Life In Aberdeen

Beaches, Scottish heritage, and brilliant people make Aberdeen a great city to live in. We meet current students and get the lowdown on Aberdeen, what the people are like, what there is to do, and how students spend their time in the city. 

What is Find Your True North?

Find Your True North is the podcast for new students at the University of Aberdeen. Starting university is such an exciting time, but there’s a lot to take in! From settling into university life, to making friends, accessing help and support, and also getting to know the city of Aberdeen.

In this podcast, we meet current students at the University of Aberdeen, get the lowdown on what it’s really like from day one, and pick up some tips and advice to make your time in Aberdeen as amazing as it should be.

Episode 5 – Life In Aberdeen
This is Find Your True North, a podcast from the University of Aberdeen. Episode five Life in Aberdeen.

CLIP
Everybody wants to talk. Everybody wants to get to know you. And it's because again, we're all in that same boat. You do end up farming some amazing bonds with people like true friend, proper friends, flatmates.

NOUR
Welcome back to Find Your True North, a podcast for new students here at the University of Aberdeen. My name is Nora, and through this series we're looking at life as a student in Aberdeen and finding out everything you need to help make sure your time here is as amazing as it should be. In this episode, we look at your new home and what can you expect from the city? I moved here to start at the university from overseas and I absolutely love it. The people, the culture, the buildings and not every student city can boast that it has a beach, can it? So let's look at all things Aberdeen, what it's like when you arrive and how to get the most out of your time here.

CLIP
We have the Cairngorms on our doorstep, so if you like hiking, if you like nature, that's perfect for you. If you like castles, medieval history. There's plenty of those.

NOUR
That's Jo, a wellbeing coordinator here at the University of Aberdeen, and will get her take on the city as a new home for students soon. But first, let's meet Jad, a student here in Aberdeen. What does he make of Aberdeen as a place to move, to study and meet people?

Hi Jad, thank you so much for coming on to the podcast with me today. Tell me about your first impression of Aberdeen. What were the first few weeks like for you emotionally? Because as an international student, myself as well, I struggle to kind of settle in away from family all of a sudden.

JAD
For sure. For sure. I'm a very big family person, always with my family back home. It was very different. Of course, first two weeks, honestly, I'd say it weren't the hardest. It kind of got harder after. It was more a little after those first two weeks where I started missing my friends and everything. But it was new. It was nice, it was fresh, it was meeting new people. It was trying new things, seeing new things. So it was brilliant

NOUR
Honestly, how did you find the people when you moved here?

JAD
Oh, the community you build and the family you make for yourself abroad kind of moves into becoming your main family here. So I'll say this about the Scottish people, not just the people of Aberdeen, but people are really, really, really friendly here. I think the first day that I moved here, I walked into a coffee shop and I was ordering a drink for myself, and the lady that worked there was so friendly. She was asking me questions. She had just opened her coffee shop only a week prior and she was just like, come here anytime you have questions, because I had just told her that I just moved here and she was like, so friendly. And since then, that was my first day here. Since then, everywhere that I've gone, any person that I've met has been super friendly, which has been really nice, inviting, welcoming, and it's just been really good. And over time I've made a lot of friends. It's been a really nice experience so far.

NOUR
Yeah for sure. It really does make a difference when the country or city you go to are welcoming of new cultures and international students in general, and I find that people in schools in general are so open to learning about new people and new cultures. So just for sure, it does take the, the stress, but, um, speaking of the city and kind of going around going to coffee shops, getting to know the city, how did you find it and what are your favorite places to go to?

