Bedroom...

Are we provided with a duvet?

 

You get nothing. You get an empty mattress, a bedside table, a shared dresser and a shared closet. You don't get sheets or a pillow or a duvet or an alarm clock or even hangers.

 

Yeah the hangers thing was a bit annoying. This time I am squishing a pillow and sheets into my suitcase.. I slept on a towel last time for the first night and it was horrible!!

 

depending on what time you arrive on that first date, most people go immediately to the walmart. It is open 24 four hours, and totally worth getting food and sheets and such right away. Also a good way to get to know your room mates, if you arrive around similar times. I went to walmart before unpacking or doing anything else, good to get it out of the way so you dont have to worry about making time for it during the hectic first days of orientation.

Things to buy/make sure you have right away-- toilet paper, cleaning supplies, dish washer detergent, bedding, food, (a toaster, if you like toast), hangers, an ethernet cable, a lock for the safe, towel...

i bought all of that stuff there, walmart in the states is SUPER cheap, that frst shopping trip i expected it to be like 300$ and it was closer to 200$. If you can bring the stuf from home, good for you, but i def didnt have space in my suitcases, and was happy to get cheap stuff i wouldnt mind leaving behind.

 

It also depends if there are already people living in your apartment there might be some of that stuff already there I went on the first full day because it was late at night by the time we'd been given our apartments (or it felt that way at least!) so I think I just bought food, a toaster, bedding and a few cosmetic things really... remember you often have to carry it all from the front of the apartment complex to your apartment which can be a walk with lots of heavy bags!!

 

Sometimes if you get a nice security guard, they'll let a taxi drive right in, especially on move-in days!

 

wow reading this makes me soo excited!! haha i hope my flatmates really girly and we get on well =P lol

are ethernet cables in the states like the same port as uk cos its probably easier to bring that from here =] wouldn't take up much room in the suitcase

x

 

hey does any1 have pics of there bedroom if youve done icp before? i know theres official pics but they always look better than they are lol so just wondered if any1 has any personal pics they dont mind sharing? x

 

On my facebook albums... you can add me I am Catherine Bass (Bristol Grammar/Bournemouth Uni networks)

 

i took a video of vista way and of my apt-- my voice in the background is insanely annoying, i can't believe i actually sound that way, but if you can get past that and the poor video skills, they give you a vague idea.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SteffieDoo

the top video, called vista way days (the 3 minute one, not the shorter ones) shows the walk from the bus to my apt, and if you scroll through my videos there is an apartment tour on there as well.

rewatching the video just now, i was reminded of another un-provided necessity-- an alarm clock!

 

You can look me up on FB too, I have like six Disney albums and there are pictures of my room!

 

wow how exciting!! i really like your accent are you american? i hate my voice tho its a proper annoying yorkshire accent lol x

 

nope, i'm a canadian I'm jealous of anyone with a british accent tho! Love it! and also, I can tell you are from the UK just from the way you used the word proper

 

Oooh Steffie those videos were so cooool, thanks for posting! They get me eevvven more excited ;D ;D
And I agree, your accent is pretty cool!
xxx

 

yeh that was cool. cant wait now!

im worried that people won't understand me because i have a really strong welsh accent and talk quite fast... my cousins husband who is from new york asks me to slow down talking to him because i talk to fast haha
oh and i think its gonna get really annoying when americans go 'oh your from england' and i go 'no wales' then they go 'wheres that?'
haha just will have to get used to it
;D

 

Thanks guys! The photos are getting me all excited!

By the way, we do get air-con right?

 

HAH yes we do although my flatmates didn't believe in turning it on so I was constantly hot for 10 weeks......... this time I really hope I am with people who feel the heat and will keep it chilled!

 

Lol thanks! Slightly worried I'd have to rely on loads of fans!

So many questions!!! Couple of my major ones: which insurance company did you use? And how much money did you live on? For example, how much should I take for the first week? And how do you get paid?

Thank you

 

I personally used Diamond for my insurance company because my car insurance was already with them... I did end up making a claim for some antibiotics I had to get and they were very easy and simple to use and get the money from.

I think I roughly got paid about $150-200 a week after my rent and tax was taken out... I pretty much used all that money but mainly because I bought loads of souvenirs and ate out all the time because I couldn't be bothered to cook!! If you were more frugal with money you could probably save it LOL.

They advise you take $200-400 dollars to get you through the first couple of weeks because you're not paid until your second week and you have to buy your essentials when you get there. I would just advise to take as much spending money as you can afford so you don't have to worry about running out haha! It's a good idea to take big lots of money in the form of travellers cheques because it's safer and you can use them in disney world.

When I was there in 2008, I got paid by a weekly direct deposit (direct debit to us Brits) which was a nightmare to set up and not worth it for the ICP but I believe since last year they give you a kind of debit card which they automatically pay your wages to?? Not too sure on that... ask someone who went last year!

 

yeh whats the deal with money anyway like do we open a new bank? cos obv if were using say english halifax its gunna charge us everytime we get our wages out abroad right? so what are travellers cheques and stuff then? i was aiming to take around £800 if i can save it but i'm guessing i don't need that much then x