Living in Newquay
Rent
Even though Newquay maybe a small town it is relatively inexpensive to live here, shared houses are easy to find, you can expect to pay around £55 to £80 a week with the price starting at a single room and rising to a double room. This amount will include bills. If you qualify for funding from the Learning and Skills Council like many of our students then this cost will be met by them (meaning free accommodation for you).
One thing to remember is that Newquay is a tourist town so as it comes to summer you will find people in houses sleeping in airing cupboards, (landlords uncontrollably will put 8 people in a room and charge them 15 pounds a night) on a lighter note its not all dismay, true in the summer it gets super busy there are plenty of really well priced backpackers around where you can expect to pay anything from ten to fifteen pounds a night for a shared room, most of the backpackers stay open right up to Christmas, so if you haven’t found anywhere to live these make great places to base yourself, they are always busy with a different array of personalities and characters, so make a great place to meet and network with people to find somewhere to live.
Where to live
This is central Newquay; generally the idea would be to live anywhere in
this area as it is central to all the amenities, train station, supermarket,
bus station, taxis, hotels, information, and quite importantly pubs and clubs.
One thing to remember is if it is pumping the closer to centre you are the easier it is to get to fistral and the bay, plus it easier to scam a lift of someone to another break
Financial support
There are a number of ways that you can get support for while your studying, if you are 16 to 18 years old you will be entitled to EMA which is £30 a week, if your over 18 you can claim an ALG (adult learning grant) which is also £30, pounds a week (this can be a nightmare see hints and tips) failing this you can do what Keith did rob a bank or follow in Adams footsteps by winning the lottery……..?? Remmber this funding is in addition to your accommodation allowance.
If you are thinking about going to university following the course look into getting a student account which can give you discounts on a number of shops and services, there is also a CDL (not sexually transmitted) Career Development Loan; this gives you the option of borrowing anything between £300 and £8,000 towards you course fees and living expenses.
Or get a job
Where to work
There are plenty of opportunities for part time work in Newquay to help with your studies, like running or helping out in a Surf Lodge such as Jye and Anthony, working in bars and clubs like Anthony, or you could even think about teaching trampolining (Cam).
Newquay has a great tourist trade and local trade year round so there should never be any shortage of work within the leisure industry, plus the opportunity to lifeguard or coach surfing is available to everyone in the second year.
Socialising
Mixing social time with work and college can be quite tricky as we study around 25 hours a week then if your working it can seriously deteriorate your social time, as most of us are down here to learn and surf you can generally mix everything together you find that people you study and work with are the people you socialise with, plus with Newquay being a small town it doesn’t take long before you recognise faces and they recognise you (luckily without the small town mentality!!)
Where to shop, eat, and drink
If shopping is your thing, Newquay has some good shops obviously they are all directed at surfing or snowboarding but you can guarantee a lot of choice from socks to hats. When it comes to eating there is not a limited choice, if you want to cook that something extra special for yourself and that someone special? Then you can get almost anything at the local somerfield or Safeway’s, we also have a co op which is good for any frozen goods. Eating out is good for choice we have various pubs serving your traditional pub food we recommend the Red Lion they do the best grill in town and the service is spot on, if Mexican is what gets you going we have two restaurants in town both are very good, senor dicks is good for service and there cocktails are always well loaded, for a more authentic experience check out the Mexican cantina the food there is good with service and drinks to boot. Newquay is situated on a working harbour with small fishing boats bringing fresh seafood on a daily basis so you can imagine there are a few fish restaurants, the one that people tend to go or recommend going to is Finns seafood restaurant situated right on the harbour with excellent views, it offers excellent service with an ever changing menu which offers freshly cooked to order fish including starters, mains, set meals and a wide range of wines and beers. As well as the Mexican, pub and fish fare, no town would be a town without its Indian, Chinese, Thai restaurant and takeaways, we have just a few with each of them exceptionally good in there own way. Some people after an evening socialising enjoy the odd kebab or burger the centre of town is brimming with different places you can go for a midnight snack, but as ever everyone has there favourite experience and least favourable experience, so it is left to you to find out which is good and which is less appealing.
That’s shopping and eating dealt with, next is where to go for a drink, the one thing Newquay doesn’t have is a shortage of places to wet the palette if you want just a quiet drink with friends in a friendly atmosphere then check out the red lion and the plum tree, if you fancy more of a buzzy atmosphere you don’t have to walk far all the pubs and clubs are a ten minute walk (depending on time of evening) between each other, most people who go out will generally meet at one of the central places like the central or sailors just to name a couple, from there its only a short walk to one of the clubs in town including sailors nightclub, berties or the famous barracuda,(famous only for its pound night) every pub and club in town has different offers from two for one to pound nights as well as discounted drinks,(the walkabout is the best place for cheap drinks)
Where parents and friends can stay
Undoubtedly you will have the folks coming down to check up on you, (making sure your eating right and brushing your teeth yadda yaaa) if there is no room where you are staying there are some great hotels and B and B’s which out of season are really well priced check out this website www.friendly-places.com it is full of places which will suit any person young and old.
If your friends come down and you cant squeeze them onto your floor or in an airing cupboard, your best bet is to put them into a backpackers check out www.newquay.com you should find a list that will probably be quite helpful, failing that after arriving here you will be able to sound out where best to stay so you should be able to organise it quite easily.
Places to see and do
Newquay isn’t exactly famous for its large museums or Mona Lisa’s, one thing it does have is an abundance of local artists who display there (exceptional) work in and around different parts of town, walk into most shops and bars and there will be a painting or sculpture produced by local artists, (the strange thing is most of the local artists you end up working and socialising with) there are two small galleries in town who change there exhibitions quite regularly, remember its not the Tate down here, it would be rude if we didn’t mention the Eden project www.edenproject.com check out the website it makes for good reading, Eden project is only about thirty minutes drive away, you can also take day trips from Newquay, lastly but not least is the amazing museum of bizarre and curios, this place has to be seen to be believed as you will go once and probably never again, still it makes for a good experience.
There is nothing else that can be said really apart from you will never know what it is like here if you don’t try, don’t be shy have a go, everyone’s experience will be different but it will all be good.