Settling into your new surroundings

• Read About: Settling In | Culture Shock | Getting Around | Language

  Starting your year abroad can be daunting. It’s likely that it will be vastly different to any move you’ve ever made before, as you’ll be going to a foreign country, almost certainly on your own.

  But seeing as you’ve already taken the first, and possibly hardest, step - that of deciding to go abroad - the rest should follow. Social life among students isn’t always as organised as it is the UK, so the first thing you’ll notice is that you could have to be more outgoing than you might normally be.

  Some students find that people on the continent can be “coldly polite“; you have to persevere. Introduce yourself to locals, colleagues and students. Be positive, even if some people knock you back. Immigrating, for whatever purpose, is a process of adapting to new situations which will need both your time and patience. Read Sophie’s experience in Austria.

  If you’re going to a university or language college,  a top tip is to get onto that institution’s facebook or social network as soon as you can. You may have to wait until you’ve got a compatible email address but once you’re in, join the groups and events for things going on on campus or in town. If you keep yourself in the loop you stand a much better chance of meeting people with similar interests, and you and your mates will stand a much better chance of getting to grips with your new location.

  Importantly, you’re going to need to think through all the documentation you have to take with you. Chances are you will have had enough of application forms simply to organise your activity, but there are some vital documents you may need to have to hand during your Year Abroad.

  Many, if not most, European countries insist that you carry ID at all times; the penalties vary, but even if it’s not enforced it can make your life abroad much easier.

  • Take copies of your acceptance letters (university, language course, job etc.) and of your home university’s Approval of Placement, if applicable;
  • A Convention de Stage for “work experience” placements in France, or a Tarjeta Comunitaria for working or studying in Spain.
  • If you’re studying at a university or language college outside of the Erasmus network, be sure to take proof that you’ve paid any fees.
  • Originals and photocopies of your passport, driving licence if you have one, and any visas/ permits for your host country.
  • Your bank details, preferably on a recent statement. You might want to set up a new bank account in the foreign currency, and will certainly need your British account details to do so.
  • Birth certificate, Exam certificates - A Levels should be fine, unless they specify more - and proof of your student status (either an ISIC or a letter from your home university)
  • If you’re eligible and will be on a Year Abroad in Europe, don’t leave home without your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to replace form E111

  If you have any advice, reviews or stories relating to accommodation, please post them here for inclusion by our moderators. Please try to acknowledge any university sources that you use.