How to live independently
So you've finished your A-levels, looked around a few universities with your mum & dad or friends, and you've decided on one you like. (Hopefully Edge Hill! 
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do?
Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do? Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
Reply 1
Hi there!
Lovely idea for a thread and I'm sure that post will help many people out there starting the next independent chapters of their lives 🙂 its certainly a big step up from living at home, but once you get into the swing of things you'll soon settle in and find your feet.
Something that was a game-changer for me, when living independently for the first time was to learn how to make 5 basic recipes that I could cook on a budget and customise based on the ingredients I could get on offer from the shops. I mostly did vegetarian chilli, pesto and veg pasta, jacket sweet potato with coronation chickpea filling, Chinese egg fried rice and kidney bean fajitas and they did for both dinners and lunches if I did batch-cooking.
Something that also helped me, was getting into a routine of when I needed to go to lectures, study, when I'd have free time to work student ambassador shifts, relax and do things I enjoyed, with the occasional night out with flatmates/housemates. Having a routine that is healthy and productive but also that you enjoy is a great way to learn independence.
I hope this helps! Best of luck 🙂
University of Bath
Lovely idea for a thread and I'm sure that post will help many people out there starting the next independent chapters of their lives 🙂 its certainly a big step up from living at home, but once you get into the swing of things you'll soon settle in and find your feet.
Something that was a game-changer for me, when living independently for the first time was to learn how to make 5 basic recipes that I could cook on a budget and customise based on the ingredients I could get on offer from the shops. I mostly did vegetarian chilli, pesto and veg pasta, jacket sweet potato with coronation chickpea filling, Chinese egg fried rice and kidney bean fajitas and they did for both dinners and lunches if I did batch-cooking.
Something that also helped me, was getting into a routine of when I needed to go to lectures, study, when I'd have free time to work student ambassador shifts, relax and do things I enjoyed, with the occasional night out with flatmates/housemates. Having a routine that is healthy and productive but also that you enjoy is a great way to learn independence.
I hope this helps! Best of luck 🙂
University of Bath
Reply 2
Hi!
I love this idea as it can be quite daunting living alone for the first time!
Here are some things that helped me when I moved to uni:
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador 🙂
I love this idea as it can be quite daunting living alone for the first time!
Here are some things that helped me when I moved to uni:
•
As people have said, having a few recipes that you know you can cook is a good idea. Whether this is something simple like pesto pasta, or something more extravagant it is good to know! Things that you can freeze are always good too as often cooking for one person can be tricky. I like freezing chilli, or spaghetti Bol as you can get this out easily when you have had a long day!
•
Try and spend time in the kitchen/social areas in your halls at first. I know it can feel scary and it is easy to be in your room, but you will meet so many more people by just being out in the kitchen and socialising! Most people will be friendly and want to make friends.
•
Don't worry if you feel homesick. This is completely normal and so many people will feel like this. You can FaceTime friends and family, and I always like to have a loose plan of when I will next be going home so that I feel happy with this.
•
I also agree that trying to establish a routine is a good idea! This will really help and will make you feel more settled. It might be hard to do this at first, but once you start going to lectures, you will find that it becomes easier to settle into a good routine!
•
Try and set a budget before you come to uni. Once you know how much you will be getting in and how much will be going out, you can see how much you would have to spend each week/month to try and keep you on track with this! It's good to have a think about this before you come so you don't spend it all in the first week!
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador 🙂
Reply 3
Original post
by EdgeHillStudent1So you've finished your A-levels, looked around a few universities with your mum & dad or friends, and you've decided on one you like. (Hopefully Edge Hill! ) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do?
Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do? Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
Great advice and a really warm and welcoming read 😻
Reply 4
Original post
by EdgeHillStudent1So you've finished your A-levels, looked around a few universities with your mum & dad or friends, and you've decided on one you like. (Hopefully Edge Hill! ) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do?
Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do? Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
This is a super idea! I know this is going to help so many students starting university in September and moving away from home and family for the first time!
