Megan Mahoney
“Where are you living next year?” is the age-old first and second-year conversation starter. Even third years enjoy the postcode debate, for they have perfected their argument during their time at UoN. Today, Megan Mahoney will unpack the Lenton v Beeston rivalry, and a winner will triumph.
There are many factors that may be considered when thinking about where to rent a house for the first time. For example, proximity of shops, transport links, nightlife etc. Many first year’s experience sleepless nights and frantic conversations with flat mates over which factors are the most important. In this article we provide some ammunition for the argument, whichever side of the Nottingham location coin you fall on.
Transport
The mysterious ‘bus on a track’ is a delight to most southerners when they first become a Nottingham student. In Beeston, the tram is the most convenient way to travel to Tesco and into town. In Lenton however, it is the sight of the bright orange 34 bus that is a cause for real excitement. It is only when you attempt to board the 08:47 bus from Savoy Cinema that the thirty-minute walk seems like the ideal option…
It is the alluring temptation of the Derby Road Sainsbury’s that eats away at every Santander account
Shops
Beeston Tesco was the highlight of every 2020 fresher’s year. With everything else shut, Beeston Tesco, or ‘big Tesco’, was the place to be on a Friday night. Two years later, it remains the superior shopping destination for Beeston residents, and those lucky Lenton students with Fiat 500s. Lenton boasts the cheap and student-friendly Lidl and Aldi which is only a twenty minute walk away. But, it is the alluring temptation of the Derby Road Sainsbury’s that eats away at every Santander account.
Nightlife
On a sunny Friday afternoon on the way home from a lecture, Sheaves is calling. Although merely a glorified car park with picnic benches, the drinks are cheap and it appears that the whole of UoN has turned out for the occasion. A notable mention also goes to the Rose and Crown pub quizzes which will leave you wondering whether the expensive education is worth it. The Last Post, the Beeston Wetherspoons, is a place rarely ventured in after the first year, but it is also widely appreciated.
Some of the best nights in second and third year are […] spent in someone’s tiny living room
In fact, some of the best nights in second and third year are, more often than not, spent in someone’s tiny living room celebrating a 21st birthday or a Halloween party. This can take place anywhere! But the basement of a house on Lenton Boulevard is a stronger contender than a three-bed house next to a young family in Beeston.
Houses
If the locations of Beeston and Lenton appear to widely differ, then the houses themselves are on alternate planets. In Lenton, it is common to find a previously three bed house turned into a seven bed by a greedy landlord from Hertfordshire. Who needs a living room and a dining room table anyway? For the £130 a week rent, a generous amount of rats in the alleyway garden are always guaranteed. In Beeston, a house is often blessed with a driveway for the Fiat 500s and a landlord who pops round on weekends to mow the lawn. Bliss!
“It’s love that turns wherever you live into a home”
In reality, it does not really matter where you choose to live in second and third year. Both locations have their quirks and their flaws. In the wise words of Harry Styles and the children’s book he read it from, “whether you live in a house, a flat, or a boat. It’s love that turns wherever you live into a home”. That even goes for those living on Kimbolton Avenue.
Megan Mahoney
Featured image courtesy of Ebun Oluwole via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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