So this summer, the boyf and I ventured to Parklife festival for the first time. Keeping in mind that Oli and I have a VERY different music taste, this seemed like the perfect festival to attend with indie for me and grime and hip hop for Ol (I'm sure his list would be very different).

So first, the hits:

George Ezra

Although I'd heard of 'Budapest' I wasn't Ezra's biggest fan, but he was on early in the day when there wasn't much else to do so we thought we'd see what all the fuss was about. His set was more chilled out than most, but it was quite nice to have a little sway to an acoustic guitar rather than to be flung into a mosh pit. I also realised I knew more of his songs than I first thought, which was an unexpected bonus.

Stormzy

Whether you like grime or not, Stormzy sets are always so energetic its almost impossible not to get caught up in it. The small tent was packed with people even crowding outside, which made the atmosphere even better. Although I think it was a bit cringe that he did his cover of  shape of you, it gave me something to sing to when I knew very few of his own songs.

And then the misses:

Frank Ocean

I know this might be controversial, and I'm sure a lot of people would argue otherwise.. But I was not impressed with Frank's set. I love his music and his vibe as a person, but when he had to re-start 'Solo' 5 times I got impatient. This was after he was half an hour late to his set time. Also, because he had arty-farty hand held camera shots, the signal kept cutting out and because we weren't lucky enough to get close to the stage it was a bit irritating.

A Tribe Called Quest

These are only a miss because I'm just a little bit salty they didn't turn up. I understand that one of the members had an injury and fair enough. But Parklife failed to announce that they weren't playing, sneakily took them off the line up and replaced them with Run the Jewels - who aren't even nearly on the same level. Honestly both me and Ol were really excited to see Tribe, and it was one of the main reasons we bought tickets to the festival in the first place.. shame on you Parklife.

Although the title is ambiguous, this post is a poor students guide to the nightlife in Manchester. I have to point out I will always be slightly biased towards clubs that play The Smiths and/or S Club, however I am also aware that most people wouldn't consider this 'good' music. 

I admit I haven't been to every club in Manch, but I have ventured out to a few venues as my friendship group has a varied music taste. I hope this provides me with enough expertise to point you in the right direction based on the day, budget and whatever mood you're in. 

My Number 1 : Fifth 

So.... I'm sorry. I unashamedly love Fifth. Yes it's the 'worst' club in Manchester, and yes the floors sticky and YES they play some of the worst music from the 00's. But that's what makes it brilliant. Also, 99p jagerbombs. Warning: if you don't like chart, indie or throwbacks, then avoid fifth like the plague because I don't think they will ever play house or grime. But if you're drunk and don't mind Beyonce, it's a great night. Its the only place open pretty much all week, Tuesday-Saturday. Perfect for after a 9-5 day at uni.

Budget: Probably the cheapest night out in Manchester. £1 drinks most weekdays, and either free or reduced entry (£1/2) if you can find a rep hanging about on Princess St. Also, very close to the £1 bus that goes up Oxford Rd and runs all night. 

Dress Code: Jeans, trainers, t-shirt, no t-shirt. No one really cares what you wear and you'll probably have a vodka Redbull spilt down it anyway. Extremely casual.

Music: The music varies depending on the day, Tuesdays are 90's, the rest of the days tend to be chart mixed with indie mixed with a few 00's throwbacks. The weekends tend to be more commercial.

2 The choice if we can't decide : Factory

Just down the road from fifth this is probably a less embarrassing club to be seen at. Because it has 3 floors with totally different music on each, it's the best place to go if the music taste in your group is varied. The ground floor tends to be commercial with a few remixes, the first floor is indie, and the top floor is a mix of DnB, grime and occasional house. Although Factory probably has the best mix of music, it only opens on a Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Budget: Heavily depends on the day, Mondays and Thursdays are £1 entry and £1 drinks. However the weekends can get a bit more expensive with £3 entry for students and £2.50 for a single vodka lemonade. If you pre-drink hard it shouldn't hurt your bank balance too much.

Dress Code: Again, jeans and trainers but you could probably get away with a 'nice top'.

Music: Chart, Indie, Grime, DnB, House.

3 Only if it's a decent event : Antwerp Mansion

This was a surprise to myself, especially when my favourite club is Fifth. I pictured Antwerp as a cold, dark, and creepy abandoned house, which it is. However for the event it was done up really well, with fairy lights all over the ceilings and themed decorations in every room. It was more than bearable. Although it's only open when there are events on tickets can be quite pricey so it's one you'll have to plan in advance. Again, it's close to the £1 bus so travel costs are kept to a minimum. The music is interesting. It changes depending on the event but is usually house/trance/DnB/garage. It's not my favourite genre of music but it was bearable after a few drinks.

Budget: If you get first release tickets it can be ok, but prices can get expensive, especially if its a popular event (£8-£15). Drinks aren't cheap either, although most people who are there don't tend to go for the alcohol.......... Again, pre-drink, or pre-whatever you want I'm not here to judge.

Dress Code: Whatever you want, theres no rules. Except trainers, wear trainers, its muddy and you want your feet to be comfy walking up and down the stairs to the toilets.

Music: It entirely depends on the event. I'm sure there's something to suit everyone.

Worth a Mention: Deansgate

Most of the previously mentioned clubs are casual nights out. Deansgate offers a more glammed up evening. You can fully embrace the LBD, heels and false eyelashes. This does come at a cost though, the clubs always have an entry fee and the drinks are pretty expensive. Hot Mess on a Wednesday for example was £6 entry. It depends what kind of night out you're after. It's alright to splash the cash once in a while. 

