Living in Nottingham
Coming to a new city like Nottingham is so exciting – but can also seem a little scary! We’ve put together some information for you to share with your son or daughter about their new home so you can help them settle in.
Finding your home from home
It all starts with your family member finding the right place to live. The best advice we can pass on to you as parents and family is to encourage them to start their research early. This is because NTU accommodation and some private sector accommodation is very popular with international students.
Nottingham — something for everyone
Nottingham’s biggest strength is its versatility; it’s a friendly, fun-packed place. It doesn't matter what interests or hobbies your son or daughter has, they will find a place to call home and people to enjoy the experience with.
The city is lovely and looks like a city for students; it’s small and the city centre is compact.
Rani Jahnaz, mother of Indonesian undergraduate alumni, Ajengruni Larasati.
Getting around Nottingham
A great feature of Nottingham’s city centre is that everything is really close. Unlike in bigger cities like London, you can easily walk from City Campus to the shops and attractions in just a few minutes. And the regular buses and trams mean you can quickly reach Clifton and Brackenhurst campuses and other parts of Nottingham too.
Clifton Campus is linked to the city centre via the Go2 Uni 4 bus service which runs every 10 minutes. Buses also run to Brackenhurst Campus from the city centre every 30 minutes.
Nottingham has great transport links to other parts of the UK because of our central location. You can get some ideas of where your son or daughter could explore together on the Visit Britain website.
Shopping
Students find most of what they need here. The Victoria Centre is a shopping centre in the city. There are high street favourite shops around the Old Market Square and designer and vintage retailers in the trendy Hockley area of Nottingham.
Our international students tell us that shopping is one of their favourite things about Nottingham!
Food and drink
Cooking at home
Many of our students tell us they learn to cook their favourite dishes at university. Whether you send them here with a recipe book, or demonstrate how to cook on Skype, your son or daughter will be able to buy the ingredients they need from the international stores and food markets in Nottingham.
Catering at NTU
Our outlets on each campus offer a range of nutritious, good value meals and snacks to suit dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan, halal and gluten-free. NTU Student Cards can be topped up with money and gain special offers or build up loyalty points to make sure your son or daughter will always be well fed.
International Food Guide
There's a lot of choice for eating out, in a restaurant, coffee shop or cafe. In fact, across the city there are over 300 places to eat and drink! These include flavours from across the world. Whether you're searching for kosher, halal, gluten-free or vegan, your child's needs will be easily met in this city and at a reasonable price.
British weather
British weather is quite unpredictable but we rarely have extreme temperatures in Nottingham! We have warm summers (average of 18° in July) where you can enjoy up to 16 hours of daylight. Winter is cold (average 3° in January) and there is snow occasionally.
All of our buildings and most public transport in Nottingham has heating for the cooler months so students won’t feel cold when they're inside, and students can buy warm coats and other clothes at a very reasonable price here.