Students in their second and third years at the University of Swansea may look to advance their living arrangements beyond the campus experience by settling into cosy homes with close friends in the charming coastal city.
Metro Student Accommodation can provide these arrangements, offering spacious and affordable student housing in prime locations with seamless access to campus hubs and lively locales. Drawing on knowledge of the city’s enchanting neighbourhoods, vibrant student quarters, and stunning scenery, Metro identifies five living considerations when searching for the right student accommodation in Swansea for you and your friends to forge a memorable year.
1. Choose the Right Neighbourhood for You & Your Friends
Brimming with cafes, parks and pubs, Swansea is a place that caters to all walks of student life. From Sketty and Brynmill to the Uplands and City Centre, Swansea contains many enchanting neighbourhoods for students to choose from and explore.
Nestled between the University’s Bay and Singleton Campuses, neighbourhoods like Brynmill and the Uplands offer students quick and simple access to university hubs, as well as a wide selection of local businesses, parks, cafes, and pubs.
In this prime location, students can study in charming cafes like Brynmill Coffee House and The Bookshop Bar & Café, as well as dine at friendly eateries like Crumbs Kitchen. Along Uplands Crescent, they’ll find seamless access to all their living and shopping needs on just one street.
Since bars and restaurants opened in the early 2010s, the Uplands has become renowned for its nightlife. The Uplands Tavern continues to be and has long been regarded as a local favourite by historical icons like famous writers Sir Kingsley Amis and Dylan Thomas.
Independent shops and a local produce market in Gwydr Square endow the Uplands neighbourhood with a distinctive feel reflecting the city’s longstanding and new cultures. For students, proximity to this type of area, chock-full of historic character and local fares, can be a real draw for enhancing their housing experience.
2. Situate Near Student Life, Stores, Cafes & Transport
Whenever they crave time away from these bustling city streets, students can also visit the expanse of nearby Singleton Park in Sketty. Encompassing 250 acres, the park’s ornamental garden borders the entrance to Swansea’s Singleton Campus, making for a short, pleasant, and scenic walk to lectures and classes.
A quick walk further on, and students will find themselves seated at the mouth of Swansea Bay, overlooking stunning beaches and blue waters. A quick stroll along this coastline and they will soon arrive at Swansea’s historic City Centre, where they can access legendary nightlife on the famous Wind Street.
Wind Street is fabled for sitting at the heart of the city’s nightlife. Here, students teem the streets on weekends and frequent local favourites like Founders & Co.
From the birthplace of poet Dylan Thomas to the National Waterfront Museum, there are plenty of historical and cultural daytime attractions dotted throughout the City Centre catering to student life as well.
From these neighbourhoods, you can easily access direct bus routes linking any of Swansea’s campuses or attractions. Transport is always well-connected, ensuring you’re always only a short walk or a few stops from wherever you need to go.
3. Easily Escape to Swansea’s Stunning Natural Scenery
Renowned for its natural beauty, Swansea Bay welcomes students seeking outdoor serenity with its glittering beaches and rolling hills. Winding coastal and countryside footpaths can serve as critical outlets away from the noise of the city and student life. Ideal for walking and cycling, the city’s easily accessible coast and wooded valleys cater to the physical and mental wellness of students.
Photo by @marcuswoodbridge Marcus Woodbridge, Unsplash
The breathtaking Gower, with its dramatic limestone cliffs, outstretches across the Bristol Channel and is a popular natural attraction defining the city. Secluded coves and sandy beaches wait to be explored throughout the Peninsula, and surfers can often be found frequenting the waters.
Whether you’re studying on campus or spending the day at home, these
glorious scenes of the Gower are always just a stone’s throw away.
Photo by @marcuswoodbridge Marcus Woodbridge, Unsplash
4. Create a Home Away from Home: Comfortable Living Spaces & Lounges
Student houses in Swansea provide many benefits for communal living amongst friends. Unlike studio flats, they offer a distinctive feel of home with large lounge areas and brightly lit spaces for you and your mates to congregate, dine, and socialise.
With complete furnishing, including complimentary WiFi, a flat screen Freeview TV, large leather sofas and plenty of comfy chairs, housing with Metro can specifically facilitate this homely feel. With access to banquette seating around dining tables, you can create fond memories of cooking and dining together.
Spacious and brightly lit bedrooms include a desk, and these arrangements are added by granting private space to retreat to whenever you need to focus and carry out your studies. Featuring both cosy study spaces and a large living area, you’ll have access to everything you need to enhance your academic and social life from the comfort of your own home.
In this regard, houses can be the ideal accommodation option for students in their second and third years who have an established close-knit group of friends and a familiarity with the city.
5. Live Like a Local: Be Swept Up by Swansea
Beyond immersing yourself within your academic and social circles, the decision to live in a student house for accommodation can also bolster your sense of community within the city of Swansea itself. Residing in a neighbourhood, students can create a greater sense of new connection with local groups and spaces beyond the Singleton and Bay campuses.
For second and third-year students, this expansion of daily boundaries can provide a new outlook for exploring and engaging with the city anew. Students should consider the benefits of choosing accommodation in a new area, as proximity to new locales will lend to new experiences and add freshness to their subsequent years at university.
A New ‘Lease’ on Student Life in Swansea
Choosing to live in student housing instead of studio flats can provide a new ‘lease’ on student life by opening the door to a cosy neighbourhood space surrounded by friends – with the excitement of undiscovered local areas brimming with stores, cafes, and nightlife just nearby.
Choosing to live in this type of housing can ensure an extraordinary and unforgettable university experience that you and your friends will look back on fondly for years to come – reminiscing on time spent with your housemates lounging about on comfy sofas, cooking weekday dinners, and discovering new favourite local haunts.
This type of living arrangement can not only create a home away from home for your upcoming year, but it can also foster lifelong friendships through the camaraderie of sharing that home with others.
As the seaside city is walkable, cyclable, and easily connected by numerous transport links, you’ll be well-placed wherever you choose to live to make the most of Swansea’s many natural, historic, and social attractions.
While considering where to live, be sure to look at Metro’s available student lettings in Swansea, which may very well be the perfect choice for you and your friends to make the most of the coming year together.
