Hi everyone and welcome to the University of Limerick (UL)! I just got back from a class trip to Cuba (yay class trips!!) just in time to write this post for any new and potential international students at UL.

For my first honorary blog post I thought I would give newcomers a little cheat sheet for arriving at UL in terms of where you can buy everything you need when you first get here.  I hope this will help anyone who finds themselves overwhelmed with everything they need to do/pack/buy as I was when I first came to UL as a study abroad student in 2012.

Picture this: you drop your luggage off at your room and quickly realize you don’t have any basic necessities and you don’t know where to go to purchase these items. Here is where I hope this blog post will come in handy!

The following are items you may need and where you can find them!

Firstly, you will need to take a bus into Limerick City Centre where all shops are located.  You will want to pick up the 304 bus right outside of the Student Centre.  The Student Centre can be found on the UL Campus Map. The City Centre is the buses’ final destination and can be picked up at the same location when you are ready to return to campus.

Basic Necessities!

• Bedding and Towels
  • Anything you need for your bed and towels can be bought at Guineys.  Guineys is really cheap and is located directly across the street from the bus stop in the City Centre.  Guiney’s will hold your purchases at the register until you have finished all your shopping in the City Centre which is great since bedding is bulky!

• Food
  • Food can be purchased at a number of locations. In the City Centre you can shop at Dunnes Stores or Tesco (located in Arthurs Quay in the City Centre). Near campus, there is a SuperValu and Lidl off the East Gate Entrance (see map). Also near campus is Aldi which is located off the Main University Entrance. Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest grocery stores but they do not sell name brands.  I suggest you try out a few of these stores to see which you prefer. Also, you can pay to have Tesco deliver food to your apartment which can be very convenient!

• Bathroom Necessities (i.e.: Shampoo/Conditioner, Hair Dryer, Razors, Toothpaste, etc.)
  • These items can be purchased at Boots or at any grocery store. Boots is located just off the bus stop in the City Centre.

• Irish SIM Card/Irish Phone
  • Popular networks in Ireland include O2, 3 and Meteor. Each network have offices in the City Centre in which you can buy an Irish SIM card or a phone.  Shop around because each network will offer deals in which you pay monthly (aka: top up) for certain amounts of free texts, calls, data, etc.  For example, my network is 3 and I pay €20 a month for unlimited data and text.  Also, once you purchase a SIM card you can top up each month online which is very convenient!

• Room Decorations/Hangers
  • Shop around the City Centre! I love to buy decorations at Penney’s because it’s a cheap store with great stuff but there are a lot of great stores in Limerick City Centre!

Have fun and enjoy this adventure!