Beautiful and vibrant city

Before I came to study at the University of Chester I had never visited the city before so I truly did not know what to expect. However, Chester completely blew me away. I had no idea that a smaller city could hold so many beautiful places to explore and things to see. Walking the Roman walls that wrap around the entire city, studying at Storyhouse, taking in the views on the canal, going to the numerous cafes that are spread out and hidden all over, walking along the River Dee, and occasionally going on nights out to Rosie’s and Off The Wall are just a few of my favorite things about Chester. I could not imagine choosing anywhere better to study which is why I’m glad I chose Chester as my home away from home.
 

Great Location and Easy to Travel

Chester is located on the border of England and Wales which makes it a unique location and is surrounded by many amazing places to visit. Liverpool and Manchester are two major cities that are each an hour by train away from Chester. Throughout my time in Chester, I would often take day trips to Liverpool. Some of my favourite things to do there were walking along the boardwalks that surround the sea, visiting the many museums that are spread throughout the city and of course shopping at the mall. In addition to the many site seeing opportunities that these cities hold, starting as early as November Liverpool and Manchester especially put on very extravagant Christmas markets where the whole city is decorated with lights all over and different vendors from all over Europe come with all their Christmas goodies and is something I would definitely recommend going to. Alternatively if a big city isn’t your vibe, the seaside is only a short journey away as well and is a great day or weekend away.
 

Smaller Campus

When I got to the university I was delighted to find out that the main campus at Exton Park was a smaller campus because I had always thought of a university campus as a huge, overwhelming place to be. However this was the complete opposite. From the moment I got there, I felt very welcomed by the staff and a lot more at ease. I found it really easy to find where all my classes were and other key places such as the dining hall, library, and students union as I lived on campus my first year. I found that there were many events on campus for the students including quiz nights every Thursday, a winter festival during Christmastime and near the end of the school year something called the Chestival where the students’ union reps plan fun games and bring in some carnival rides among many other events for a fun afternoon. My favorite place on campus was the library. Newly renovated it has everything you need to study and feel at home at the same time including private study pods that you can book, a cafe to get your favourite study drink and a huge selection of books throughout two levels. I spent a lot of time there while at university and it made me feel so at home and cosy and a lot more motivated to study and get my assignments done.

Studying here gave me more than just a degree, it gave me lifelong memories and friendships that I’ll cherish forever and something that I’ll reminisce on always. There’s not a day that goes by that I regret choosing to study abroad and it is something that I cannot recommend enough. My advice to anybody thinking of studying abroad is to just do it because you never know what lies ahead of you and what amazing memories and people you will meet because of it.

-Ella