Budget: Varies by club and night, usually around the £5 mark for entry, and drinks tend to vary around £2.50 for a single.

Dress Code: You can finally wear that one pair of heels you brought to uni. Pretty smart.

Music: The usual, commercial with some remixes. 

DISCLAIMER

This is only my opinion, I am only one person with one specific music taste. I'm sure Manchester has a place for everyone and everybodys music preferences. Hopefully I'll discover more of the nightlife in second year and update you then.

As I've said in a previous post, I am currently a 1st year student at the University of Manchester and I'm staying in the Denmark Road halls of residence there. I've created a REALLY badly filmed and edited video of my room so you can all be nosey and have a peak into life at halls. I have absolutely no experience with editing and this 1:15 clip took about 3 hours to edit so please be nice. 

On the 16th of September 2016 I moved to Uni. 

At the time I was terrified. I spent almost everyday leading up to doomsday cry-packing my clothes into storage boxes and aggressively cuddling my dog.

I'll give you some background. I live in a relatively small town in the Peak District, about 20 minutes from Sheffield. The most exciting thing to do in my town is go to 'Big Tesco' or venture to the one nightclub that's only bearable on student Thursdays. Pretty bleak. 

Moving from that to the second biggest city in the UK was a big fucking step.

I go to the University of Manchester and  currently live in halls. I purposely chose the fuck off expensive halls with a double bed and heated towel rail. Not because I'm a snob or because I have the money to throw about but because I wanted the sanctuary and safety of a nice flat. If it all went tits up, I didn't make any friends and hated everything, at least I'd be able to come back to a room that didn't look like a prison cell. That's probably tip number 1: invest in nice halls. It's not all that much more expensive than the rest, I get to poo in private and don't feel like I'm being suffocated in my sleep when boyfriend comes to visit. It's also the place where you spend most of your time, binge watching PLL and trying to finish coursework 20 minutes before the deadline. It's worth eating ALDI basic beans and pasta for a couple of weeks. Also, heated towel rails!!

Tip 2: Say yes, to (almost) everything.

Before coming to Uni I hadn't bought any wristbands or tickets to events. Despite the constant facebook notifications that there's only 100 tickets left that YOU MUST BUY RIGHT NOW!!!!! there were always tickets left. I thought I'd wait and see what my flat mates were doing, or whoever else I happened to make kind of friends within the first week. Prior to coming to Uni a few girls in my course had started a group chat on facebook, this lead me to find two girls who lived in my halls. I'd messaged them a few times, and when I knew they had arrived and unpacked I invited them both to my flat for some drinks. (BTW I know it's not necessarily essential to drink in freshers, but a couple of vodka lemonades does make the conversation flow less awkwardly.) From this we all bought the same tickets to some freshers events and through those events and pre-drinks at different flats throughout the week I got to know a lot more people than just my flat mates. Some of the events were shit, Craig Charles DJing (that guy from robot wars) wasn't a highlight, but going to literally everything made sure I didn't miss an opportunity 1: to get to know the girls in my halls more and 2: to meet people outside of the small circle we'd developed. So say yes to everything (within reason, pugs not drugs!!!!!)

Tip 3: Don't play hard to get

Be annoying. Start group chats on everything with everyone. Have a course chat, have a flat chat, have a lad chat. This means that there are multiple opportunities to be invited to an event, or to invite people to an event. Don't be embarrassed to ask people what they're doing or if they want to go out somewhere. Freshers week sounds like 168 hours of alcohol fuelled fun times, but what doesn't get mentioned in the facebook event pages are the hours in the daytime you spend lonely and hungover. I found this the hardest part to deal with, ringing my mum crying fully clothed in bed because I needed paracetamol and I couldn't figure out how the hob worked to make the packet pasta she'd left me. Messaging the people you went out with the night before asking if they want to go for a spoons breakfast will never go unappreciated. 

Tip 4: Don't judge someone by their public school cover

When I met my flatmates, I wasn't 100% convinced they were my kind of people. out of the 4, 3 are international, from Malaysia, Australia and France???? The other is the poshest person I've ever met. He went to Harrow, which is miles away from the community school I was at for 7 years. As it turns out, they aren't really my people and we have very little in common. However, they are all lovely and they're clean. Which is a rarity in halls. Although I was a bit down that they weren't really ones for shotting vodka I now appreciate a quiet, calm and CLEAN flat to come back to after 9-5 lectures. Instead of going out we have flat meals or order Dominos. It's an alternative uni experience but when deadlines are looming its a perk. 

Tip 5: Enjoy being away from home

Now, I'm not saying I don't get homesick. Because I do, when I don't know how to cook rice or how to clean hair dye off the bathroom wall I give home a ring and get sad that my mums got a better social life than me. But the freedom of living alone is great. Not having to text saying you're going out and another text to say you're in the taxi home so your mum can 'go to sleep without worrying'. Having dirty pots in your room for weeks without anyone nagging to wash them. Not showering, because you don't have anywhere to be and you stopped caring about how greasy your hair was in week 3. Cooking oven chips at 3am because you're hungry and you can. It's not fully moving out, but its a good test drive to see if it's something you can handle. 

Lastly, enjoy being a fresher. When semester 2 hits the fun and games are over and you have to actually get a degree. I've almost finished first year and our house is all sorted for September. Although it sounds disgustingly cliche, time goes so quickly, so make the best of your experience before it ends and uni starts shoving CV's and job interviews down your neck.