It’s been almost a month since I cut all ties I have to the glorious northern gem of Preston, thanks to the conclusion of my university experience and subsequent graduation. Having had that time to reflect, its become apparent that despite being a relatively unknown location to most of the world, there’s actually a lot of things to miss about the place I called home for the last four years. Likewise, there are a few things I certainly won’t miss.
Everyone likes lists (according to the mysterious success of Buzzfeed-esque websites), so here’s one about the five best and five worst things I encountered during my time in England’s wettest city. I’m sure you fellow UCLan graduates and Preston emigrants can agree with many of them.
Things I'll miss:
Everyone likes lists (according to the mysterious success of Buzzfeed-esque websites), so here’s one about the five best and five worst things I encountered during my time in England’s wettest city. I’m sure you fellow UCLan graduates and Preston emigrants can agree with many of them.
Things I'll miss:
Avenham park.
The centre of Preston may not be much to shout about, but take a turn off Fishergate past Winckley square and you’ll find yourself wondering if you’re in the same city. Avenham is easily one of the best parks I’ve ever visited, and while its charm is somewhat lost during the winter months, afterwards it quickly becomes the best place to go.
With its fountains, bridges, gardens and open spaces, it becomes an ideal place to take a walk, play football or hang out when the weather improves. In summer you’ll see an abundance of large groups sprawled across the grass – setting up barbecues, shisha pipes or playing various sports. On a couple of occasions, there’s even been DJs set up to play house music whilst everyone relaxes with a few cans.
It’s safe to say that some of the best times spent at uni were charging about Avenham and it was the perfect place to go to skip those more tedious lectures (not that I did any of that…).
The centre of Preston may not be much to shout about, but take a turn off Fishergate past Winckley square and you’ll find yourself wondering if you’re in the same city. Avenham is easily one of the best parks I’ve ever visited, and while its charm is somewhat lost during the winter months, afterwards it quickly becomes the best place to go.
With its fountains, bridges, gardens and open spaces, it becomes an ideal place to take a walk, play football or hang out when the weather improves. In summer you’ll see an abundance of large groups sprawled across the grass – setting up barbecues, shisha pipes or playing various sports. On a couple of occasions, there’s even been DJs set up to play house music whilst everyone relaxes with a few cans.
It’s safe to say that some of the best times spent at uni were charging about Avenham and it was the perfect place to go to skip those more tedious lectures (not that I did any of that…).
Cocos.
Find me a better place to eat for the same price and I’ll literally pay for your meal. It’s cheap, it’s delicious and it’s got a huge selection – so you could go there every day if you wish (if only money was no issue). For those of you in Preston who’ve not heard of it, shame on you!
I discovered this Mediterranean/Caribbean/Mexican delight in first year and have plugged it to anyone and everyone ever since. It sorted out my hangovers more times than I’d care to admit and is definitely well summed up by its ‘soul food’ tag.
The proximity of everything.
It’s mainly true for us student residents, but I’ve never lived anywhere that has literally everything within a stones throw of my front door (apart from Vernon building – damn you!). Unless you’re unlucky enough to live in the hollow depths of Plungington, most halls and uni accommodation is only a few minutes away from a shop, pubs, the nightclubs, the main shopping centre and lecture theatres.
9:00am lecture? No problem. Alarm set for quarter to, arrive at 9:02 (fashionably late). Now it’s back to using the dreaded and diseased public transport for even the simplest of outings.
Find me a better place to eat for the same price and I’ll literally pay for your meal. It’s cheap, it’s delicious and it’s got a huge selection – so you could go there every day if you wish (if only money was no issue). For those of you in Preston who’ve not heard of it, shame on you!
I discovered this Mediterranean/Caribbean/Mexican delight in first year and have plugged it to anyone and everyone ever since. It sorted out my hangovers more times than I’d care to admit and is definitely well summed up by its ‘soul food’ tag.
The proximity of everything.
It’s mainly true for us student residents, but I’ve never lived anywhere that has literally everything within a stones throw of my front door (apart from Vernon building – damn you!). Unless you’re unlucky enough to live in the hollow depths of Plungington, most halls and uni accommodation is only a few minutes away from a shop, pubs, the nightclubs, the main shopping centre and lecture theatres.
