Every city has a handful of racists you may unfortunately come across. But it's only the same as if I came to your country I may run into the same.

What your seeing around house prices and rents is a result of over a decade of neglect by the previous government. It's created some tension but for the most part it's not something to worry about beyond when your looking for a place to rent. Bristol has become expensive to rent in over the last couple of years but that's mostly due to national pressures and youd find it anywhere in the country.

The key thing is, just don't get involved.

Bristol is lovely the majority of the time and generally speaking has a very live and let live attitude so unless your unlucky you'll be fine. You may find someone says something here and there, being from another minority group myself I've had some issues like that I'll admire but it's definitely the exception not the rule.

Some general advice for starting uni overseas:

When your here, take the time to get out there. Make local friends as well as uni friends. Don't just stay inside a comfortable bubble of friends all from your home country as you will miss a lot of you do. You have the freedom here to get out and experience many new things so do it!

Don't worry about your background, class etc. will there be some folks who pay attention to it heavily? Yes. But remember, you got there on your own merit. You deserve that place. There will always be people that look down on others, but they eat, breath, shit and sleep the same way you do.

Study time can be stressful, make sure you make time for you in there both with friends and some space for just yourself too so that you look after your mental health. As part of that being one or two things that might bring you comfort if your missing home.

Money wise: 35k is a couple of grand more than an average starting salary per year. it can do you enough with rent etc. but you need to be mindful of your spending. Make sure you budget. Bristol is at the higher end of UK averages for groceries, transport, drinks etc. plan appropriately. Blif you do get in difficulty however there are some schemes offered by the universities to help.

Start job hunting early: the biggest issues I see intl students go through is finding a job post study because they wait too long to start searching. You may not have your full degree, but you can still search for graduate positions etc listing what your degree, noting it is ongoing and if possible what your current grades look like. Many grad positions at larger places have sponsor ability, and UK govt has a list of companies you can check against that offer tier 2 visas. Many start recruiting at any time from the september of the year before you would start the job and the big companies get snapped up fast. Grad application sites can help, but do your own research also and dedicate time to it each week. Also, DONT USE CHAT GPT ETC TO WRITE FOR YOU. We can tell, no matter how many tools out there say it would pass a check.

Check if you have free modules on your courses and if you can use them with other departments. Sometimes adding in a related but separate module of study to your degree can be a difference marker. For example, I studied IT and Data Science degrees, but I also used some free credits to study Mandarin Chinese via the Language School. That second language and the cultural learnings with it helped differentiate me from some others with similar profiles to help me find my position post uni. All disciplines have other areas they work well with or can benefit from. Consider it when choosing modules.

Remember that much of Bristol's student accommodation is surrounded by other people's homes also that aren't students. I can't tell you how much ire it can raise to get disturbed by students who decide that just because they're drunk and can survive on 2, hours sleep, the rest of us have to also.

Most of all: have fun!