Check these boxes and your life in Utrecht will be a lot easier

I'd like to wish everyone starting their university journey a warm welcome, especially those who don't yet have anyone here to welcome them. I'm aware that you, the reader, could be absolutely anyone: you could be from anywhere in the world, of any age, and from any number of backgrounds. You also have your own set of troubles and circumstances that I could never hope to account for. Nevertheless, I hope to be able to give a few pieces of advice on beginning a new chapter in your life, even if I myself am moving past it.

I'll start on a bit of a boring note: doing the admin work of moving to the Netherlands and starting a degree. Getting on top of the admin nice and early will almost certainly make life easier down the road. 

First things first: registering with your local Gemeente within 5 days of arrival. Make sure you have your birth certificate (+ certified translation), proof of residence, all that stuff. Being sloppy with registration can cause unnecessary delays, fines, and potential deregistration. Double-check that your landlord isn’t up to some funny business regarding your rental contract. This is also a good time to double-check which utilities (internet, electricity, etc) are already accounted for, and which you need to arrange yourself. 

From here, you can begin the first steps of Dutchification, in getting a Dutch phone number and a Dutch bank account. Neither is explicitly necessary, but both are very helpful. I stubbornly held onto my Irish bank account for 3 years, but eventually got fed up with my Visa Debit card being awkward at self-checkouts. Having a Dutch bank account is much easier.

Next, I’d advise you to deal with the broader Dutch government. Setting up your DigiD, getting familiar with the Belastingdienst, and making your necessary applications for student allowance, health allowance (zorgtoeslag), housing allowance (huurtoeslag), and whatever else may apply to you. Even if you don't think you'll get anything, just apply. You won't lose any money doing so. At worst, you'll be left with the nothing you would have had if you hadn’t applied. Even if you're not eligible now, you could be eligible in the future, and having done the admin work beforehand will make things easier down the line. If you plan on working a job, it is imperative that you sort your health insurance out as promptly as possible. You do not want letters from the CAK.

With the boring stuff mostly out of the way, let's look a bit more broadly at things. I found it very useful to go on occasional walks around my area, in any number of random directions, just to simply get used to my surroundings. This is also good for getting a sense of the kinds of shops, amenities, parks, places to eat and/or drink (IKEA dinners can be popular with fresh students), and whatever else you need available to you. Do this in a small group if that makes you feel safer. If you'll be needing to use public transport to get around, this is also the time to get an OV-chipkaart (be careful with how the different subscriptions interact with your student product). It can help to find a store or restaurant that serves food from back home, if only to provide comfortable familiarity for the first few weeks of settling in.

I would encourage a sentiment of camaraderie rather than carrying a rugged individualist outlook. Now don't get me wrong, you need to look out for yourself and have your own back, and to a certain extent, nobody else will do that for you. However, this need not come at the expense of others: there's a lot of mutual benefit and opportunities waiting out there if you're open to meeting new people, offering help where you can, and having the courage to step outside your comfort zone. Cooking in larger groups is usually cheaper per person. Someone might open a door for you to a job by getting an employee referral bonus themselves. Someone could be selling their old bike for a low price (also useful to check Marktplaats for that kind of thing). And so on. Camaraderie also goes hand in hand with embracing the Dutch concept of gezelligheid.

Finally, make sure to take care of yourself. Register with a GP and dentist, and check in occasionally. If things get tough, reach out to people around you, or larger organisations if you need stuff like legal advice. Check in with yourself to see whether you are still happy with where you are and what you are doing. You need not commit to your first choice: life changes, and so do you. One thing I would tell myself if I was starting again is to not be as frugal as I was; and to allow myself to have fun by going out somewhere once a while or visiting a nearby city.

Here’s hoping I helped you check some boxes as you begin your university journey. Enjoy it to the fullest extent that you can. In my experience, the flexibility in time you have as a student, the ability to try new things, the frequency with which you meet new people and run into people you know, and the number of mistakes you can make without really significant consequences don’t really go up as time passes.

On Students' Viewpoint, UU students share their views with the wider university community. Hubert, a Master's student of Climate Physics, is one of the columnists invited for this space. You can also read the perspectives of staff members on Staff's Viewpoint and click here to check out the columns by students and staff in Dutch.