Living in Leeds
Leeds. The best place in Britain to live
Henley Management College 'Urban Behaviours' study
A recent study by O2 Home Broadband showed that Leeds is one of the happiest places to live in the UK, coming second only to Brighton (which we will confidently beat once the Wellington Place Project gets underway and the muddy banks of the River Aire are transformed into a public area complete with a sandy beach, volleyball courts and seating!).
Part of this happiness could be down to West Yorkshire residents having the lowest fear of crime in comparison to other police forces and the policing division around NSCD having much lower recorded crime figures when compared to the city average. Or maybe it could be all the fabulous things that the city has to offer?
People love living in Leeds; 91% of residents state that it provides a great quality of life and 94% say they are proud of their city (Leeds City Image Survey 2003).
RBS Student Living Index (2007) rated Leeds as ‘The most cost effective place to study in Britain’. We estimate that the annual cost of living for a student in Leeds to be approximately £6,000 (based on a weekly pay-out of £65 on accommodation; £15 for utilities; £25 on food; and £10 on entertainment - excludes course fees).
Students often supplement their loans with paid employment. As a bustling city there are lots of opportunities to find evening and weekend work in shops, bars, restaurants and customer service. Often students prefer to concentrate on their studies during term time and in the holidays work full time, saving money for the rest of the year.
Most NSCD students live together in the Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton areas of the city (LS7) just off Chapeltown Road or Harrogate Road. This continuous road is commonly known as ‘the arts corridor’ because of the high percentage of arts organisations and artists situated around it, starting with the Host Media Centre in Chapeltown and finishing at Seven Arts Centre in the cosmopolitan Chapel Allerton with bars, cafes, restaurants and boutiques.
The areas are well serviced by bus, road and cycle routes. Main bus services in Leeds tend to run every 10 minutes during peak times with late buses running to midnight. There is also a free city bus which circuits the city centre.
The rest of the world is also easily accessed from Leeds with a thriving international airport and one of the busiest train stations outside London with connections from all major destinations in the UK. National Express trains leave London Kings Cross for Leeds every half hour on weekdays and take around two hours.
Although it is easy to get back home from Leeds, moving to the city can take some adjusting to. To help students find their feet NSCD supports them in many ways.
The School has a Welfare Officer to whom any student can talk confidential on any subject from home-sickness to relationship worries. The Neighbourhood Police Team run a number of sessions on personal safety and crime prevention and keep in contact for student queries and worries. Each student has a Personal Tutor who they meet regularly and new students study ‘Physical Awareness and Development’ which arms them with knowledge to ensure they eat well and look after their bodies.
Leeds. The UK's most female friendly city
Future Laboratories 'Tigra Town' Research 2006
