Hello all, Ive recently started getting piano lessons, and enjoying them very much. However I'm moving out very soon, and can't take my piano with me. I'll be coming home maybe one day a week, but this isnt enough time for me to practice, ideally, I'd like to practice everyday.

Bearing in mind that my room where I'll be living in won't be big enough for a piano, im guessing a keyboard would the best thing to get. My budget is about 100-200 £ sterling

What I dont understand is the amount of negative feedback users on here give for people buying keyboards
I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to get one to help me carry on my learning (i'm only doing grade2 scales at the moment, haha!)

Anyone got suggestions?

I did up to grade 5 on a yamaha keyboard.
The keyboard cost about £130. The things to look out for are velocity sensitive keys (i.e. play it soft it sounds quiet and vice versa) and make sure that you can plug a pedal in to act as the sustain pedal. The only problems I found were a lack of feedback when playing as the keys are much lighter.
But as much practice as possible on a real piano is a good idea though.

McMan

Other than getting your own, I'm trying to think of other places you might find a piano to practice on at minimal cost...

A lot of churches and church halls have pianos hidden away. You could talk nicely to the organist.

It depends where you are going to be. When I was a student, there was a grand piano in a hallway of the local hospital I used to practice on regularly!

Rent a room in a house with a piano?

Regarding the negative feedback for keyboards - if money and space are no object, then yes a piano is a much better bet for long term playing. But any keyboard is better than none at all, in order to keep playing. Try to get a 'touch sensitive' one if you possibly can - much closer to the feel of a real piano. The problem with playing a keyboard can be that you don't build up the necessary strength in your fingers to return to playing a piano properly.

Good luck and keep going!

This can be true but also 'untrue' depends on which keyboard one has, the one I used to have had keys much harder to press down than my teacher's piano!!!