, or the quirky little local discount store “Bonkers”, which happens to be right next door to Wilkos.
2. Discount. Get yourself a “Love Loughborough” card for a whole host of special offers around town, such as 5% off at Wilkinsons, BOGOF at Pizza Hut and loads more. Check out their website for current offers.
3. The Sock Man. You’re sure to find this out eventually, but a random photo with the locally loved landmark “Sock Man” (a rather comical looking statue in town centre) is pretty much obligatory at some point during your stay in Loughborough.
4. Visitors? When the parents come to visit, take them for a walk in Bradgate Country Park and then on to one of the cute village tea rooms opposite the car park on Bradgate Road.
5.Fancy dress. Theme nights are big, especially during Fresher’s week. Get ahead of the game by visiting Masquerade Fancy Dress near the train station, or for a more creative and much cheaper alternative check out the charity shops in town.
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6. Market days. Stock up on cheap fruit and veg at the market in town centre on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can really bag some bargains if you turn up towards the end (about 3-4pm).
7. Eat out. The Noodle Bar is a popular eatery among students and the impoverished. However, for a lesser-known gem of a cheap diner, try the creatively named “Grill House and Shisha Lounge”, where you can fill your face with generous portions of delicious middle-eastern food (and reminisce about your gap yah), without breaking the bank!
8. Travelling? Being close to the M1, Loughborough is pretty well-connected with regular Megabus and National Express services, which often cost no more than a fiver if you book in advance. Plus you get 10% off with an NUS extra card. So you can afford to visit the parents after all!
9. Shopping. Fashion-conscious freshers, fear not! For clothing you can afford on a student loan, there’s a Primark in town centre, as well as TKMaxx, New Look, Next and a few of the usual Arcadia Group suspects such as Topshop/Topman. Don’t forget to use that student discount!
10. On-the-go. If you’re living in the student triangle, St. Peter’s Centre on Storer Road has just started running a handy little café on weekday mornings. Stop off for breakfast, or pick up a coffee on your way to morning lectures. There’s free WIFI too.
On your to do list...
- The Cheese Cake Shop: Deep creamy luxury desserts at friendly student prices. Like Heaven, but edible.
- Beacon Hill: This hill is just outside the town with a car park at the bottom. Even the laziest student can make it to the top, and the view back over Loughborough is pretty great. For those who like their hills a bit craggier, or enjoy being chased by deer, the expansive Bradgate Park is just 10mins down the road.
- Sock Man: You cannot be a Loughborough student without visiting Sock Man. He is a statue in the middle of the market square, and something of a local mascot. Why is he so chubby? Why is he green? Why is he naked apart from one sock? Nobody knows...
Getting about
- Bus: The blue and yellow Kinchbus runs a circuit between the train station, town centre and university. It’s not the most punctual bus in the world, but it’s very handy when you’re laden with shopping.
- Taxi: ADT Taxis.
- Car: Not really. Loughborough is easily small enough to walk through and buses to Nottingham and Leicester are fairly regular.
Read Loughborough Reviews
I find rent expensive here in relation to salaries but socializing and shopping is cheap enough. There is a lot of choice for eating out. The shopping, whilst cheap, is not very interesting though. The public transport is really good here.
Nice, quiet town but really small. Almost has everything you need but not much choices.
Small, no need for public transport.
Link bus service is fantastic! Refurbishment has made town look very pretty and nice to spend time in. Everything you need, but could use more variety of shops/things to do.
Quite a small town but pretty cheap for whatever you want to do and if you know the places then can find great food and a good night out.
Loughborough in generally pretty cheap to eat out and go out in. However it's shopping and nights out are limiting. The sprint busses are fantastic and regular.
A very student town. There are many areas that are student housing dominated, meaning a busy and student feel to these areas. The housing type ranges massively and so do costs, you can pay from 60 pppw up to 100+. The nights out are alright, but the SU takes priority with many. Shopping isn't great, however with Nottingham to the North and Leicester to the South you can go shopping there. Public transport is good, however, being such a small town you can walk everywhere!
Loughborough town has the bare minimum of things you need, but as it's so small everything is in walking distance from the Uni. There are decent nights out but just beware of the locals!
Pretty cheap, good number of clubs and bars for size of the town, very student orientated town, not much to do during the day!
Really small town so it's easy to go out. But the fact it's a uni town means the nights are always going off! The shopping isn't great though
The locals are dodgy as hell but the price of housing and food is pretty good, echoes on a saturday is also pretty good!
Small town so no danger, relatively cheap but no shops neither something special in town
For awhat there is it's great but its a small town so wish there was a bit more of everything. But luckily Leicester and Nottingham are near by for more of a city scenery
absolutely sweet accomodataion
Shuttle buses go from campus to train station via town centre and it's cheap to do so (less than £2). Town has some of the best, authentic food to offer including The Basin (Thai/Chinese/Japanese), Peter (Italian) and World Buffet 108 (Mixed cuisines) which are all good value for money. Some great clubs which have great deals for student nights, e.g. Mansion (Mondays), Vodka Revolutions (Thursdays). Huge Tesco on edge of town, only 10-12 mins walk from SU and most high street shops nearby (Burton, Next, SportsDirect etc). Leicester and Nottingham both very close by train (10 mins) for days and nights out.
Loughborough is a wonderful town with many great shops.
Small town made for students! Great links to Leicester and Nottingham makes up for the lack of shopping.
Actually a really nice town to live in, has everything you need
Loughborough has everything to offer for its students and accommodates for everyone's styles (and budgets!!) From shopping centers to the cinema, from coffee shops to pubs and clubs! It has everything you could possibly need!
Shopping is a bit limited and there isn't a lot of daytime entertainment but there are some nice places to eat and a couple of really fun nightclubs
Theres not really a lot to do in the town, especially for shopping, there aren't many clubs, although the ones that are there are good
Loughborough town is pretty rough/grotty in areas, we had a few break ins by the locals trying to thieve things (this happened in other areas of the campus too). The nightlife is good, you can go out pretty much any night and the place is always full of students! I have visited friends at other unis that are situated in cities (e.g. Sheffield) and the general vibe is a lot better and there are lots more clubs to go to at night. However this doesn't really detract from the Loughborough experience so don't let it put you off!
small town. Great transport links to leicester and notts for shopping
The town has everything that is needed within walking distance of the university including a range of restaurants and shops
The town is not as bad as I expected. It has everything you need but as it's not a buzzing city so you can feel like you are missing out on that sort of student life sometimes
It has all the basic places you require, nothing lavish but it gets the job done which i can cope with. Being student dominated, night outs are insane and constantly feels like freshers when you have an event going on! Compared to anywhere else I have ever visited, the buses are quality, literally 5 minutes is the average time you'll have to wait. Campus is so much fun I can sacrifice a fancy city.
Small town so not much public transport is needed but there are good regular buses and the train station is not far away.
I enjoy living within Loughborough. I like the size of the town, not too big or small.
Perfect student town
Loughborough
Lots of supermarkets, farmfoods etc. Nightlife is electric due to loughborough students running the town. Very close to nottingham which is a great night out, especially stealth.
Cons?
Can argue its a fairly quiet area off campus with little activity other than the XMAS fair.
Quiet Town
Students Union at the University is fantastic for a night out Easy to get around, well connected via buses and trains
Cons?
Shopping could definitely be better - same experience as any other small town in the UK
Living in Loughborough
Everything is in walking distance. It's a perfect size between too big and too small. Student dominated. The town has everything you need and if it doesn't then Nottingham and Leicester are really close. A great town market.
Cons?
Unless you want to go to London the train journeys are a bit of a pain.
Student dominated.
Very windy.