Commuting to Trinity

McPooHead

Is it unusual not to stay in Trinity Halls?
How do people who are commuting to and from college manage in making friends compared to those in Halls?
How do commuters deal with going out at night?

partyatmygaff

1. Doubt it, there are far more students than there are available places in Halls.
2. No idea as of yet... doubt it will make a massive difference though.
3. Public transport? Taxis, buses?

Extrasupervery

With regards to number three, make friends in halls/living in town. Happy days.

El Siglo

McPooHead wrote: »

Is it unusual not to stay in Trinity Halls?

No, in fact it's probably more usual to not stay in halls. Far better and less expensive accommodation in Dublin. I used to live about 100 yards from Halls (upper Rathmines Rd.) and was paying €365/month excl. bills. If you move to Clontarf, Drumcondra or South Circular Rd. expect rent to be even lower than that.

How do people who are commuting to and from college manage in making friends compared to those in Halls?

Like everyone else, tutorials, societies, on your course etc...

How do commuters deal with going out at night?

How far are you intending on commuting? If you're in Dublin, taxi it like everybody else. If you're outside Dublin, just stay at a friend's house.

Lisandro

A lot of people don't stay at Halls; the lodgings simply can't meet the demand. There'll be plenty of people living independently around the city. How well you embed yourself and make friends is primarily determined by how outgoing you are, insofar as your involvement in societies, events, talking to coursemates, etc. Living at Halls helps, but isn't necessary in any shape or form. Nights out normally end with a taxi home, but some people won't mind you staying at their place. Some people walk home, depending on distance.

Unregistered.

Get a bicycle.

bscm

Unregistered. wrote: »

Get a bicycle.

Do you have this permanently on "Paste"?

bscm

McPooHead wrote: »

Is it unusual not to stay in Trinity Halls?
How do people who are commuting to and from college manage in making friends compared to those in Halls?
How do commuters deal with going out at night?

Just do what I'm doing, commute, make friends with people living in Dublin and enjoy the fact that you are paying a fraction of accommodation prices Tis a recession and all that

Groinshot

bscm wrote: »

Do you have this permanently on "Paste"?

Probably. it's the most useful piece of advice you can give someone in Dublin

Larianne

McPooHead wrote: »

Is it unusual not to stay in Trinity Halls?
How do people who are commuting to and from college manage in making friends compared to those in Halls?
How do commuters deal with going out at night?

I see you're from Meath. There are two girls in my class from the Ashbourne area and another from Navan. They all commute and have friends, and go on nights out. They usually just stay in friends houses or one doesn't drink and drives home.

I don't live that far out but far enough that a taxi is robbery. I just stay in friends places.

You'll be grand.

boblong

I'm commuting from Meath too OP. I thought it would be a big deal but it isn't - don't sweat the small stuff and just enjoy college.

Equium

It really depends on how far you are travelling and how intensive your course is/will be. I commuted every day last year, with a round trip of 3 hours per day on a bus: So that is getting up at 6am and getting home at 8/9pm. I wouldn't recommend it at all quite frankly... During the business time of the year and the exams in particular it can be shattering. There were several days when I was studying/commuting 18 hours per day.

A for the friends part, well you will still meet countless people. I didn't find that element of commuting too bad at all. If you want to be an active member of clubs etc. though it could be a limiting factor.

Nights out are a sticking point. At first it can be difficult to make arrangements for places to sleep but as time goes by you will build a list of friends willing to let you kip on a couch.

fh041205

Depends how far you're commuting from and when the last bus/train is for you. And whether you can get a taxi or if its too far/expensive.

I commuted on the train from Drogheda for 2 years, terrible terrible experience. hated it. Wouldn't recommend it in the slightest. The amount of time you lose from your day is crazy and its much much harder to make friends because you can't go on as many nights out or just hang around with people in the evening time.

I think there are roughly 1000 people in halls which isn't a large proportion of college at all. Halls is mostly first and second years, particularly first years.

boblong

fh041205 wrote: »

The amount of time you lose from your day is crazy and its much much harder to make friends because you can't go on as many nights out or just hang around with people in the evening time.

Why didn't you just stay over? People are generally quite relaxed about it.

fh041205

boblong wrote: »

Why didn't you just stay over? People are generally quite relaxed about it.

How many times can you do that before you're intruding though. And sleeping on floors gets old very quickly. Its also nice not to be relying on people for stuff all the time, I really don't like that.

And most first years live in halls where the floors are horrible, the couches are hard to sleep on, and you face a 35 minute walk to college in the morning after you've been woken up by one of the many housemates that gets up early to make tea/coffee/breakfast before heading off to be in for nine to study a proper course.

collymoore

guys -

I'd say Halls will have some vacancies this year so, if you are coming to trinity, get an application in (yes it's more expensive but no dealing w/landlords or neighbours). IMO it's definately worth the extra 100e ish a month.

I stayed there for 2 years. Without a doubt the best 2 years of my life. You'll make 20x more friends there than if you live outside halls..

Commuting? www.buzzing bicycles.com

Just my two pence

Jayiid

im looking for accommodation in rathmines or dame st area,both about a 15 min walk to trinity im a 20 year old female,im fun and friendly but just laft it a bit late looking for housemates,if you're interested let me know

Unregistered.

Jayiid wrote: »

im a 20 year old female,im fun and friendly

Aren't we all.

Jayiid

Unregistered. wrote: »

Aren't we all.

haha its the stuff you need to say to make people realise you're cooler than everyone else on here :P plus im pretty desperate for someone cool to live with

eVeNtInE

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DolceFarNiente

collymoore wrote: »

guys -

I'd say Halls will have some vacancies this year so, if you are coming to trinity, get an application in (yes it's more expensive but no dealing w/landlords or neighbours). IMO it's definately worth the extra 100e ish a month.

I stayed there for 2 years. Without a doubt the best 2 years of my life. You'll make 20x more friends there than if you live outside halls..

Commuting? www.buzzing bicycles.com

Just my two pence

Is that just a guess? When I spoke to halls admin staff they seemed kinda overloaded with applicants...or do a significant amount of people drop out of halls in October?

Jammyc

eVeNtInE wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Can't say much for bike specs but invest in a good lock.

Unregistered.

eVeNtInE wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

How long is a piece of string. It would largely depend on how much you're willing to spend, the distance of your commute and if you'd be using the bike for longer spins or mountain-biking.