Moving in soon?

I’ve been working in Oadby Student Village over the summer, and you never know what you find in the depths of the reception. For example, I found a bit of a relic while sorting through some waste paper (To me, a relic is anything that was before my uni days, sorry!) It was a checklist for freshers moving into Halls of Residence. Some of the things it was suggesting were a bit comical, like “Say hi to your next door neighbour,” just in case you never bumped into them while moving your stuff in. While the list was a bit of fun, I think it definitely needs some updating. So, I’m going to write my own! But first, how does move-in day usually go?

When you arrive for move-in, you’ll be asked to check in, where you’ll recieve a welcome pack and be directed to you room. After that, you’ve just got to get everything into your room! My move-in day went mostly stress-free, apart from the occasional worry if I had left anything at home. But there is a few things I should’ve considered that seem pretty obvious when you think about it:

• Queues are long, everywhere! If you wanna wait until fresher’s kicks off, pretty sure everyone else will be moving in that same weekend.
• Take provisions in the car, it will be a while before you can sit down for food.
• Be aware that there is limited parking around the accommodation, so the university only allows around 20 minutes in a space before you need to move your car.
• Again, queues everywhere, so there’s no point in hoping the lift will be readily available. Make sure you can easily carry your belongings and be prepared to spend an hour climbing stairs.
• Wear comfortable clothing and footwear. No one will care if you’re wearing your hoodie and trainers, they’ll be too preoccupied getting their stuff up flights of stairs too!

Now, you don’t have to ‘say hi to your next neighbour’ as soon as you’ve moved in, but it’s always a good first step. There’s a few other things that can easily be forgotten when moving into halls:

• Scout out all the local amenities – once you’ve settled in, make sure you know where the local supermarket, doctor’s surgery and other things are you might need in case you don’t want to trek into town.
• Have a look on the internet for things to do around Leicester – when you’ve got a few suggestions together, you can always speak to your flatmates about going to those places. A great way to get to know them better. If you’d like somewhere to start, check out this map provided by the Accommodation Team.
• Get to know the different food outlets available around campus – there’s over a dozen choices spread all over. A personal favourite of mine is the Attenborough Arts Cafe – not too well known amongst Leicester students but a really lovely atmosphere. All the options available to you can be viewed here.

Good luck to everyone with their A-Level results, and I hope to see you at Leicester in September!