9:00am lecture? No problem. Alarm set for quarter to, arrive at 9:02 (fashionably late). Now it’s back to using the dreaded and diseased public transport for even the simplest of outings.
Quids (Adelphi).
Unlike the rest, even a trip back to Preston wouldn’t bring back the good old days of Thursday night Quids in Adelphi. For three years it was a stalwart of my Thursday evenings and obviously conjures up many memories of meeting people, dates and general beer’d up shenanigans.
As the name suggests, drinks were available from as cheap as £1 (albeit the pig-swill beers); but unfortunately due to pesky inflation, the prices rose to £1.25 and more recently to become £1.50 ‘midweek madness’. Shock horror I know, but it’s just not the same any more.
Unlike the rest, even a trip back to Preston wouldn’t bring back the good old days of Thursday night Quids in Adelphi. For three years it was a stalwart of my Thursday evenings and obviously conjures up many memories of meeting people, dates and general beer’d up shenanigans.
As the name suggests, drinks were available from as cheap as £1 (albeit the pig-swill beers); but unfortunately due to pesky inflation, the prices rose to £1.25 and more recently to become £1.50 ‘midweek madness’. Shock horror I know, but it’s just not the same any more.
The people.
I’m not talking about many of the characters that call this place home for 365 days a year, we’ll get to them in a short while; but the people I met during my few years at UCLan are amongst those I hope to know for the rest of mine. Upon first arrival in the place, I never expected to meet such a varied and cultured array of individuals as I did, but they’ve contributed to the best years of my life.
It’s true what they say, you’ll never meet as many like minded people as you will at uni. Thanks for making these following downsides bearable, you all know who you are!
Good riddance to:
I’m not talking about many of the characters that call this place home for 365 days a year, we’ll get to them in a short while; but the people I met during my few years at UCLan are amongst those I hope to know for the rest of mine. Upon first arrival in the place, I never expected to meet such a varied and cultured array of individuals as I did, but they’ve contributed to the best years of my life.
It’s true what they say, you’ll never meet as many like minded people as you will at uni. Thanks for making these following downsides bearable, you all know who you are!
Good riddance to:
The weather.
Coming from near Manchester, I should be fully acclimatised to shoddy weather, but that was before proud Preston had its chance to test my skin. Claiming gold in England and bronze in the UK for the unsavoury title of wettest city, the precipitation here makes Mancunia seem as dry as a Saharan flip flop. I’m not usually one to complain about rain, but in this place it can often severely limit your choice of activity.
Another disappointment is with snow, or should I say the lack of it. When the rest of the country is nicely blanketed with the stuff, what does Preston get? A mild pattering and some sheets of ice. It never sticks, so forget about snowball fights and snowmen.
Coming from near Manchester, I should be fully acclimatised to shoddy weather, but that was before proud Preston had its chance to test my skin. Claiming gold in England and bronze in the UK for the unsavoury title of wettest city, the precipitation here makes Mancunia seem as dry as a Saharan flip flop. I’m not usually one to complain about rain, but in this place it can often severely limit your choice of activity.
Another disappointment is with snow, or should I say the lack of it. When the rest of the country is nicely blanketed with the stuff, what does Preston get? A mild pattering and some sheets of ice. It never sticks, so forget about snowball fights and snowmen.
Edgy locals.
Far be it for me to say that students can’t be edgy or undesirable, but there are some seriously dodgy folk who call themselves native to the Preston area. It becomes apparent from your first walk along Friargate and into the town centre that there is a real abundance of scruffy, Special Brew drinking wastrels congregating on pavements, car parks and grassy areas.
There is a very inherent problem with homelessness, which doesn’t help the vibe of the city and makes a walk to anywhere impossible without feeling obliged to fork out some change. Although it’s not just that I’m talking about – as far as I’m aware, Preston is the only place which has a pub below its job centre. What a convenience and incentive that is to find employment.
There’s also the gangs of BMX-riding, nuisance kids that loiter in and around McDonalds, but I think that’s probably stereotypical of most places to be honest.
The summer ghost town.
With the amount of students the city has, it’s unavoidable that the place me seem a bit vacant once they all skedaddle. Any dreams of staying for prolonged periods after classes finish are squashed by the fact that everyone flees towards the end of May.
