⬘ Moving to On-Campus Accommodation ⬙

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𝓜𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸 𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓲𝓽𝔂

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It was a bit of a stressful experience having to figure out what to buy and how to pack everything. I didn’t even plan to move on-campus until I got accepted into the university for the course I planned to study, but after some thought, I thought it’d be much more efficient and comfortable to live there rather than commute a few hours nearly everyday.

I’m very grateful to have my family me through this moving process, and I’ve learnt some helpful tricks to stay organised and reduce the stress of moving away from home!

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˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚

⊷⋆⊶ PLΔΠΠIΠG TIPS ⊷⋆⊶

I’m living in a single studio so it was easier to plan what to bring. Most people in my accommodation share a room with 3/4 others, so it can be a bit more difficult in planning what to bring and it’s better to go shopping with them (as you might end up with 5 toasters in the kitchen)!

• 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓋𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓈 •

Make sure to look at the website, handbook or even the accommodation office asking what the room provides. I definitely did look everywhere to make sure I don’t bring things that’s already in the room.

• 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓈 •

Think about what you use everyday and what things are absolutely necessary for you to have (e.g. medication). It’s a good idea to break down your items to categories like toiletries, clothing, bedroom, kitchen, stationery etc. as you can clearly see how much you need to bring. Don’t go too overboard with the listing and if you think there’s too many items to bring, try ranking the items from most necessary to least necessary and remove the less important items in the list afterwards.

• 𝒸𝒽𝑜𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝓇𝒶 𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 •

You can be super minimalistic if you want and have no decorations or additional items in your room, but personally I enjoy having a little touch of personality. Since you’ll be spending a lot of your time in the room, it’s nice to make it a comfortable and welcoming environment that can motivate you to study and get through university life! For example, I have a desk lamp, small rock statue and fairy lights in my room to make things cosy.

⊷⋆⊶ PΔCҜIΠG TIPS ⊷⋆⊶

• 𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝑔 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒷𝒶𝑔𝓈 𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑜𝓍𝑒𝓈 •

This is probably obvious but big bags/boxes are best to store larger items (eg. kettle, pots or bed linen). Flexible plastic bags, which are usually provided by moving companies, are what we used to pack my belongings. Try not to make the bags too heavy since it can be really hard to carry - we broke one of the handles of our bags :joy:

• 𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒𝑔𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝑔𝓈/𝒷𝑜𝓍𝑒𝓈 •

It’s handy to separate your items so that certain boxes store similar type of items. For instance, you can have two bags dedicated to only kitchen appliances. This helps you reduce the risk of misplacing things!

• 𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝑒𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 •

Referring to my previous point ing big bags, try to fill the bag to its most appropriate limit (without breaking). Sometimes the way items are packed influences how much space is used, for example, folding towels tightly instead of bunching them up will allow more space to be vacant for other items. The konmari method - I’m sure you’ve heard of before - of packing/storing can be useful!

⊷⋆⊶ ΩTHΣR TIPS ⊷⋆⊶

• 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓅𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓈 •

My accommodation had activities for residents running nearly on a daily basis before the semester started so people could meet each other and get comfortable! If you’re accommodation runs activities, it’s a good idea to get involved and find others who share common interests.

• 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎 •

Moving away can cause you to feel homesick, so keeping in with family and friends from your hometown can help alleviate any stress you feel. These people helped you throughout your younger years and it’s important to not forget them!

• 𝒶𝓋𝑜𝒾𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈 •

On-campus accommodation is known to house many young students who often hang out together in groups. Don’t feel like you have to have a solid circle of friends and make sure to not force yourself to befriend people - having a few friends is completely fine and sometimes more fun! Many people are VERY outgoing as well, but you shouldn’t follow what others are doing just because you want to fit in, it should be because you genuinely want to.

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So those are my tips! Hopefully they were interesting and helpful if you’re planning to move on-campus or anywhere else ^_^

Have an amazing day and I’ll see you soon!

*Photos are from the Studio Ghibli film ‘Whisper of the Heart’ directed by Yoshifumi Kondō*

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