Throughout life relationships are made and broken. Some are here to stay, some cause us pain, while others make your heart flip!

Making the big move away from home can be very exciting but also a bit scary!  Plenty of pre-planning before the big move can be very helpful, and an understanding that things may be strange for a while but everything takes time.

Think about the things you are interested in and do some research about the place you are moving to. Towns and local authorities now have plenty of information about particular clubs, cultural and leisure activities available in their area.  Link to www.direct.gov.uk

If you are going to university then check out the AimHigher website for all sorts of information and links to universities; www.aimhigher.ac.uk
The university you are going to will have its own website and information about social activities etc.

The Guardian has a very useful article about support services for students.  Link to: http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/news/story/0,,1580852,00.html

Making contact with other deaf people may be a good way in to a new area. There are a number of national organisations that will have useful contacts and links to clubs and activities specifically aimed at deaf people.

An interesting study; “Access All Areas; A report on Access to Social, Cultural and Leisure Opportunities for Young Deaf People” Edinburgh and East of Scotland Deaf Society, Dec 2001 describes the difficulties that deaf young  people have in accessing leisure and social activities in the hearing world.

The RNID have information and factsheets for deaf people about different areas of the country, the services and groups available. Link to: http://www.rnid.org.uk/information_resources/factsheets/your_area/factsheets_leaflets/

For other deaf organisations and information related to deaf issues link to www.deafclub.co.uk which is the biggest national deaf website search engine.