As someone who has spent 5 days living in Scotland

1.        Make sure you have some cash with you.

You will need it.

The last time I came to Scotland, I visited Edinburgh with my family, and we took out way too much cash only to realize that we would not need most of it, as we paid for everything by card. When moving to Glasgow, I assumed it would be the same. I could not have been more wrong. While you can pay for most things using a credit/debit card, there are some services (such as taxis from the airport) that are cash-only, so make sure you exchange at least a small amount of your local currency for pounds.

2.        Show up EARLY to pick your BRP.

You want to queue before the Post Office opens.

When I was planning my itinerary in Scotland, I scheduled a visit to the Post Office to go pick up my Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) at 11am. When I showed up, they kindly turned me down at the front desk and asked me to come back the next day before the Office opened. The next day, I showed up at 9am, one hour before their opening time. There were already around thirty people in line. By the time the Post Office opened, the queue was so long it went around the corner of the block. When it was my turn, the guy at the counter gave me a ticket and told me to come back at between 1 and 4 in the afternoon. I was there at 1:00pm sharp, but I was only able to pick up my BRP after 2pm because there were many students with tickets before me. 

Here’s the deal: they are only allowed to give out a certain number of BRPs a day, so students must queue before the Post Office opens, get a ticket, and show up later with said ticket to pick up their document.

3.        It will rain

Yes, even if your trusty weather app says there is 0% chance of rain.

To be fair, I was told it would rain a lot, but I was not fully aware of the extent of it until I got there. When I left for the Post Office at 9am, the weather was very nice and sunny and the weather app said it would not rain at all. I took my raincoat with me just in case I needed an extra layer against the wind. 

Little did I know that the beautiful weather would soon come to an end, as I had to queue for the Post Office while it was rainy AND windy.

Lesson learned: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS bring your rain coat with you (a strong umbrella works too!)

4.        Book an appointment for your visa registration!

If you are an international student, you need to do this to be fully registered with UofG.

To be honest, this tiny (BUT TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT) bit of information was probably out there in an email. However, I missed the memo, and so did SO MANY OTHER STUDENTS who were clueless, just like me, when they went to the Fraser building on a random Monday to go register. 

So, before you head to the Fraser Building for visa registration, make sure you have booked an appointment.

5.        Take it slow and take care of yourself

You are not alone, and everyone is a little bit lost.

Starting to live on your own on a completely new country is a very scary experience. On my first days here, I was so anxious about getting all my paperwork handled properly and attending every tour and event on the SRC app that my blood pressure dropped, and I started feeling sick. I’m here to tell you it is okay to not pressure yourself to do everything as soon as possible. The Post Office is open for a couple of weeks, Visa registration is open until September 27th, and the Banks will still be open for you to set up your first account in the UK.

If you feel like you don’t have energy, it’s fine to treat yourself to a nice cup of instant ramen (or tea!) and chill for a while in the kitchen in your halls. Plus, meeting your kitchen/flat mates is a great way to start building friendships that will last a lifetime.