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title: "First weeks studying abroad: what to sort out | Gigapass"
description: "Transport, local number, bank, healthcare and people. The order to sort them in, and what can wait until month two without any fuss."
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# The first weeks in another city: a student's list

> Transport, local number, bank, healthcare and people. The order to sort them in, and what can wait until month two without any fuss.

[Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › The first weeks in another city: a student's list

Students

Transport, local number, bank, healthcare and people. The order to sort them in, and what can wait until month two without any fuss.

**Claudia Ferrán** 10 Aug 2026 6 min Photo by Oleg Zarevennyi on Unsplash

In this article › The first week › The second › What can wait › The part nobody writes down

The first two weeks abroad are a funnel of paperwork, and the feeling of being behind on everything is universal. It helps to know what is genuinely urgent and what can wait.

## The first week

1. Connectivity: without data, everything else costs twice the effort.
2. Transport: a student card or pass, which usually needs a certificate from the university.
3. The university paperwork, which opens the door to almost everything else.
4. And a supermarket card and a pharmacy you have located, which sounds minor and is not.

## The second

- A local number, if the country asks for one for paperwork.
- A bank account, now that you have an address.
- Registering your address, if it is compulsory.
- And a GP, before you need one.

## What can wait

Furniture, decorating, the gym and half the country's apps. Nobody has failed a semester for not having the bike-share app in their first week.

> Four things are genuinely urgent. The rest is the list that makes you feel bad for not going faster.

## The part nobody writes down

Meeting people is another item on the list and is worth treating as one: sign up for whatever the university organises in the first weeks, even when you do not feel like it, because after that the groups have already formed. The first-month slump is so common it has a name in every language.

And to talk to people back home without it costing you, see [how to call from abroad](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/calling-from-abroad).

From day one keep a folder with every certificate you are handed. In month two they will ask for three of them and you will not remember where they are.

Know where you're going?

Pick your destination, days and data. Install it before you leave and pay once.

[See destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en#destinos)

Claudia FerránLong trips and remote work

She has worked from wherever she happened to be for six years. She works out the data for a trip the way you'd work out the petrol, and she rarely gets it wrong.

## Frequently asked questions

**What do I sort out in my first week studying abroad?**

Connectivity, transport with a student pass, the university paperwork, and locating a supermarket and a pharmacy.

**When do I open the bank account?**

In the second week, once you have an address, which is what they almost always ask for.

**And the local number?**

When the country's paperwork calls for it. For talking to people back home you do not need one.

**Is the first-month slump normal?**

It is so common it has a name in every language. Signing up for whatever the university organises in the first weeks helps more than anything else.

## Keep reading

- [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/erasmus-phone-line) | Erasmus: what to do with your phone and your line before you go | 6 min
- [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/studying-abroad-paperwork) | Studying abroad: the paperwork in order, with its deadlines | 6 min
- [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/bank-account-student-abroad) | Opening a bank account while studying abroad: when you need one | 5 min