Hey everyone. My name is Elieza and I’m an MSc student currently studying International Business Management. I’ve been at Surrey since 2019, which began my journey from BSc to MSc. I’m from Nigeria, and to be precise,Benin, Edo State.
Having spent almost 9 years in the UK, I would love to help you prepare as you are planning on moving for the first time.
First and foremost, who you were/are in Nigeria, your status, life as you knew it, kindly drop it at the airport because it’s going to be a whole new experience for you 😂. Now, I hope I haven’t scared you, it’s just the reality.
I’m going to be discussing a few key things to be prepared for when you arrive and as you try and settle down.
The most important thing is ‘ego’, ‘owo’, ‘kudi’, ‘pepper’ aka MONEY. You need to be prepared to be wise about how much you spend and what you spend on depending on your financial capabilities. Now, I know we as Nigerians can be extremely smart with money, however, coming to a new country especially with the current cost of living, you are going to need to be extra smart with spending. Ensure that you prioritise your needs over your wants.
Secondly, the weather! Omoooooooo!!!!. There’s no other way to describe the weather asides saying ‘omoooooo’ every 3 minutes. Please, please and please, invest in buying warm jackets and thermal vests to keep you warm. The cold creeps in and gets worse and the next thing you know, you’re sniffing and coughing like no tomorrow😫and it can get very brutal. There’s an option to turn on the heating in your flat or room, but like my first point…this is where spending wisely comes in, because turning on the heating feature in your flat is money.
Another advice I’m going to give for now is to try and find accommodation that is preferably close to campus or at least, a decent walking distance to campus. This is because transportation can stylishly eat into your monthly budget without you even knowing, so if you are able to walk from your accommodation to uni most days, it will save you a fortune throughout the year. Oh! and talking about accommodations, make sure to always have your ID card on you when shopping or ordering for utensils like knives as you will not to be able to purchase one without a form of age verification 🥲.
I hope I have been able to give you a little insight on what to expect when moving. My top 3 things. Money, Weather and Accommodation. Once you have these on lock you’ll be fine.
That’s all for now o, see you in my next blog where I’ll be talking about the academic side of things when transitioning. I don go☺️.
