To make the transition to a new life in a new city a bit smoother, UKrant‘s student editors give their top tips over the next three weeks. Today: don’t buy everything from Ikea.
When I first came to Groningen two years ago, I moved into a busy student house, located right next to Ikea. This seemed at first to be quite a blessing, and everyone eagerly took advantage of it, purchasing new carpets, house plants, pots, pans, stuffed animals and decorative pillows.
At the end of the year, the blessing had turned into a bit of a curse. Many of the pots, pans and pillows ended up in the dumpster, instead of finding a use in a new home, since those homes often are already filled with generations of items purchased and left behind by previous inhabitants.
I wish we had known about alternatives to buying, and about buying differently: you can look to Marktplaats, visit the Mamamini thrift shops, or check out the Facebook group ‘Free your stuff Groningen’, for second-hand items cheaply sold or even given away for free.
Consider what you’ll need even before leaving home. You could raid your parents’ cabinets for kitchen utensils they may be glad to get rid of, and after arriving in Groningen, explore the many options available for purchasing in a more economic and environmentally friendly way.
This article was first published on 29 August, 2023.