I moved over the water to Northern Ireland and I can honestly tell you, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. All of us have different motivations, my own personal reasoning for choosing Queen's was based on a) it's standing in UK Uni's and b) my extended family being predominantly based in N/I! I'll try and suggest the positives and negative I've experienced:
Positives:
1) New people...A lot of my mates who've stayed closer to home lived and knocked around with the same lads from school. I now have 2 sets of mates (uni and home mates) they all get on well together when they meet and it always means both enjoying coming to visit (either at uni or at home).
2) New experiences...I've had to deal with bills, tv licenses, money management, cleaning, cooking etc. Granted these aren't major skills, but until you do them they can be a little intimidating! Staying at home could mean you never do it 'cause you don't need to.
3) New cultures...Irish culture is very different to back home and even different to how I expected it to be. I'm glad I came here and expanded my horizons, I never knew how narrow minded I was!
4) Independence...Uni life can literally be the easiest, most party-orientated experiences going! In first year I reckon I went out on average of 4 times a week. It was amazing. Hedonistic as **** but something I'll be able to look back on in years to come and know that I did it as hard as I could!
NEGATIVE
1) Travel....I have to take a taxi, a bus and a flight (before someone picks me up from the airport OR I get the metro then train then taxi back home).
2) Homesickness...To be honest, this has pretty much disappeared and I go home for the holidays out of necessity!
3) Money...It is expensive but again, most of my mates who stayed closer to home are in a similar amount of debt as me - they spend what they have and live within their overdrafts, I do the same.
4) Weekends...It might be different for other people in other places but I find weekends are a bit gash...While working I lived for the weekends but other than watching Newcastle on the internet, not a huge amount goes on during the weekend. Also, most of the locals go home and so where I live (a mainly studenty area) is a ghost town come Friday afternoon!