Thanks for your replies everyone, it has really helped me to imagine what life might be like as a PhD student. Interesting to hear about your work/life balance HaloChanter. I am soon to be married myself and it won't be long until we might want to try and start a family, and given that I would be at least 31 by the time I finish my PhD I'll need to have a think about these choices!

I use Audacity, free software for sound recording and playback.

It would be in Human Geography so humanities/social science.

Hi all, I have just recently submitted an application to study a PhD which has been successful and am now awaiting the result of an application for funding from a research council. Even though I am really passionate about the subject I have chosen to research, I am still weighing up the pros and cons of doing a PhD and it would really help me if I could gain a bit of insight into the life of a typical PhD student and what the usual University requirements are on how you spend your time? For example, does the University ask that you are present at the Uni for a certain number of days a week or hours or can you undertake research from home? What is the best kind of study-life balance for a PhD student do you think? Considering the University I have applied to is about a 45 minute journey from home, this is an important consideration for me.
Thanks!