I agree with all of the previous messages, definitely have a book of basic recipes and have a go at making them all before you move away for the first time, so that you're pretty confident you could cook them all when you're totally by yourself. I'd also say if you don't do it already, go and do the food shop a few times so you can start to think ahead and plan what you need for the week, it'll get you into the habit of thinking about what you're likely to run out of before the next week's big shop, that way you will be less likely to run out of stuff in between shops when you're on your own, and you won't need to rely on the convenience stores which sometimes can be more expensive. Practise budgeting your money too, have a go at working out how much you need to spend on essentials a week and then know how much you can spend during each week of the month so that you can ensure you never go short.
Again, if it's not something you currently do, practise using the washing machine and sorting out your clothes into washes and then of course there's the ironing to master...
It sounds trivial but if you have a good idea of how to do the basics before you arrive it will make life a bit easier!
When you first get to uni, expect the first few weeks to be a rollercoaster. You will be meeting new flatmates, new classmates, tutors, department staff, catering staff, finding your way round the library, the campus itself, a new town.... there is so much bombarding your brain, expect to feel a bit unsettled and definitely miss home, but go with it, it's normal and the majority of people will be feeling as uncomfortable as you. After you've been at uni a couple of weeks, you will know everyone and be able to go anywhere on campus without getting lost, you will soon settle in.
Go to the Freshers' Fair, sign up to join societies and clubs, everything that interests you, the more you join the more people you'll meet and the more fun you'll have, oh and sign up to a doctors too!
Most importantly of all, have fun, enjoy it and don't worry
Jess
PhD English
University of Chester
Reply 5
Original post
by EdgeHillStudent1So you've finished your A-levels, looked around a few universities with your mum & dad or friends, and you've decided on one you like. (Hopefully Edge Hill! ) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do?
Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do? Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
Just to build on my earlier post;
I wanted to discuss a part of independent living that can be hard if you don't know where to start; mental health. Quality mental health is extremely important to your life, even more-so when you're living independently for the first time.
So, there is a bit of a taboo when discussing mental health still, even if its 1000% more approachable as a topic generally today. University is great, because there's a whole community of people that understand you, and the issues you could face day-to-day. Edge Hill specifically is renowned for its great mental health support, we have some really useful services indirectly, (such as the Money advice, Careers and Academic support teams) and directly, (Mental health and wellbeing team). I have personally made use of all of the above for various reasons during my academic career at Edge Hill, and I can only speak positively about each of them. Our wellbeing team organises therapy appointments with professionals, where you can receive a set number of sessions if they (and you) feel it appropriate to see them, and in those cases they feel it would be more appropriate for you to see a different service, (a specialist team from the NHS for example) they can help you to organise that.
Studying hard, partying hard, new friendships, perhaps relationships, and generally living your life can take its toll on anyone. So never beat yourself up if you think you'd benefit from reaching out. Outside of university there's all the recommended channels, too, such as Minds Matter, Lancashire Talking Therapies , and many more.
It's not all as serious as that, though, it could be that you'd benefit from a walk, (something I do daily around Edge Hill's beautiful campus!) playing a sport, (I play 5-a-side football with friends weekly!) or going for a drink or two with friends (Edge Hill's Student Union bar is a great place for that, or wherever you are, I'm certain there's a Wetherspoons within shouting distance!)
University is great fun, and independent living, though bringing some challenges, has massively impacted my mental health, happiness and resilience in a positive way. I'm certain it will do the same for you!
Have a great time at university! Feel free to leave any questions you'd like in response.
