It is a common trope that St Andrews is boasts a grand total of three streets. Indeed, these streets are home to many of us who manage to squeeze into apartments above shops or between shifty-looking alleys and hidden courtyards to shave those valuable few minutes off our daily pilgrimage to lectures.
However, look a bit further and St Andrews also boasts something a little more expansive and a lot less expensive: the Badlands. As someone who has lived in this environment for almost a year, I am often struck by how little our neighbours in the town centre know about the place I call home. When attempting to explain where I live to them, I am often greeted with the same blank stares I employ during that one 9am tutorial I was unfortunate enough to be left with.
Living in the town centre, there is little need to venture into the Badlands. Well, think again. From thorough research, I have compiled a comprehensive break-down of the Badlands so we can appreciate this environment for the wild, exotic and diverse habitat it truly is.
This zone stretches from the Kinnessburn to Lamond Drive, a short walk from the town centre but very much its own realm. The Nearer Badlands is mostly quite pleasant with a good balance between being cheaper than the three streets yet close enough to them to avoid major inconvenience.
However, it is also home to a few particularly shady blocks of flats hidden between suburban streets. The one party I went to there was disrupted by police, not to shut it down but to address a rather loud domestic dispute going on downstairs. I was told it happened a lot. If you live here, chances are you own a bicycle. Between Lamond Drive and Aldi, the Further Badlands covers a vast area, mostly with concrete and neglected lawns. Although the walk is bad, the Further Badlands have the potential to save you plenty of cash if you live there.
