I was just wondering, how important for you was the town/city of a university when considering potential PhD studentships, in terms of the features of the place itself, and in terms of its location (distance from home, for example).

Well I think that the PhD itself played more of a part.. as I think its much more important to be doing a project that interests you the most. Obviously if you have a huge dislike for a particular city or country then it would be best to avoid them as it could just add an extra stress factor. However, from my experience its not that hard to fit into a new city. For my undergrad I went from the deep dark yorkshire dales to London which was a huge culutre shock but I soon adapted. For my phd I came to a new city, somewhere I would never have thought about moving too and I really enjoy it here..

My entire decision was based on location - would love to have gone elsewhere, but this is where I live and commitments keep me here

I agree with Tricky, the Phd itself is key, but for me, outside factors in some ways made the Phd I accepted even more appealing. When I start in October my husband will be moving with me and we’re going somewhere where his majesty will be able to do lots of fishing. The idea of spending our days off reading by a river makes the whole thing seem manageable somehow. It’s going to be those blissfully peaceful days that I will get most done in terms of background reading I hope. Of course I’m buggered if it rains…

Interesting thread- for me at the moment
I've had great news- I've been offered a funded four year masters.
The only thing is that it's in a department which does not focus on my issue, migration.
There are plenty of departments in universities with more focus on migration, and in cities I'd rather be.
But this is full ESRC funding- for this September
Ta for feedback!

i looked for projects rather than concentrated on location... and hence am a long way from home. but if its the ideal project location is sometimes less important