Connor

We're always in the kitchen, all of us, every night. We cook pretty much at the same time and eat at the same time

14th October 2025

First impressions

Connor, talk us through your first impressions, how’s your experience of Purdown so far?

Honestly, I love it. Especially after hearing stuff from people who don’t live in Purdown. It’s just modern and nice. Sure, there’s the odd thing we wish that didn’t happen, but for the most part, I love it.

And you chose to live on campus rather than in the city centre where you’re studying?

Ha, I didn’t mean to! I took a gap year and I wasn’t in the country for the accommodation selection. I panic-called my mum and she accidentally chose here instead of the city, but I’m so glad because it’s new and I’ve got an en-suite. That was one thing I really wanted.

Life in the flat

You’re sharing a flat with seven others, what’s the vibe like?

Honestly great, we got really lucky with our flat. No arguments, no nothing. Some people don’t really get along with their flatmates but we’re fine.

It sounds pretty social. Do you hang out, cook together, things like that?

We’re always in the kitchen, all of us, every night. We cook pretty much at the same time and eat at the same time, but not shared meals. My flatmate might help me with a certain dish or something, but for the most part we just cook our own meals.

What about privacy, do you feel you can get that too?

In my room, yes. But the little bank outside obviously makes people a bit higher, so they’re a bit closer to our kitchen. You can’t really see anything that’s going on inside during the day, but when the lights are on at night you can see people. A reflective privacy screen would be cool.

If you could improve something about your flat, what would it be?

We have movie nights all the time and even though we have a massive sofa, it’s not big enough for all eight of us at the same time. Someone has to sit on the floor or grab a chair. But yeah, one person gets to pick a movie. We definitely have our favourite and least favourite movie pickers! I’d say I’m up there. I’ve got good movie taste.

So you’d change the sofa, not the movie pickers?

Yeah, well, maybe both…

Social spaces and building community

Let’s talk about the wider social aspects of Purdown. How did you find it meeting new people?

Easy, definitely. Especially during freshers, there were people everywhere. When I moved in I went to the shops with my family, came back, said bye to them, then two of the girls in the flat invited friends over, and those people invited people, and those people invited people. So I literally moved in and met like 20 people.

Was it intimidating? Or was it exciting?

No, it was exciting. Definitely.

Do you think Purdown helps or hinders that in terms of social space?

Definitely helps. Especially the communal spaces ’cause that’s where you first meet people during freshers’.

Now everyone’s in their groups, and especially when the weather’s bad, people are in their own flats a lot more. Like us, we hang out in our kitchen a lot. We only really use the communal spaces when we do laundry or play pool on a random Tuesday or something.

And what’s your relationship like with your neighbours?

One thing we always say is that we wish we’d spoken to the flat opposite us more because we don’t really know them. We know other flats in Purdown but not the ones right next to us. But now because we’re settled in as a flat, we have our friends and they probably have theirs. So I guess it’s a bit harder to get talking to them now.

Life on campus

Talk us through a day in the life. What does a good day look like for you? What do you look forward to?

I’m happy if I’m busy. If I wake up at 11 and don’t have a plan, it’s always a bad day. If I’m up at 8, lecture, food shop, laundry, gym, it’s like a busy day equals a good day, I guess.

You live here but study in the city centre. What do you think it would be like to live on campus and have your lectures here too?

Oh, so much easier. I’d prefer it but I do love where my lectures are. Graphic Design is based in the Arnolfini, which is a really cool place.

My flatmate can see her lesson from our kitchen window so she leaves with like five minutes to spare. I have to give it an hour maybe. Sometimes at eight in the morning, you’re just like, “Oh no”.

Do you feel connected or isolated from the city here?

At first, definitely a bit isolated. When you’re looking at the map it’s like we’re not even in Bristol. But then you realise it’s literally just one bus, which takes like 20 minutes, half an hour max. And the buses are every five minutes. So now it feels connected.

And if you stayed on campus all day, is there enough to keep you occupied?

I think they’ve got it all, the library is 24/7 which is sick. They’ve even got a barber, a vintage shop, pool tables. But then if our whole flat has a few days off, like Friday to Monday, we just go to the city centre. We go shopping, charity shops, go for lunch, cinema, nights out every weekend.

Do you feel like you can be healthy here?

Yes. I mean, I feel like it’s just the type of person you are, whether you’ll be healthy or not. There’s a gym one minute walk from my accommodation. You can’t get healthier than that I guess. There are different supermarkets. And apparently, there’s a guy who sells fruit on campus sometimes—I haven’t tracked him down yet though.

If there was a guy selling booze on the campus, would you have tracked him down?

I reckon I would have found him by now, yes!

And how do you feel about the outdoor spaces at Purdown?

It’s hard to tell ‘cause the weather’s not great at the moment. I feel like as a flat we’d use them more if it was nicer outside. One thing I’ve realised, there’s not much shelter. I’ve been locked out of my flat so many times when it’s raining, trying to call my flatmates, just standing in the rain. It’d be good to have more areas like those benches with the little white sheet thing above.

Studying

Let’s talk about studying. What do you look for in a study space?

I don’t like silence, but I don’t want a rave in the study space. I also want comfort. A soft chair, a nice desk, and a sofa. The lighting is good here too. No one wants to study in clinical bright lights so it’s nice to have softer lighting everywhere.

And are there enough of those types of spaces here for you to study well?

Definitely. There are so many options. There’s the library, a study space there, there and there, there [points]. And in the actual uni there’s loads of places you can go. And then you’ve always got your room. Some people don’t like studying in their room, but there’s options definitely.

When’s peak study time for you?

Oh I’d say either lunchtime-ish until I get bored or late at night, anywhere from 11pm to 1am.

Really?

Yeah. ‘Cause when you’re first up, you’re not studying. And then when you’re cooking dinner and hanging at the flat you’re not either, so in between those two or after.

Do you study together with your flatmates?

Sometimes, it depends on what we need to do. Maya does architecture, so she’s always doing her models and whatnot on the kitchen counter. The girls like to study together in the kitchen, but I get too distracted.

Looking Forward

Is there anything you’ll miss about Purdown next year?

Oh definitely, but there are pros and cons. I’ll love having my car next year, but at the same time I know my flatmates will miss being a five-minute walk away. I think we’ll all miss the modern facilities—our house next year isn’t gonna be as nice as the flats.

It’s great that you’re living with the same people next year. Is there anything you think would be interesting or useful for us to know that we haven’t asked about?

I was gonna say my room’s actually slightly bigger than the rest of the flats. There’s more space between my bed and the desk. And the girls aren’t happy about it. It must have been done for a reason—maybe there’s pipes or something ‘cause I’m right at the end.