JAD
Getting around the city has been easy. I think like getting around, seeing spots and stuff has been really nice. Like me and my friends go to the park a lot just for walks. I like the parks. Eden Park has been a nice place to go for walks, especially when it's sunny outside. I think my favorite place to go to, which might be a little odd, would be the cinema. I think I've been to the cinema around fifteen times since I've moved here, maybe a little over that, just because I have a love for movies and it genuinely makes me feel like I'm still home. Yeah, because I'd go to the cinema a lot back home. So going to the cinema here kind of like gives me that comfort of it's like, I'm still home, I'm going to watch a movie. And I think that's like one of my favorite spots. Other than the park, I think like the city is like very well designed so I can get to places easy while walking, but also at the same time, there are buses that you can easily take to get around with and Union Square. I go there all the time away from the city. Have you explored the wider area or other parts of Scotland? Just, uh, a few days ago, like last weekend I was in Glasgow. Actually. I explored that a bit for only a few hours because I went there for a concert and it was it was really nice. It was really nice.

NOUR
I loved Glasgow and then also, I think in my first month here or the second month here, I also went to Edinburgh for a day, which I really liked to. I also did a little shopping which was nice. There are a lot of shops around. Would you say public transport is quite easy here to get around?

JAD
It's so easy. It's so easy. Uh, I think it's it's pretty simple and it's quick too, I would say. I don't think that it's that far away from each other, you can easily get around. So what would you say to someone about to move here for the first time? I would say get ready to meet really nice people because genuinely very, very kind people here. I would say you have a lot to experience and it's so exciting. And if you surround yourself with good people, you're going to enjoy. And I think Aberdeen has a lot to offer and yeah.

NOUR
Well, to wrap it up, speaking about all the nice, lovely things you said about Aberdeen and what three things do you like the most about Aberdeen?

JAD
Three things I like most about Aberdeen. Obviously I'd say the people. Mhm. I like how like kind the people are. It kind of reminds me of home, too. And I would say where I am, I feel like everything's close to me. So also how accessible things are. I really like that. I feel like things are easily accessible to me and I love the spoons. I agree with that one. I think I think that is that is a very good point. Having a spoons is is a fantastic, um, kind of. Well, spoons is a bar for anyone who kind of doesn't know what we're going on about. It's a, it's a lovely place to get a drink, to socialise, but it's also a nice place to get a really lovely meal.

NOUR
Cheap food. Exactly. Thank you so much for your time,. This has been fantastic. Thank you, thank you.

Thanks again to Jad. Really interesting to get his take on Aberdeen as a student city and what it's like to move here and call it your home. Now, I know I'm biased, but Aberdeen does have something special for me and everyone I know loves their time here. Next up, let's meet Joanna, a wellbeing coordinator at the University of Aberdeen. Jo moved here too from overseas and has also worked with Aberdeen in the past, so she knows a thing or two about Aberdeen. I met with Jo to get some tips for students arriving here.

Hi Jo, thank you so much for joining me here today. So in this episode, we're looking at the amazing city of Aberdeen and what it's like for students. And you moved here, didn't you?

JO
I did, I am originally from Norway and I came to Aberdeen seven years ago.

NOUR
So what were your first impressions of the city?

JO
So I didn't know too much about Aberdeen before I moved here. And something that surprised me a lot is how green it is. There's so many trees and beautiful nature. There's so many parks. I mean, there's two botanical gardens in the city and I don't think I appreciated the beach before I actually went down and explored it properly. And the size of it, the length of it, and all the things you can do down there. So that's something very positive I experienced after moving here.

NOUR
Did anything stand out in particular about the student atmosphere here? It's much more of a village feeling here. It's more like a community and it just feels like you're part of, you know, something very specific. You're part of a very specific university community. So I think that's different. That makes Aberdeen a bit more special maybe, than going to university in one of the big, big cities.

NOUR
Are there any tips that you'd give to people moving to the city and wanting to get to know it a bit more?

JO
Yes, I would say always when moving to a new place, be a tourist. Go explore. Aberdeen has its own hop on, hop off bus. I know that's a very touristy thing to do, but hey, why not? It takes you around town, shows you all the kind of important sites in Aberdeen. They have student discounts on it. It goes straight through King's campus as well, so that's very convenient. We have lots of street art in Aberdeen, so that's another fun way to explore. You can go online and create your own kind of street art trail. And I think there's like seventy different wall like street art murals that you can go explore and get some really, really cool photos. That's another way to explore your new city.