The literal overnight transformation goes from seeing everyone you know all the time (which can be a bad thing), to days without seeing a familiar face. This allows some of the edgier locals (see above) to get a foothold in the city centre, and takes the shine off many of the perks; although I imagine they relish the vacating of the students.
Far be it for me to say that students can’t be edgy or undesirable, but there are some seriously dodgy folk who call themselves native to the Preston area. It becomes apparent from your first walk along Friargate and into the town centre that there is a real abundance of scruffy, Special Brew drinking wastrels congregating on pavements, car parks and grassy areas.
There is a very inherent problem with homelessness, which doesn’t help the vibe of the city and makes a walk to anywhere impossible without feeling obliged to fork out some change. Although it’s not just that I’m talking about – as far as I’m aware, Preston is the only place which has a pub below its job centre. What a convenience and incentive that is to find employment.
There’s also the gangs of BMX-riding, nuisance kids that loiter in and around McDonalds, but I think that’s probably stereotypical of most places to be honest.
The summer ghost town.
With the amount of students the city has, it’s unavoidable that the place me seem a bit vacant once they all skedaddle. Any dreams of staying for prolonged periods after classes finish are squashed by the fact that everyone flees towards the end of May.
The literal overnight transformation goes from seeing everyone you know all the time (which can be a bad thing), to days without seeing a familiar face. This allows some of the edgier locals (see above) to get a foothold in the city centre, and takes the shine off many of the perks; although I imagine they relish the vacating of the students.
Library all-nighters.
There was logic in leaving assignments until the last minute. The closer to the deadline, the older you are, therefore the wiser. Utter rubbish I know, but clearly I did something right with the stress of working under pressure (see my degree classification).
Don’t get me wrong, staying in the library for over 24 hours with the usual suspects had some spectacularly hilarious moments and I even enjoyed a couple of these escapades. But I’m not going to miss watching the place empty, the sun start to rise, the smell of prolifically unwashed students or the mild insanity that accompanies a severe lack of sleep.
Promo staff.
I’ve never met anyone who enjoys wearing work clothes outside of work in my entire life as the promo staff in Preston. Do those hoodies ever get taken off and washed?
Okay, perhaps I’m being a little pedantic in my attempt to fill this list, but I’m someone who particularly hates being unnecessarily pestered. I decide where I’m going out before I even leave the flat; so being asked: “Are you going to MAcs/Browns/Baluga?” by ten different people, whilst walking in the opposite direction doesn’t help.
Yes, they exist everywhere – but the only place I’ve known it worse was in Zante.
So there you have it, if you’re thinking about a move you now know the pros and cons of living in the northern gem of Preston. As much as we may love to grumble and call it ‘Depreston’ from time to time, I wouldn’t have it any other way and was happy to call it home for as long as I did.
Even the down sides don’t seem so bad as I’ve been churning them out in this post.
There was logic in leaving assignments until the last minute. The closer to the deadline, the older you are, therefore the wiser. Utter rubbish I know, but clearly I did something right with the stress of working under pressure (see my degree classification).
Don’t get me wrong, staying in the library for over 24 hours with the usual suspects had some spectacularly hilarious moments and I even enjoyed a couple of these escapades. But I’m not going to miss watching the place empty, the sun start to rise, the smell of prolifically unwashed students or the mild insanity that accompanies a severe lack of sleep.
Promo staff.
I’ve never met anyone who enjoys wearing work clothes outside of work in my entire life as the promo staff in Preston. Do those hoodies ever get taken off and washed?
Okay, perhaps I’m being a little pedantic in my attempt to fill this list, but I’m someone who particularly hates being unnecessarily pestered. I decide where I’m going out before I even leave the flat; so being asked: “Are you going to MAcs/Browns/Baluga?” by ten different people, whilst walking in the opposite direction doesn’t help.
Yes, they exist everywhere – but the only place I’ve known it worse was in Zante.
So there you have it, if you’re thinking about a move you now know the pros and cons of living in the northern gem of Preston. As much as we may love to grumble and call it ‘Depreston’ from time to time, I wouldn’t have it any other way and was happy to call it home for as long as I did.
Even the down sides don’t seem so bad as I’ve been churning them out in this post.