Moving to a big city like Manchester can be quite an intimidating change in your life, I know it was for me, so I’m going to go through how I survived it and what you can do to handle it like a pro.

So, ideally when you move to Manchester it’s nice to have some money behind you however, it’s not bad if you don’t, it just means that you will need to find a part-time job. Luckily, Manchester is amazing for jobs, especially part-time jobs for students. The Student Union website has a lovely jobs page where you can have a look at some part-time jobs that will fit around your university timetable, this would be a great place to start! Unfortunately I realised this way too late and was stuck in a long job search, but this makes me more than qualified to had out some advice on the matter. I would suggest browsing sites like Indeed but more just walking around the shops and looking for ‘we’re hiring’ posters, most of the good jobs will only advertise on their own sites and not use alternative job-hunting sites. This is how I got my job, I just walked past, didn’t even see a poster I just went online, and their website said they were hiring, by the next week I had a job!

Having a job is lovely, especially because you get money, but it also helps you meet some amazing people and great friends. You can’t work that long of a shift together without being best friends by the end of it. Juggling university life and a job and being social can be a struggle though. The best tip for this is to organise your life. My weekly planner is my best friend and I write out what times I’m in university, what shifts I’m working, and I always leave spare blocks of time, just in case I want to go out, or I want to have a bit of a chill and pamper session- this is super important, remember to leave time for yourself!

Balancing uni work and a job can be very tiring, at first maybe only sign up for a few shifts at your job and then work out how many shifts you can realistically work each week. It’s best to get a very flexible job as this will help you around deadline season when you might want to cut down on hours a bit. You need to allow time to go out and explore Manchester with friends, family and/or on your own. It’s nice just to have a wander around on your own and get your bearings. You need to make the most of this amazing city. The best way of doing this is social media, just search for ‘Manchester’ or ‘Things to do in Manchester’ and there are so many accounts dedicated to showing you how to live your best life in the city, it doesn’t matter whether you are looking for nights out, walking groups or pottery painting, you’ll always be able to find something to do here!

Written by Bethany Woolliscroft, a Digital Media, Culture and Society MA student

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