Living in The Sidings

This article was written by Costume Design for Film & TV BA(Hons) student Jasmin.

For my first year of university, I wanted to have the full uni experience and live in student accommodation. After assessing all of the options, I decided that I wanted to live in The Sidings.

Having lived in The Sidings for quite some time already, it’s safe to say, I definitely made the right choice for me. Although it’s the second largest accommodation (after Glasney), I’ve found that it has a quieter environment, being situated away from the campus and in a residential area. That being said, an advantage to the size of the accommodation is that there is more opportunity to meet and interact with different students, who are studying a variety of different courses. The Sidings is one of two accommodations which is shared with students from University of Exeter. I’ve quite liked this, as it’s allowed me to find some of my closest friends, who happen to be studying at Exeter, as well as giving me the opportunity to meet those who do a similar course to mine.

Despite the fact that The Sidings is off-campus, I’ve found that its location (next to Penryn train station) has been rather beneficial when wanting to travel into Falmouth, or back home during the holidays. Trains run every half an hour into Falmouth and Truro, making it very convenient when travelling outside of Penryn. Additionally, it's only a short 15-minute walk to campus and there are multiple buses that run from The Sidings into Falmouth (as well as to the campus, if you’re not feeling up to the walk). I’ve really enjoyed being based at the top of Penryn, as the town centre is very close by, having a few pubs and shops to visit that are close to home, without having to travel into Falmouth every time you want a sweet treat or an evening out with friends.

I was quite worried and overwhelmed about meeting so many new people at university, but one of the first things I realised when I arrived was that everyone was in the same boat and wanted to make friends just the same as I did. Being open and inviting to people, even just by leaving your door open, or by hanging out in the common area as opposed to staying in your room, allows you to get to know your flatmates better. And, through your connections with your flatmates, you can usually meet even more people, if you find that those in your flat aren’t necessarily for you. Funnily enough, most of the closest friends I’ve made at Falmouth are actually not those living directly in my flat. One of the first things I did after moving in, was to ask my flatmates if they had any plans, or knew of any events, or things going on. Even though it was rather outside of my comfort zone (being a quiet and introverted person), this small action allowed me to meet people from other blocks within The Sidings. So, I would say one of the best ways to settle in, is to try to get to know your flatmates and to socialise.