UK Vet Students from US...What to bring?

[stenodactylus]

I'm going to be moving to Edinburgh next week and am getting everything packed up.

For those of you who have already made the trip....any suggestions of things to be sure to bring over?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Gwenevre]

I feel like most of what you need that you haven't already thought of you'll just get when you settle in

 

[DVMDream]

I'm going to be moving to Edinburgh next week and am getting everything packed up.

For those of you who have already made the trip....any suggestions of things to be sure to bring over?

Clothes.

Money.... both in US and UK funds.

Bring over electrical converters for the outlets in the UK. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Bright-3-Pron...956661&sr=8-4&keywords=us+to+uk+power+adapter

Look around for some, you can find some deals on Amazon or other places.

Bring your acceptance letter/something showing you are attending the university. I was asked for this upon first entering the UK even with my visa. I was lucky that I thought rather randomly to toss it in my carry on. (Do place it in your carry on, as you won't have your other bag with you). I have not been asked for this after my first arrival into the UK. Don't know if it happened to everyone or not, but better safe to have it.

Most everything else you can buy here. I bought school supplies and basically everything else once I arrived here. I really just had clothes, laptop and a few books and things from home. Bring some pictures with. Make sure you have decent shoes, it rains here, all the time. Also be sure to have a jacket. I know it is July but it is still cold over here.

That is all I can think of right now.

 

[orca2011]

Didn't move over there for vet school, but did a year abroad in northern England in undergrad. DVM pretty much covered anything I would suggest.

In addition to the adapters she mentioned, I'd double check any electronics (phones, ipods, camera, laptop) and make sure they will operate on the voltage over there. Most electronics have a wide enough range that you won't need one, but my camera didn't, so I actually needed a converter so I wouldn't fry the thing. People also needed them for hair dryers/straightners, but I recommend buying them there if you use them (sorry, can't remember if you're a guy or girl =/)

Definitely second the having proof of you attending the university in your carry on. I was also asked for it when I first entered, but don't think I was asked any other time. I still kept it on my just in case.

Don't worry about binders/paper/etc because they use a different size there, so it'll just take up space.

Have a good rain jacket. Umbrellas tend to fail since there is always some wind, but it's like always misting, so you'll want something. I'd also recommend a good waterproof/resistant backpack since you'll be walking to and from class and it will be helpful if you do any weekend traveling trips.

 

[Cyndia]

So everything DVM and orca have said is on point. I was also checked for proof of attending university the first time I entered, so make sure you bring those letters. And definitely double check voltages on electronics - I brought my chi straightener and a nice hair dryer only to find out the voltages wouldn't work, so I had to bring them home later and bought new ones here.

Outside of that, I mainly only brought my electronic chargers, clothes/footwear, and a few sentimental items. Clothing is pretty expensive over here, so I really only do my shopping when I'm on visits home in the US. Any apartment stuff you can purchase for fairly cheap at an Argos or elsewhere, so don't waste any suitcase space on that sort of thing. Forget about books and folders as well, like orca said they use A4 here so it's too large for anything you'll buy at home. A rainjacket is a good idea, I had an umbrella for about a week before I stopped using it, it was usually too windy and the rain was never really more than misting/light that a rainjacket worked for, if it did downpour it would stop fairly quickly so I'd just wait it out. Oh and in regards to any medication, you do get registered with a GP so most stuff you can get here for free. I'm not sure about any ongoing prescriptions you might have, but I was on birth control that I brought with me, and after I ran out I started getting it from a gyno here instead since my health provider at home wouldn't mail medications internationally.

In regards to money - check to find out what your best exchange rate option is. It's criminally high in a lot of places (I can't really remember what I did, but I vaguely recall bringing a travelers check thinking it would be fine, but later discovered had stupid rates), and in the end it worked out that the cheapest option for me was actually through my bank at home. I usually would just transfer directly to my UK account or if I didn't plan ahead and needed to withdraw a chunk of money from my US account at an ATM here, the transfer rate would be decent.