Your City

City guides: Liverpool

By SanctuarySocial 02 Jun 2023

The world in one city.

Few places have the international reputation of Liverpool. It’s a huge, vibrant city with a unique culture and appeal. It’s lively, diverse and always fascinating. What better place to be a student? Life as a Liverpool student is a pretty good one. Costs are reasonable, quality is decent, the standard of teaching is high and there are lots of opportunities to live, work and play! Sanctuary Students have four student accommodation buildings in Liverpool.

Universities in Liverpool

There are five main universities in Liverpool, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Each has a solid reputation in its own field and delivers high standards of education.

The University of Liverpool is the main option for the majority of students and ranks #30 in the UK (as of the time of writing this article). It’s a large university based at Brownlow Hill and Mount Pleasant close to the city centre. It has three main faculties, the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Each covers a wide range of subjects through its various schools and offers a huge range of courses across the entire spectrum of study.

Living costs for students in Liverpool

One highlight of studying in a northern city is the cost of living. It is much lower than southern universities without having to compromise on quality or culture. Property prices are relatively low, so rents tend to be too. Quality also varies, especially when dealing with private student landlords.

University halls overall are of a decent standard and reasonable price. Private landlords offering student housing in Liverpool is a real mix. Some provide good-quality accommodation for reasonable prices but you also get landlords at either end of the price and quality scale.

Sanctuary Students has four private halls in Liverpool. Three in Marybone and one on Grenville Street. They all provide high-quality student accommodation in Liverpool city centre. You’re safe, warm and comfortable and rents are fully inclusive too!

Eating out in Liverpool

As a major maritime city, Liverpool has a diverse population with diverse cuisines and tastes. That’s great news for you as there are hundreds of places to eat and drink within the city.

The standard of food isn’t bad either. If you want to eat out in Liverpool, try Duke Street Food & Drink Market, Bold Street, Liverpool’s Hope Street Quarter, Chinatown, Liverpool One and any street within the inner and outer city. There really is something for everyone!

Shopping as a student in Liverpool

Liverpool has lots of shopping opportunities. Whether you prefer chain stores or independents, you’ll find something you like here. The main shopping is at Liverpool ONE, a large shopping centre with food, shopping, a cinema and mini golf.

Bold Street is where you find your vintage items and records, Cavern Walks for clothes and Lark Lane for something truly different. You have stores everywhere in the city including in the Met Quarter, the Red Brick Market in Cains Brewery and lots more besides.

Nightlife in Liverpool

Nightlife in Liverpool could fill up this page all on its own, unfortunately, space is tight so we’ll have to stick to the highlights. It’s full of pubs, bars, restaurants, live music, comedy and every type of entertainment you can think of.

Highlights include: Brook Street, Panoramic 34, Concert Square, Seal Street, The Raz, Modo, Stanley Street, Soho Bar, Baltic Triangle, McCooley’s, Salt Dog Slims, The Cavern Club, Bar CaVa, Hardman Street, The Arts Club, Shipping Forecast, Camp & Furnace, M&S Bank Arena and O2 Academy.

Student accommodation in Liverpool

Student accommodation in Liverpool is plentiful and generally reasonably priced. Once you leave university halls, you can rent a private house or HMO or work with a private landlord like Sanctuary Students. We may be biased, but we recommend the latter!

Sanctuary Students provides student accommodation in Liverpool that’s genuinely hard to beat. It’s competitively priced, includes all the amenities you need, it’s secure and rents are fully inclusive too! Plus, they’re all within a short walk of the universities, city centre shopping and entertainment and anywhere you need to go.

Top places to visit in Liverpool

This is another section that could take up this whole page on its own. Needless to say, there’s a lot to see and do in Liverpool.

Highlights include: Albert Dock, Aintree Racecourse, The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building, and the Port of Liverpool Building, Liverpool waterfront, The Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, The Walker Art Gallery, Tate Liverpool, The East Village Arts Club, Anfield and Goodison Park, Liverpool Central Library, Sefton Park, St Luke’s Gardens, Princes Park and Liverpool ONE.

Getting around Liverpool as a student

Transport is another staple of student life in Liverpool. Fortunately, you’re well served by public transport and the city is relatively painless to drive around too.

Liverpool Lime Street Station is the main train station in the city. It serves local Merseyrail services as well as intercity routes to other major UK towns and cities.

The Port of Liverpool is one of Britain's largest ports but is mainly for cargo. There are ferry services to Belfast, Dublin and the Isle of Man, though.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is where you’ll likely land if you arrive by air. It’s a short distance south of the city but has rail and bus links to the centre.

There are two main bus stations, Queen Square bus station and Liverpool ONE. Both serve Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach services. National Express coaches also run services to Liverpool.

The road network is good, with M62 and M6 close by. The town centre can get busy at peak times but is mostly manageable.

Cycling in the city is pretty good too, especially as the city has its own version of the Boris Bike. Over 1,000 bikes are available to rent from stations across the city.

Working in Liverpool as a student

Working in Liverpool as a student is relatively easy as long as you don’t mind waiting tables or bar work. The volume of bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants in Liverpool means there is usually a requirement for reliable staff.

There are also retail opportunities and lower-skilled industrial opportunities, depending on the hours you can work.

Your university should have contacts or be able to help you find a job. Otherwise, the usual job sites will show you what and where.

Student life in Liverpool is fun, interesting and never boring. The cost of living is reasonable, locals are mostly friendly and there is so much to see and do here, you’ll struggle to fit it all in!