What kind of town is Luton? What is the race or ethinicity of the majority of people there? Where do most Students from St. Chris live (on what streets)? What are some nice areas of Luton that are close to the medical school and how much is the rent in the flats/houses in that area? is there any nightlife? how easy is it to get to London and how late do trains run from London to Luton and vice versa? Is it safe in Luton at late nights? Anything else about the city I should know about?

Thanks

The town is very industrial. The people in the town are very multicultural. There is a very large Pakistani and Indian community. There is some fighting and rivalry between the two groups (as usual) but nothing too out of the ordinary. The rest of the population is fairly common... whites, black, asians, etc. (one note: here, pakistanis and indians are considered asians by classification).

The vast majority of students that live off campus live in an area between three streets: London Rd., Strathmore Rd., and Park street. This is a pretty safe area and its only 5-10 mins from school. See the attached mp, the large cirlced area is the general area where most st chris students live. I have a three bedroom house, fully furnished for 850 pounds/month. That is not altogether uncommon. However, be sure and see what is included in any furnished house you rent and read your lease carefully. Make sure that the landlord will fix all damage and all that kind of stuff, etc. I have a great landlord who gave us leather couches and fixes everything immediately, but not everyone is that lucky.

There is definately a nightlife. All the british do is drink so there are many great bars and 3 or 4 clubs. London is around 20 mins away if you take the fast train and can be between 25-35 minutes away if you take the slower trains. The fast train arrives at St. Pancreas where you can catch the tube and go anywhere. The slower trains enter Kings Cross and you can also catch the tube there. Be carefull when going to london to party because after midnight all trains stop untill 3 am except on sunday when the trains start up again at 6 am. What that means is that if you go to london on saturday, either be on the train back home by midnight or you are staying untill 6 am the next morning!! The only other way back at that point is to pay around 50 pounds for a cab ride all the way back to Luton.

It is as safe as any other larger industrial city. Women should NOT walk around alone at night. They should travel in groups or with a male companion. Don't think I am being sexist, I don't make the rules, I am just telling you what will keep you safe. Also, on friday and saturday nights when the groups of drunk beligerent college kids leave the bar... don't antagonize them or even bother with them unless you are looking for a fight. I know that is just common sense, but I had to say it anyway. Other than that there is not much major crime. There are no guns here so "drive bys" are rare...lol. There are the occasional fights, but like they say in Friday: "you win some, you lose some, but you live.... you live to fight another day!!"

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St. Christopher's COM
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The thread entitled "Map of Luton" might be helpful too.

http://www.valuemd.com/viewtopic.php?t=1683