After completing my first year at uni, a couple of months of my second, then transferring universities and taking a gap year (long story), i'm FINALLY going back to uni in a month's time and i'm so excited! It's possibly felt like the longest wait, but at the same time it has come around quick. I won't be a fresher, but after experiencing the whole 'moving away from home & halls' thing, I thought it would be good for me to do a little write up on some advice for moving to university and a little checklist for ya!
Moving away from home to possibly a brand new place, can be really daunting. No more mum and dad to mend after you when you're ill, or do the washing... you'll be on your own to do all the 'adult' things! Another aspect that is super nerve racking is not knowing anyone. I moved 4 hours away from home and knew absolutely no-one. My advice is get on SOCIAL MEDIA, join Facebook groups & Twitter pages! It made it so much easier when I moved in as I had already chatted to some of my house mates and people on the same course as me! It didn't make it as near as awkward as I thought it would have been and was more excited than nervous.
When you're packing, you're going to get carried away, I guarantee it! You won't need EVERYTHING from your house, just take the essentials and if you then decide it's essential, go buy it locally to you, saves more room in the car lol! Take it from someone who went COMPLETELY overboard on literally everything, clothes, shoes, toiletries, stationary, room decor, kitchen appliances etc. cause when it came to moving out, oh boy was that a pain, so much that my mum and dad had to hire a van (yes, don't judge me please hahahah).
I'm a sucker for making checklists for everything, so heres one with all the essentials..
You can click right & save!
KITCHENIf you're moving into university halls, they're more than likely to provide a kettle and toaster and other essentials, just double check before you go buying all sorts that won't be needed. However, if you are moving into private accommodation, it's likely you will have to supply these yourself. You can never bring to much cutlery. In my experience, forks and spoons go missing left, right and centre, so bring extra's, or hide them away in your room (there's always a pincher).
BATHROOM
Depending if you have an en-suite or are sharing communal bathrooms/shower rooms, you will need slightly different things (I believe anyways). For me, I had an en-suite just because I was keen to share and wanted privacy. If you're sharing, I highly recommend buying some flip flops just for showering and a wash bag with all your toiletries ready to take to the bathroom each time, just because things could get pinched, or used without your consent, and it would be literally a nightmare if half way through showering you had no conditioner!
HOMEWARE
This was my favourite to buy, just because I bloody love homeware!
CLOTHES
- Casual
- Lounge Wear
- Going Out
- Smart
STATIONERY
Of course, other than making friends and partying, studying is the most important thing... so make sure you have plenty of notepads and general stationary, cause you'll need them.. well obvs. Other things I found really handy was a wall calendar or a diary. This kept me super organised, especially for any deadlines I had! ALSO, get a USB stick (you can get them super cheap on Ebay or Amazon). It will come in handy for backing up work, or when you need to go to the library, instead of emailing your work back and forth.
TECH
If you have a laptop or a computer, I would highly recommend to bring it, just because you can do your work in a comfy environment and watch a heck load of tv shows, because thats what you do at uni. If you don't have any, your university will have a library which has computer rooms or laptops you can use whilst being there. It's always a good idea to bring a few extension cables, which were a life saver for me! Your room will most likely be limited to plug sockets, so these come in handy.
OTHER/PERSONAL
When I moved to university, I made it important that my room felt like home, so I wouldn't be so home sick. Adding personal bits here and there, really make the difference and the aurora of the room. I added simple things like photos of friends & family, fairy lights & some cosy bits. You could also add posters to make the room feel full, as I found the room felt so plain and empty when I first arrived!
I hope this post has helped any of you starting university and moving away!
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