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
If you'd like to look through more services, West Lancashire Council has a page here you may find useful. And if you're in more urgent need of help, never hesitate to reach out to a loved one, friend, or perhaps the Samaritans (116 123)
Reply 6
Hi everyone,
This is such a great thread! A lot of our student reps have written short blogs about living away from home for the first time—hopefully, these will be helpful to anyone preparing for uni life:
Hope that helps, and best of luck to everyone starting uni in September! 🙂
Megan (LJMU Rep)
This is such a great thread! A lot of our student reps have written short blogs about living away from home for the first time—hopefully, these will be helpful to anyone preparing for uni life:
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How to Save Money on Your Food Shop at Uni https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/6xKSt3Z2FGH34ccd9
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Where to Shop for Uni Supplies https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/VXzwuXY93gNhmvcw7
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What Should I Pack for Uni? https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/nQrxCZwT6R48Xtwy6
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Stretch Your Budget Easy: Money Pitfalls to Avoid! https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/LwWNp67EVooZ6Pc4A
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5 Foods for Big Savings: Stomach Full and Wallet-Friendly https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-students/chat-to-a-student
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Living in First Year Accommodation: Navigating Flatmate Life https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/Nc1WUJqaokFtSM3y5
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Saving Money on Food Shopping at Uni https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/nEdSHeCY2gGxtfu36
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3 Easy Meals to Cook https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/hTFrBRf48tpCDEMu5
•
Student Bank Accounts https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/1JE1U6he2x3ohbvA9
•
Eating on a Budget at University https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/CwLdt9iUc15PKeeQA
•
Top Tips for Making Friends at University https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/KxtNc96F7a6NPe1c9
•
Moving Away from Home https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/o5GmEW6P8vTj2ma7A
•
Settling into Your New Accommodation https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/mACcXdjqodnfkCFP8
•
The Secrets to Getting a Part-time Job Fast (Works 100%) https://link.unibuddy.co/unibuddy/yyTWF1eHJZcibwHT7
Hope that helps, and best of luck to everyone starting uni in September! 🙂
Megan (LJMU Rep)
Reply 7
Original post
by EdgeHillStudent1So you've finished your A-levels, looked around a few universities with your mum & dad or friends, and you've decided on one you like. (Hopefully Edge Hill! ) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do?
Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
) You get your keys on move in day, get all your stuff into your room, and whoever helped you gets back in their car and leaves you... ALONE?! What on EARTH are you going to do? Well, the first thing I'd recommend is to unpack your stuff. Yes, yes, it's boring and you're tired from travelling and shifting stuff all day, but you want to do as much as possible as early as possible, so you can have a comfy home base to return to whenever you need a break. Make it homely! If you didn't bring anything to personalise your room, go to B&M and grab some posters or a candle (if your dorm permits those!) or even draw something yourself and blu-tack it to the wall! It's important that you treat this as your home for the next year, because it is!
Once your room is nice and cosy, you should probably stop hibernating and go meet your new flatmates; and for the most part, they're unlikely to bite. With mine, we organised some drinking games in the kitchen to get to know each other, (never have I ever etc), and then went for more drinks in town. It might be that you get on immediately, after a little while, or you don't quite mesh with them. Whatever the case, it's important to be polite and kind to them, not just on a moral basis, but also because you live with them!
If you're human, you'll need to eat, and what I'd recommend is setting aside 15 minutes with notes open and writing down some meals you already like. If you're stuck for what to eat, you can always google some cheap student meals, there's thousands of great ideas out there for affordable cooking, so there's bound to be something you like. If you need it to be more rewarding and aesthetic to motivate you (or you're a little old-school...), then my go-to is some post-it notes, a cookery book, and a glass of wine with some SZA in the background.
So, you have a cosy room, you know your flatmates, and you're slightly tipsy with a folder full of meal ideas and the ingredients you need to get on your next shopping trip; now what?
Now you live! Go socialise, play video games, watch movies, walk, run, cook, paint, dance, read, write, and whatever else you could ever possibly want to do!
Independence can be a little overwhelming, but once you've overcome your (completely natural by the way!) homesickness and struggles with big changes, you're free to choose to do whatever you like. Sometimes, with no one to tell you to clean your room, stuff piles up, and that's okay! Whenever you're ready, tidy a little and you'll feel much better; it's never something to beat yourself up over.
If you have any questions about anything to do with Edge Hill, University life, Independent living, or anything else I can help with, let me know!
If not, good luck living independently; you got this!
Charlie
2nd Year History Student
Great post! Thank you for sharing, it's really thoughtful and encouraging!
I’d just add that it’s also worth looking out for the welcome events and student support services available in the first few weeks, as they can make a big difference in settling in. Joining a society early on can also help create a sense of belonging outside your flat, especially if things feel a bit overwhelming at first. And of course, if anyone ever feels unsure or has questions, don’t hesitate to reach out as there’s always support around.
Best regards,
Ilya,
Cyber Security student at DMU
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