Hi guys! My name is JC, I am from Canada and currently doing my Masters in Maritime Archaeology at Bournemouth University. Figuring out what to bring and what to buy when I started packing was maybe one of the hardest aspects of preparing for my new life. The first thing I can say is that emailing your professors to see if there’s anything you need for your program specifically is helpful.

What’s in Your Hall?

After this, it is a good idea to find out what is included with your accommodation. If you’re staying at Lansdowne Point, the only catered hall, you get an allowance each day to spend on food in the students’ refectory. All other halls come with an oven, a stove top, microwave, fridges and cupboard space. If you chose to stay in a studio, you have a much smaller kitchen with a small convection microwave, rather than a large oven.

Corfe House

Dorchester Studio

What to Bring

When it came to packing, I brought two suitcases of things from home. You should bring a range of clothes for summer and winter, though it doesn’t necessarily get extremely cold here, depending on where you’re from. As I’m from Canada it’s not too bad. However, I still brought a tuque, gloves, a few scarves, a wind breaker, some sweaters and long sleeve shirts. I also brought some small travel-sized items, like shampoo, conditioners and toothpaste, not only to tide me over till I could go shopping, but also to use when I was travelling.

Buy Ahead or Once You Arrive?

The halls will sell dorm packages, from items for your room, to items for your ensuite bathroom and kitchen. I looked around and found that it would save me money to get items like pillows, duvets and towels from Ikea and have them shipped to my dorm for when I arrived. For the rest of the items that I needed, I went to Poundland, Sainsburys, Asda and Aldi. What I found handy was to only buy what I needed at the time. Later, if I saw I needed another item I’d either ask my flat mates if I could borrow theirs or I go and find it in the stores.