We wouldn’t be LN review if we weren’t going to include a clubbing extravaganza in our fresher’s survival guide. Here’s how to ‘student’ the right way!
Skeptical? Have reassurance: a proper night out in London is actually totally possible thing to achieve…
No, I’m not lying, and no, it won’t cost you a terms rent if you do it right… (Actually it could very easily cost you a terms rent but we’re gonna try are best to avoid that!)
That’s why I’ve dedicated two entire blog posts to London’s nightlife, specifically aimed at students to give you everything you need to know about tackling the big city.
These are my top 10 tips for a successful night out and stay tuned for my 10 top Central London clubbing venues!
Readysteadygo…
1. Visit club websites! Venues quite often have a guest list, which will give you discounted, or even free entry and you won’t have to wait in London’s long and sobering entry queues.
2. Pick your day! London has no off day, there’s always someone with a reason to party on a Wednesday and you’ll save money. How important is that morning lecture… REALLY?
3. Timing is everything! Find out what time your club starts its peak time and turn up just beforehand. As you’ll see in part two, venues will quite often do discounted entry before a certain time, usually until about midnight. It’s well worth turning up to take advantage of this because the later you go,
4. Pre-drink
Would you rather hate yourself for you’re the morning headache AND the state of your bank balance, or just your morning headache?
5. 2-4-1 Drinks are a gift from god
Find them.
6. If you drink on the tube, transport police officers will take away your alcohol.
… and then you won’t have any alcohol…
7. Zone 2 is just as great as Zone 1
Shoreditch, Camden, Notting Hill, Hammersmith, Peckham to name a few… Central can often be fairly anti-climactic, look further afield for more unique vibes!
8. Find your favourite Student Union Clubs
Student Union bars with club nights have been some of the best nights out of my student life! Getting in varies, sometimes you need ID from that university, or a friend to sign you in, and sometimes it’s a free for all!
9. Bars that turn into clubs
If you’re not up for a costly entry price then your best bet is a bar with a dance floor. It opens up as the evening goes on, you get a change of vibe at around midnight, and from experience, because London is busier than everywhere else on earth, it’s pretty damn close to the club scene. Another perk is that this you can play this by ear because you don’t have to pay to get into bars at 10pm! Islington, Camden and Hoxton are good areas to try…
10. Train your instincts. If you do find yourselves stumbling around randomly trying to pick somewhere to go, then know what to avoid! The one rule to keep to is that everything on a main street is basically gonna suck… it will be expensive and busy, drinks prices will suck harder and you’ll be stuck between sweaty strangers for half an hour before you even get served.
That’s 10!
The final piece of advice I’ll leave you with is that you’re probably going to have some really diabolical nights out. So much of London is like flipping a gigantic coin, and that’s all part of the fun!