Arrival, registration, a bank account and friends — the first-month checklist that keeps you sane.
TipsBy Deniz · Jun 24, 2026 · 6 min read
The flight is the easy part. Your first month abroad is a flurry of small, important tasks — here's the order that keeps it calm.
Week 1: land and settle
Get to your accommodation and rest
Buy a local SIM / data plan
Find the nearest supermarket and your campus
Keep every document you signed in one folder
Week 2: the admin
In Germany, register your address (Anmeldung) — lots of things depend on it. Open a local bank account, activate your health insurance, and complete university enrolment.
💡Book the address-registration appointment as early as you can; in big cities slots disappear fast.
Weeks 3–4: build a life
Go to orientation and say yes to events
Join one club or a student group
Learn your route to campus by heart
Cook one meal that tastes like home
“By week four it stopped being 'abroad' and started being 'home'.”— Lena, Master's in Munich
Homesickness is normal and it passes. Tick off the admin early, meet a few people, and the new city becomes yours faster than you'd think — and we're a message away the whole time.
