Moving out from Leiden

The good times come to an end, the semester and even the summer has (almost) ended. Time to face the truth: you will be leaving your home for the last one or a couple of years and say good-bye to the beautiful city of Leiden. You are either going back to your home country, moving to another country to start a new job/degree or to another city in the Netherlands. As emotional as it might get, there is some stuff you need to get done before the last day arrives. Today, I am going to share some suggestions for moving out from Leiden.

Get cardboard boxes

It is crazy to see how much stuff you actually have. You don’t realize this when they are all over your house/room, but you only realize when you start packing. Apart from packing your clothes in your suitcases, you probably will need cardboard boxes for stuff like your books. There are two ways you can get cardboard boxes. You can buy them from stores like Action with a good price as 1,5 EUR each or you can get them for free from supermarkets like Hoghvliet. They often have a corner where they put empty boxes you can just grab. However, these are often tiny ones. If you need bigger ones, you can ask an employee. They unload many items such as potato chips daily and you just need to be lucky with your timing.

Cancel subscriptions

This one applies if you are leaving the Netherlands. Your subscriptions to NS and your mobile service provider does not automatically get cancelled when you leave the country. If you don’t cancel them before you leave the country, the fees will continue to apply. So, you might face an unexpected amount you need to pay for services you no longer use. Same apply for your bank account. Even though most student accounts do not have a fee if yours does it will add up each month you haven’t cancelled it. In any case, it is good to review what types of essentially contracts you have in the Netherlands and cancel them before you leave.

Visit your favourite places in the city

Although visiting Leiden in the future should always be in your list, you never know if and when you can do it. So, there is a high possibility that you will be missing your favourite spots in the city for a fair amount of time. Give them a last visit before you go. Have a nice afternoon along the canals, go for a walk along the Burcht and eat/drink at your favourite bars and restaurants, have a last bitterbalen in the Saturday market. Give Leiden a proper goodbye by appreciating all the things you loved about it.

Meet with your friends

The last point also applies to the people you are leaving in Leiden. It is almost a given that you have friends who will stay in Leiden, either for a search year or a job. Or you made a Dutch friend along the way. So, there are people you will be missing a lot when you leave the country and a skype call is never as good as a face to face conversation over a coffee. So, schedule meetings with your friends over your last weeks. Don’t leave this to the last moment as their schedule might get filled up easily and you may not have a chance to it. Have drinks or dinner. Do what you always have done together.

Do you have any other suggestions for this checklist of things to do before leaving Leiden? Share in comments!