advice for what to pack

[Guest]

I am traveling to the university from overseas, therefore I will only be home twice a year. Does anyone have any advice on what exactly to pack. Clothing for example. What are the neccesary items i will need for the first semester with the weather and all. and what will i need for say going to pubs, balls and other activities?

[just_looking]

Bring warm clothes its freezing. As for balls bring a ball dress if you are a girl and hire a kilt if you are guy.

[Jono]

IMO its best to pack relatively little. having had the delightful experience of dragging three bags on the train I can safely say that its not a lot of fun to drag shedloads of stuff here with you that you don't need. Things like plates, kitchen utensils, pens, paper, folders, food, hangers, etc. You can buy over her in Woolies or Tesco. Basically anything that you won't need to take back with you, you might as well just get once you're here.

Clothing-wise pack plenty of warm kit, It gets pretty cold over here. You'll probably want some kind of smart-casual wear (Lounge suit or the like). If you have formal stuff (dinner jacket, ball gown etc.) bring it with you (you WILL need it at some point), but if you don't fear-not; there are plenty of places you can buy or rent formal gear in town. Plenty of casual stuff to knock about day to day would also be useful.

My main piece of advice would be to either bring or invest in Pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers. It makes getting up going to brekfast so much easier when you don't actually have to get dressed!

[hr]

Don't mention the Nazi's!

[novium]

First- where are you coming from? If you're from anywhere with a climate approaching that of California...bring lots and lots of coats and sweaters. Trust me. However many you were planning won't be enough. I brough two. By the end of the year, I had 6 coats. Also, a really good scarf or two would be good. They're sort of expensive in the UK, but on the other hand, most of the ones you can buy in california at least tend to really just be decoration. Not thick enough. loosely knitted, that sort of thing.

Don't bother with an umbrella.
You can leave your shorts, flip flops, and etc at home as well.

Don't forget the usual student fare, of course- jeans, etc.

Bring a nice/formal set of clothes, and perhaps some black-tie wear if you;ve got it.

[hr]

sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[novium]

if you're a guy, don't rent a kilt unless you have the legs to pull it off

[hr]

sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[Fawksie]

Quoting novium from 02:20, 2nd May 2006
if you're a guy, don't rent a kilt unless you have the legs to pull it off

Heh, that's true. I've toyed with the idea of a kilt, but I'd like to actually research my father's side of the family to see are my vague Scottish roots actually real, and I probably don't have the legs for it

[October]

It's not that cold, and there are plenty of days to wear shorts, and that kinda fair.
Just by mid-November, you start to look a tad strange.

On the East Side of Scotland it dosn't rain that much, so you don't really have to worry about that.

Other than that just bring what you want.
It's all good.

[hr]

your friendly hall robot

[thebrookster]

Quoting October from 00:30, 3rd May 2006
It's not that cold, and there are plenty of days to wear shorts, and that kinda fair.
Just by mid-November, you start to look a tad strange.

On the Easy Side of Scotland it dosn't rain that much, so you don't really have to worry about that.

Other than that just bring what you want.
It's all good.

[hr]

your friendly hall robot

Hum, shorts. The wonderful piece of clothing that every British person seems to don whenever the sun appears to be thinking about coming out, regardless of temperature. A wierd phenonoma that I have noticed.

[Midget]

Do not knock shorts.

[hr]

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[October]

Quoting thebrookster from 00:51, 3rd May 2006

Hum, shorts. The wonderful piece of clothing that every British person seems to don whenever the sun appears to be thinking about coming out, regardless of temperature. A wierd phenonoma that I have noticed.

Ah, The East is super warm, conpared to were I'm from.

[hr]

your friendly hall robot

[box_of_delights]

Yeh, plenty of warm stuff for the winter. Luckily, this season's trend is to layer up... so don't necessarily bring big 80s style sweaters that will bulk up your luggage. Just bring a selection of long sleeve t-shirts, mixed with regular ones and shirts that you can just layer and de-layer as required! Warm and trendy!

September and October are still reasonably warm here so shorts wouldn't be wasted... and looking at the weather we've had the last 2 weeks you'll definitely need them post-Easter. Ball attire is useful - a useful tip for a girl is to keep the same dress but just change the Pashmina to go with it... thus reinventing the same outfit for different balls. Again, saving you space. Guys can just wear the same tux or suit... who notices!

Plates/utility stuff is so cheap in Woolworths or Tesco it makes sense to buy them when you're here as someone said above and just chuck 'em or give them away when you leave.

[hr]

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[Chessie]

I, too, am an overseas student, and I was just wondering what the most efficient way of getting my stuff – regardless of whether or not that includes shorts – to St Andrews. Like everyone else I will be flying over on the 16th/17th of September, and I presume I should send my things over before hand, but I’ve heard that we don’t find out where we’re living until we get there, so I don’t know where to send it.

Thanks for your help.

[novium]

When I first arrived in St Andrews, I felt like I had been suddenly plunged into winter. Just days before, I'd been at home, where there was a 100 degree F heatwave. I went around in a coat and scarf and complained bitterly about how cold it was. Meanwhile, as I strolled around town, huddled against the cold and the wind, i kept seeing people lounging about, eating icecream, and were dressed about as warmly as I had been at home. Which is, not at all.

Not that cold is relative to where you're coming from

Quoting thebrookster from 00:51, 3rd May 2006

Quoting October from 00:30, 3rd May 2006
It's not that cold, and there are plenty of days to wear shorts, and that kinda fair.
Just by mid-November, you start to look a tad strange.

On the Easy Side of Scotland it dosn't rain that much, so you don't really have to worry about that.

Other than that just bring what you want.
It's all good.

[hr]

your friendly hall robot

Hum, shorts. The wonderful piece of clothing that every British person seems to don whenever the sun appears to be thinking about coming out, regardless of temperature. A wierd phenonoma that I have noticed.

[hr]

sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[novium]

It depends on how far from overseas you are. Nevertheless, two reallllly big suitcases should be able to cover everything you should possibly want to bring. I mean, you can buy things like sheets and towels and kitchenware in st andrews. There's no need to bring enough stuff to outfit an army.

Quoting Chessie from 02:17, 5th May 2006
I, too, am an overseas student, and I was just wondering what the most efficient way of getting my stuff – regardless of whether or not that includes shorts – to St Andrews. Like everyone else I will be flying over on the 16th/17th of September, and I presume I should send my things over before hand, but I’ve heard that we don’t find out where we’re living until we get there, so I don’t know where to send it.

Thanks for your help.

[hr]

sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[box_of_delights]

If you're not sure where to send stuff re: accomodation etc. then give Admissions a ring (their number will be on the uni homepage somewhere) and they can put you in touch with the people who deal specifically with overseas students Best do it sooner rather than later as things will be quietening down towards the vacation period.

[hr]

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[just_looking]

A toothbrush and a vibrator....sorted