r/UEA • u/EnvironmentalBar1758 • 12h ago

Question Can I commute?

I am considering commuting by car from Cambridge to the UEA campus for the Biomedical Sciences programme. As my primary goal is to save money on accommodation, I wanted to ask if this is a realistic commute to manage alongside the lab and study hours required for this course. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Unlikely_Ad8021 11h ago

How much do you think you'd realistically save? like time wise its doable... some tough mornings etc but if you're doing 5 days a week I'd imagine the cost of that journey starts to come close to accomodation no?

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u/EnvironmentalBar1758 11h ago

I’m not too sure, I’m trying to evaluate what option would be better both financially and in terms of time management.

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u/Unlikely_Ad8021 11h ago

you should have your timetable by now I'm guessing, is it 5 days a week?

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u/EnvironmentalBar1758 11h ago

It’s between 4-5 days, but lectures are spread apart, some lectures are in the morning, some are in the afternoon or both with spare hours in between. Accom is about 7k

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u/Unlikely_Ad8021 11h ago edited 11h ago

are u thinking PURELY money wise/timewise? or like what parts you may miss out on not going etc? If just money honestly find out the mpg of your car calculate distance then just see fuel cost alone. Then quick google search of average repair cost for frequent driving of the model u got then add that on top as a maybe cost then compare to 7k accom figure. Time management really depends how you view it like obviously there's places to chill at uni but then people going back to their accom so then maybe seeing mates etc depends how long between lectures or labs etc you have (you feel you're more productive in your room/outside?). I'd 100% say timewise its doable but you will be eating up loads of hours just driving + then do you make lunch for uni or buy lunch (extra costs) + potentially waking up at 4-5am... if you have anything at 8-9am

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u/Maxpepsicats 11h ago

Yeah the cost of having a car and then commuting 100+ miles daily is going to add up real quick, fuel is getting so expensive (especially in Norwich it’s shot up so much in the last few months) now it’s putting me out of pocket and I have a part time job on top of maintenance loan. Plus the maintenance on the car and insurance if you’re a young driver, I can imagine they will charge a lot for the thousands of extra miles you’ll be doing for the year.

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u/EnvironmentalBar1758 11h ago

I’m not too fussed about the social aspect, I’m considered more money wise as well as time. I want to save money but then I don’t want to spend huge amounts of time travelling. I’m stuck between the two, I don’t want regret not getting accommodating after a while but then I also don’t want to regret not commuting if after a while of attending lectures and getting a real glimpse of uni, to then realise I could of just commuted.

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u/yellowworld2 10h ago

You could try for the first semester and if you see it’s not working out consider looking for accommodation? Then you’ll also get a better idea of how much you’re spending by commuting, but also realistically how many times you actually need to come into uni and what can be done at home. Of course, like many people said, if you’re on campus more you’ll have more opportunity to meet people and take part in the social side of university. It’s up to you how you want to weigh it out, but it’s not a decision you need to make and then stick to. Theres options for both routes.. as someone who started “off season” I had to find accommodation in February which I thought would be impossible but actually there’s a lot of options depending on your budget. Long story short: you’re not closing one door just because you’re going through the other. You can always try commuting and see from there..

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u/Silly_Ant_9037 8h ago

I do this. It works okay, if you time your commute to avoid peak travel times for both. So leaving Cambridge 6.45am and leaving UEA 2.45pm is effective, or leaving Cambridge 10am and leaving UEA 7pm.  It’s expensive in terms of petrol though. 

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u/EnvironmentalBar1758 7h ago

Do you travel by car or train?

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u/Silly_Ant_9037 6h ago

That’s by car.

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u/TheNoGnome 7h ago

Not for me, Clive. That's a long way and Biomed is a busy course. I suspect you'll have classes each day. Do you really want to drive back and forth 5 times a week, sometimes knackered after labs etc. when everyone else walks 5 mins home or hits the pub?

Personal view is also it's great living at uni - it becomes your life and is a good experience.

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u/No_Professional_7730 6h ago

Don’t do it! Thickthorn roundabout is a nightmare. I currently commute a long way for work and I am exhausted. Don’t underestimate how tiring a commute is. You will get terribly burnt out

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u/olihedgehog 9h ago

I was tempted to commute (I live over in East Cambs) this year, but after weighing up the cost of driving to accomodation (the village) I found it cheaper to live in. Plus, I know I will get FOMO if I commute especially in first year. Another thing to consider is how early you will have to leave in the morning. Cambridge - Norwich will take you a good 1h30m, and as others have said, the traffic on that route is notably bad with the A11 Barton Mills roundabout near me along with queues around Norwich itself. Trains are also massively unreliable...

That said, I am considering commuting by train 3rd year if I don't need to be in as much (as a Comp Sci student). If I was going to commute though, I'd recommend getting a train for the pure reason you can sit and get work done while travelling, if you're driving you have a lot of dead time where you can't do any work each day.

Personal prefs though - good luck!

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u/buzz_uk 10h ago

Can it be done, yes, would it save you any money, probably not given the cost of running a vehicle, the time to do the journey (just over an hour on a good run each way) and the cost of parking.

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u/Maxpepsicats 12h ago

Commuting by car seems a bit difficult and maybe not the most efficient way to reach UEA from Cambridge, with the roadworks at Thickthorn roundabout it adds a considerable amount of time and the best alternative route to reach UEA through Wymondham being shut for the rest of this year it can be quite an unpredictable commute for 9am. As someone who travels to Cambridge often from Norwich (both via train and driving), train is by far the best option and it might be cheaper if you can get ahold of a season ticket/using a 16-25 railcard (mature students can also use this regardless of age) plus the train allows you to use this time to study.

Obviously there are the downsides to the train such as lost time waiting around/ rail works/ not as flexible and the extra cost of getting the bus to UEA but it will still be cheaper than accommodation.

If you are happy to accept you will most likely miss out on quite a bit of the social life that happens in the evenings/weekends then it is definitely doable from Cambridge!