First day in Vila. What do I do?
Your adventure starts now!
You’re going abroad, starting a new life… it’s normal if you’re a bit stressed out!
When you arrive in Vila (read this if you don’t know how to get here), there’re are a few things you need to know. Here we go:
1. Sign the contract:
Once you get here, you’ll have to come to the reception to sign your contract. You’ll need:
- Your Passport or ID.
- A credit card in order to pay the second deposit/bond (what’s that?).
- A Spanish bank account OR your regular bank account details. Please, ask your bank to print for you a document with your bank account details and bring it the day you sign the contract.
YOU DO NOT need a Spanish bank account if your country belongs to SEPA (check your country here). In this case, you’ll only need your regular bank account details (although, if you prefer to open a Spanish bank account and use it that’s completely up to you).
YOU NEED a Spanish bank account if your country doesn’t belong to SEPA. If you haven’t opened one yet, don’t freak out. We recommend you to do so here on the UAB Campus. Why? Because it’s much easier and if you are living in Vila Universitària just by showing your contract and passport or ID you’ll be able to open it with no extra costs. Also, they’ll send you the details via e-mail.
When your contract has been signed, come to the white tend (in front of the office).
2. Entrance inventory:
The block representatives team, veteran students who live in Vila, will give you some important information and walk you to your apartment. When you get there, they’ll check if everything is fine, and if there’s anything you want to report, they’ll write it down on a document we call “Entrance Inventory Appendix”.
Keep in mind you guys should note down everything that you think it needs to be noted: stains on the walls, broken furniture, blown bulbs, stuck blinds… This is very important because when you leave Vila we check the apartments and if there’s something wrong in it that wasn’t written on the Entrance Inventory you might be charged.
3. In the apartment…
Now, it’s time to meet your roomies! If you’re too impatient to way until your arrival to meet them, you can try to find them on our Facebook group VilaUAB 2019-2020 by asking who will live in your apartment next year.
If you don’t know what to pack, or what to buy when you get here, check this out!
Although, and this is cool, many international students recommend to talk to your roomies and ask them if you can lend some of their stuff, so you don’t have to buy it once you get here!
Locals may have plenty of stuff back home they don’t even use: cutlery, bed sheet, pillows,… Those things you won’t be able to take back home if you buy them.
Laura, local student living in Vila: “As a local, I assure you it’s not a big deal for us to borrow some stuff to international students, and for you guys is nice not to have to buy it all and then decide what to do with them once you go back home. I lived abroad and I didn’t have to buy anything, I was very lucky! My local friends lend me everything I needed because their parents and grandparents had a lot of stuff they didn’t use at home. I’d be more than happy to do the same with internationals!”.
4. Welcome Meetings:
We’ll try to explain what you need to know once you get here, but let’s be honest… You’ll be tired and there’s a lot of information.
That’s why during September we’ll be doing Welcome Meetings, so you can get to know everything about Vila, UAB Campus, and the Barcelona.
5. September’s activities:
September is a non-stop month, and a great opportunity to meet other people. Check the program out!
If you want to know what’s going on in Vila, follow us on @vila_universitaria (official IG account) and @whiskers_vilauab (Event’s organisers account).
6. How to keep up with what’s going on in Vila during the semester?
Being informed is not just useful to know if there’s a fiesta, you may also need to know other important stuff apartment-related.
We recommend you to follow us on social media, so you don’t miss a thing!
Facebook: Vila Universitària UAB
Facebook group: VilaUAB 2019-2020 (the whole Vila is in this group, so you can interact with other students!)
Apartments’ FB group: Vilatants blocs A-B / Vilatants blocs C-D / Vilatants blocs E-F / Vilatants blocs G-H / Vilatants blocs L-M-N / Vilatants blocs P-R-S-T / Vilatants blocs K-V-X-Y / Vila 2
Instagram: vila_universitaria and Whiskers_vilauab
Twitter: @campusvilauab
YouTube: VilaTV
7. VilApp
8. Our opening hours: