York is undoubtedly a beautiful city. The Minster, the city walls, the ingrained history of thousands of years; it all makes for a wonderful place for your parents to have to come and pick you up from. However as far as being a student goes, what you get out of York will depend very much on where you were brought up. To those raised away from the threat of the motor car and arguments over city-centre pedestrianisation, York always seems rather exciting. Not overbearing like its Northern neighbours Leeds or Newcastle, but large enough to encompass a variety of entertainments and provide a cosmopolitan feel. If however, like me, you have previously led an urbanised existence, prepare to be shocked. Until recently it was tough to get a decent pair of shoes in York, clothes shopping is limited, clubbing takes on a whole new meaning, and getting food any time after midnight is more difficult than the essay you had to miss dinner to complete. Having said that, York is a lovely place and you will learn to love much about it. The proliferation of drinking establishments is to be applauded, and you can buy wonderful roast meat sandwiches in a number of places. Added to that its supreme position within day trip distance of London, Edinburgh and Manchester (not to mention everywhere in between), then I think that many of the cons York can be tarred with are easily fixable. You'll have to be pretty demanding to not be happy spending 30 weeks of the year here. Back to the Freshers' Week Survival Pack If you've been inspired by Robbie's words of wisdom and think you could hack it as a student diarist, find out more here. | 