NOUR
What about, um, away from Aberdeen? What is the wider area like? There's so much to do isn't there?

JO
Yes, Absolutely. Most students that come here don't have a car, which is completely okay because there's really good public transport links. So I would say definitely make use of them like the buses and use your student discounts and travel around. We have, you know, the UK's largest national park, the Cairngorms, on our doorstep. So if you like hiking, if you like nature, that's perfect for you. If you like castles, medieval history, there's plenty of those. And yes, there's so much to do travel around small, quaint coastal villages, and then we're not too far from the other large cities in Scotland as well. If you want to go to Edinburgh or Glasgow or Dundee, it's not far touching.

NOUR
More on that, um, transportation links. How accessible is the countryside and coast for students? I was really positively surprised how accessible it is. That's another thing I didn't expect before moving here. I would say traveling around Scotland is really easy, especially the bus companies. I think that now goes into the Highlands coast to coast. You know, you could maybe do a day trip to the West Coast if you wanted to. Would maybe recommend staying overnight, but it's doable. It's doable. Yeah, yeah. What are your favorite places outside the city if you had to kind of choose one?

JO
Ooh, that's a good question. Well, I love the Highlands for sure. Like hiking, like being out in nature. If you like going, like the more advanced hiking, you can do what's called Munro bagging. And there's, what, about three hundred Munros in Scotland? And you can kind of try to hike them all if you want to. I think because Scotland in general is also so open to people camping, you could literally just go on Munros or hikes and just literally camp absolutely anywhere.

NOUR
Absolutely. And so you don't even have to book anything or really do much hiking anywhere in Scotland is possible. Yeah. And a few of our other episodes, a lot of people mentioned the importance of joining activities in societies.

JO
Yes, I would say one hundred percent when I meet new students during welcome week. And, you know, most students are quite nervous and they're wondering how they're going to make friends. And I say, joining our society or a sports club is probably one of the best ways to make new friends. And you can find something that's already an interest, or you take the opportunity to try something completely new. And we have, what, two hundred plus clubs and societies? There should be something for everyone. If you can't find something you like, you can start your own.

NOUR
Exactly. And I always say, throw yourself at as many as you can. And the worst that can happen is you absolutely hate it, and you can just stick to other kind of activities. But you've given us some great advice and some great pointers on things to do about Aberdeen. Is there any other advice about kind of the social scene or meeting new people that you would like to give to upcoming students?

JO
Yeah, I would say to any new students, most other new students you meet are also looking to make friends, which is great because that means you share the same goal. And my best advice is don't stress about it. There will be plenty of opportunities to make friends, whether it's during Welcome Week. I've seen students make friends when they're gone on campus tours, or during their school inductions or on their course. Maybe it's your flatmates as we spoke about joining a club or society, and sometimes it takes a bit longer and that's okay too. But don't worry about it. There's lots of opportunities and it will all work out in the end.

NOUR
Amazing. Well, finally, just a fun little question to throw in there. If you had to sum Aberdeen in one word, what would it be? I think I will go with magical. I love that, I love it. I was gonna go welcoming because the people here are always so nice and welcoming. But I love magical. It's been great having you here with us today, and I'm sure we have taken so much amazing information from you today. Thank you. Thank you..

ANNA
Hi, I'm Anna. I'm studying fourth year history and theology. Aberdeen is a very liveable city, I would say. It's not as touristy as Edinburgh or Saint Andrews, and you really can get the authentic Scottish experience in a way and connect with locals as well. It's also a great in-between city. So to the east you have a great beach and to the west bus connections which can connect you to the Cairngorms.

NOUR
This is Find Your True North and the end of this episode looking at the city of Aberdeen and what makes it so special when you move to university. There is so much going on and a lot to take on board, but I think from everyone we've heard in this episode, you can take away the fact that people here in Aberdeen are brilliant. It's a great city for students. Next up, in our last episode, we look at the whole university experience and what happens when you reach the end of it. From careers advice to shaping you as a person and getting ready for life after university. Is it all worth it? Download and listen when you can and I'll see you then.