From the enormous city of London to the small city of Portsmouth, I knew that life would take a drastic change to what I am familiar with. Moving to Portsmouth for university was a decision I made before I started sixth form, I knew that I wanted to experience a different side of England to gain some lifestyle traits that I may not pick up at home in London.
Thinking back to the first drive going down to Portsmouth, I remember feeling that the journey was taking a lifetime and started to re-evaluate whether I wanted to be this far from home, but that thought disappeared once I arrived at my halls. The great thing about ‘moving-in day’ is that you’re not alone, there’re so many other individuals in the same position as you feeling the exact same excitement and anxiety so it does lower the nerves. Once I met the people that I would be living with and said goodbye to my mum, that’s when university started.
Portsmouth was a great place to study, especially as I was a Media and Entertainment Technology student and the university had just finish building the new Eldon building for the creative industries. So coming from sixth form at Elliott School in Putney with not many facilities, to Portsmouth University with all the latest technology and high end facilities, it was an incredible experience getting familiar with all the different technologies that I never had the chance to use beforehand.
Being on the south coast of the country was really nice as the surrounding neighbour cities such as Brighton, Southampton and Bournemouth were not too far away to visit. Also being a football fan within a city that loves football was also a great bonus for me. The university is not far from Fratton stadium and most of the student accommodation is located near the stadium so its easy access for football fans to go and watch a game. There is also various other activities you can do in and around Portsmouth and joining a society at university is a way in which you can explore them.
A great touch to Portsmouth is the fact they have a beach. Yes, a beach need I say more. Although that does bring me to warn you all about the weather in Portsmouth, which to be honest is just like the rest of the country however with the addition of the most forceful wind I have ever come across. I have had really good quality umbrella’s that have not been able to make it through the windy nights in Portsmouth, so be very prepared!
Portsmouth also has a shopping outlet, which is a blessing for us students to stay kitted up with nice designer clothing. However, having the outlet can also be a curse once you realise that you may have spent half your student loan shopping, so its basic rations for the rest of the term. Although a cheeky call to the bank of Mum and Dad does help out.
Nightlife, oh the nightlife in Portsmouth for me was great because there was a student night every night of the week, a night for every type of individual and many clubs to choose from and not to forget the tremendously cheap drinks
I loved my three years at Portsmouth, I managed to gain so much knowledge, make many lifelong friends and the city will undeniably always hold a piece of my heart.
By Tyrone Tagoe
