My recommendations for move-in day

When I moved into university accommodation, many emotions were going around, especially with the added complications of covid. It’s not surprising that i found it a stressful day. Looking back now, almost a year later, I am here to share some tips and advice for your move-in day. However, today instead of talking about the more practical side (what plates to buy or a packing list), I am going to talk about the more emotional and social side of moving to uni.

Firstly I can’t stress how much I recommend saying goodbyes to your close friends and family before leaving. Whatever your preference for this leaving do be, drinks, a meal, coffee or just a meetup before you leave. It might be the well-needed closure before you move on to this next chapter of your life, but don’t get too stressed if you can’t, as you will see them when you come back home! For me, it was so lovely going to uni and being able to think back to some of my last memories of friends and them being fulled of fun. But even if you don’t manage to see them setting plans in the future for them to visit or for you to come back home means that there’s something to look forward to for you both. I also didn’t manage to get back home till Christmas, which meant that this was the longest I’d been away from home.

While this isn’t necessary for move-in day, I wanted to have a couple of things with me that I could share or do with my new flatmates. I brought some biscuits with me, and others in my flat brought doughnuts or cakes. It was a good way to introduce myself by offering food to the people I met. Another thing I did was get some games that could be used as an icebreaker in the evenings. It was also good that all these games could be turned into drinking games or left as they were. It’s also important to keep in mind that some people may not want to drink on their first night, and it’s key to make sure everyone feels comfortable in that situation.

What I wish id done that day was properly pack my stuff away while my parents were still there to help me. Some people packed very lightly for that day – I didn’t. In total, it took a couple of days for me to be fully unpacked because I spent most of my time trying to get to know everyone. However, some people will offer to ask to help pack away peoples things. For me, this just felt too personal to ask someone for help with putting my clothes away. So if you have someone with you id highly recommend getting them to help put away the majority of your things.

Lastly, I was not ready for how the last minute move-in day is. There are so many things that’ll happen in that time, stuff you realise you’ve forgotten or things you wish you left at home. Hopefully, your flatmates will suggest going out on your first night or recommend cooking a meal altogether. All I can offer here is be open and ready or anything. I was super stressed when my flatmates suggested we went out for drinks because I had no idea what to wear. Looking back, all this stress was probably caused by other things, but if I could id recommend knowing what you’d wear if you’re like me and get stressed easily by things.