Melissa

Everyone who visits from other accommodation is like, ‘oh my God, your kitchen’s massive’.

14th October 2025

First impressions

Melissa, tell us about life at Purdown View. What were your first impressions of living here?

When I got allocated here I thought, ‘Oh, yes!’ because it’s brand new and I wanted my own bathroom. I’ve been at UWE for a few years already and I remember seeing it being built, so it was exciting being the first cohort. Obviously, I’ve slowly learned more about it as I’m living here. It’s really nice.

And you moved straight from home to here?

Yes, I’m from Bristol and was at home for a few years. Technically I should be in my third year, but I’m doing second year and some first year. That’s another conversation! But I wanted to actually be here this year and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s given me so much independence.

Was there anything that surprised you when you arrived?

Just the size of everything. I didn’t realise how big my room would be. My room at home is like a box room so having a hallway into my room was a shock. I really like that. Same with the kitchen. Everyone who visits from other accommodation is like, ‘oh my God, your kitchen’s massive’.

Life in the flat

You’re sharing with four other people, tell us about that dynamic…

It’s all girls, they’re all first years and really nice. We get on quite well. We’ll be in the same place cooking but we haven’t shared meals yet.

Having two hobs works really well, but there isn’t loads of worktop space. The most people I’ve seen in the kitchen at once is three and it’s not that bad. It might be pretty chaotic if all five of us were in there at once.

Noted. And does your bedroom work for you in terms of size, layout, storage?

Definitely. I really like my bedroom. Obviously, I can’t have anything on the walls, but I’ve kind of made it my own. At home I had a nice desk but it wasn’t that big, but here I’ve got so much desk space.

The wardrobe is really good too, I really appreciate how much storage there is. I also love that there’s eight different plugs! I didn’t have to bring any extension leads. I was so happy about that ‘cause my room at home just had two sockets—I had four different extension leads—but now I don’t have to worry about that.

That’s great to hear. Is there anything you’d change about the flat?

I’m not sure if there is anything really. I think it’s all quite nice. The most annoying thing is the worktop space but we get around it.

Social spaces

Tell us about the social side of Purdown, have you found it easy to meet people here?

I think so. Everyone’s here for uni, so we all have that in common. My situation is a bit different because I know people in the years above and now I’m with people I don’t really know. I chat to people in my flat and work with people on my course for group projects. But I’ve also got my friends in Bristol outside of uni—one of them came here a few weeks ago and she really liked it.

Do you use the communal spaces here at all?

I’d like to, they seem nice but I rarely have the time for it. There was a board game thing the other week which I wanted to go to but then when it came to it, I didn’t have the time.

Other than lecture halls, I probably use the laundry lounges the most. You have to go at the right time though—like in the morning when there’s less people around. At home I was the one doing the washing because my mum works full time and it was a bit annoying. But now I’m just in charge of my own washing, so it’s really nice.

Life on campus

It sounds like a lot of your time is spent working and studying! Now you’re living on campus fulltime, do you feel like Purdown supports that?

Definitely. The furthest I have to go for lectures now is about ten minutes. Before, when I lived at home, I had to get two buses to get here. It’s a lot easier now.

I tend to study in my bedroom, although I would like to go to the study hub. I’ve not gone to the library this year either, but the library’s good. I like it there.

I do also like having my own time though! So once I’ve finished lectures and written my notes I just get to relax.

And do you use any of the outdoor spaces when you want to relax?

Yes, I go for a lot of walks around the grounds ’cause it’s really nice. I really like the area near the entrance. There’s a nice forest path area.

My friend went to UoB and obviously it’s a good university but I much prefer being on campus ’cause everything’s all in one place. I really like that there’s the World Kitchen, Costa, Starbucks, Greggs, Subway, Aldi, Morrisons, there’s everything.

You’re in the film society too, right? There’s no cinema on campus, but we hear they have film nights in the Move Studio?

Yeah, they do screenings in N block. Those are always quite nice. It’s only like 10/15 minutes on the bus to the city centre though, which is great because my favourite place is Watershed, the cinema. I haven’t been there in a month, but I’m going again tomorrow to see Conclave with Ralph Fiennes.

Health and wellbeing is a big focus for UWE Bristol, do you feel you can live a healthy life here?

Definitely, especially for mental health because we have student coaching. I had an appointment and found it really helpful for my studies. We made a little Excel calendar, I’m quite a visual person so that was really helpful for me. I think UWE’s really good for pastoral care. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to come here.

That’s really good. On a similar note, do you feel safe here?

I really like that my keycard only lets me into my building and my room. Even if my mum wants to come, she has to get a code and go through the security barriers. Usually I’d get quite worried when it gets dark, but I’m fine here because I know so many people.