First thing when you move to the Netherlands or every new country / city is to look around your place of living and to find out where to do grocery shopping, what transportation can you find, how to find your way to your university or work place and how to travel in and out of your town. Same is valid for newcomers to Delft and Delft University of technology.

Maybe you’ve noticed, especially if you’re from a European country (except for Belgium), that most of the shop chains you’re used to do grocery shopping do not have branches in the Netherlands. Maybe also only a part of your favourite clothes or cosmetics shops are present here. So let’s look around Delft:

You can get your favourite fresh products every Thursday and Saturday from the Market which is placed all over the center – little shops for absolutely everything you might be looking for: Dutch cheese, meat, fish & chips (fast food and for cooking), freshly baked bread, fruits, veggies, flowers even.. nuts, clothes and of COURSE: STROOPWAFELS, the MUST TRY thing and maybe also MUST-EAT-EVERY-SATURDAY sweet delight =)

Besides that if you’ve been all day at the university and you think all of the supermarkets are closed, think again! Jumbo on Bastiaansplein works until 22h and Albert Heijn on Barabantse Turfmarkt straat is open till 20h. Kruidvat next to Jumbo or the one next to the mentioned AH is your place for cosmetics, general meds for flu and tasty, but bad-for-your-diet gummy bears! HEMA is the ultimate shop for EVERYTHING you can think of: clothes, study materials, paper, electronics, cosmetics, kids toys, food, cakes, kitchen things, plant supplies etc.

Well, of course we’ve got a pharmacy too (near Oostpoort), except that you’ve gotta get a number ticket and wait between 20-40 min for a general medicine which you just want to buy without any questions from the personnel, but NO: they have to ask you a ton of questions about what your symptoms are, why are you getting this medicine, how do you feel about it and whatever else unnecessary info, so in the end they can tell you that you don’t need to buy it, but if you insist so much..

Or are you feeling sick? One of the first things to do is to find a good Huisartsenpraktijk clinic. When you reserve an appointment with a doctor be careful with the “phone consultation”. If they start asking questions about your symptoms over the phone, in the end you might get a €13-15 bill for a “consult over the phone” where they’ve just told you to buy paracetamol instead of actually seeing the doctor. Just insist on meeting the doctor face to face =)

On another note, let’s see a list of what you REALLY need to buy as soon as you move to the Netherlands:

• BIKE: you could find cheap in THIS FACEBOOK page
• Waterproof rain jacket (and maybe also pants): you can find cheap ones in HEMA
• Good bike chain: they steal bikes in the Netherlands A LOT
• Personalized OV-Chipkaart + discount: order your personal OV chipkaart and travel with public transportation OUT OF RUSH HOURS with 40% discount. As you study at TU Delft you might need to visit Leiden for lectures sometimes and this would save you money.
• Air mattress for guests maybe? I am sure a lot of friends will be even more excited than you that you’re moving to the Netherlands, because to them that means: (almost) FREE vacation in another country!

You might also want to download the following apps on your mobile device:

• Buienalarm: Rain forecast for the next 2 hours
• 9292: plan your trips throughout the country
• Reisplanner: trains planning
• Your bank’s online banking application
• Your mobile provider’s application
• OV Chipkaart app to track your travel history, card balance etc

Delft is also lucky enough to have IKEA close by, a big park with lake and really cute typical Dutch style houses everywhere and of course the most important: lots of places to get a drink with friends and new buddies =)

Good luck acclimatizing in Delft! =)