Aimee Morley has lived at home in Coventry while studying English and journalism at Birmingham City University, a 20-minute train journey away, and says she has enjoyed the experience despite its ups and downs.
“It wasn’t financially possible for me to move out – I work multiple different jobs and work in retail as well, I will probably be living at home throughout uni, it’s just easier,” said Morley, 19, who will start her second year in the autumn.
“I thought I’m better off living at home, I have a job in Coventry, I have multiple sources of income there, so it was easier to stay. If I moved I’d have to up sticks and I didn’t want to do that.
“I know a lot of people find that invigorating for uni, the newness and the new beginning. But I wanted an education and to meet new people and I wanted to keep my connection to home because I’m quite close to my family.”
Despite living away from the campus, Morley says she feels she has not missed out on student life.
“I’m not a clubbing person, but you could say I missed out on loads because I couldn’t just walk back to my student accommodation really late at night. But I can do all that in Coventry, so I wouldn’t say I’ve missed out on the stereotypical student experience, because I’ve still made friends for life and really enjoyed it.
“The whole concept of leaving your home is very interesting. In other countries people live around their family their whole life. In the future I would love to explore but for now, I live with my mother. It’s just been me and her for many years, and I get along with her really well and I have a very positive relationship with her. She’s always been very supportive. Some people might want to move out because they’ve got a toxic family or are not supportive.”
Morley says she considered other universities and courses but decided early on to stay in the West Midlands.
“For me it was a no-brainer, I loved the course and I loved the way Birmingham is such an up-and-coming city in terms of media. The BBC are building there, Birmingham is the place to be.
“Sometimes the best course is closer to home and that was the case for me. Why would I move to Birmingham when I live so close, what would be the point in that?
“I do like being a commuter student, and I’ve had a positive experience. But sometimes when it’s eight o’clock at night and you’ve just done a full day at university and you’re getting on the train to go home and there’s been a train strike, it’s not exactly glamorous.
“There’s good days and there are bad days – and I’m sure students in student accommodation have a similar feeling when their flatmates are being messy or there’s drama in the flat. Every experience is not going be sunshine and roses.”
Jo Norry, director of student services at Leeds Beckett University, said the approach of students such as Morley was becoming more common.
“At our kind of university, a regional university, we’ve always had a proportion of students living at home. But what’s been striking in recent years is how many more there are.
“For those students, the very top reason is money – it costs so much less if you don’t have to pay for accommodation, and that makes a massive difference for some students.”
While Leeds does not have the accommodation shortages that plague other university centres, Norry said rents have still increased sharply. “There are no cheap options any more and student maintenance loans have risen hardly at all. It’s pretty much impossible for a student to live on maintenance loans alone.”
But the impact of the pandemic has also meant more students want to stay closer to families and friends. “Post-Covid, they may be more reliant on support networks, and don’t want to have to reinvent those networks of supportive friends that know them well,” Norry said. “Since the pandemic, those networks have become more important in terms of mental health and looking after yourself.”
