Your First Week at NextWave: How to Settle Into Life in Curaçao

Move-in day is intentionally simple. You’ll get your keys, see the house, connect to Wi-Fi, and get familiar with your new surroundings.

Most students don't try to do everything on the first day. After a flight, unpacking the essentials, taking a swim, or grabbing dinner is usually enough. The rest can wait until tomorrow.

And if something feels confusing, there’s always someone around to point you in the right direction.

This is often when the house starts to feel less like accommodation and more like home.

Shared kitchens naturally become gathering spots, and the house group chat makes it easy to figure out what everyone is doing. Dinner plans tend to happen casually. A beach trip gets mentioned. Someone needs groceries. Before long, you're joining in.

You don't have to force friendships here. Living with other students means conversations happen naturally, usually while someone is making coffee or deciding what to cook.

By the middle of the week, you'll probably know where to buy groceries, grab coffee, and handle the practical parts of daily life.

We'll show you the nearby supermarket for quick trips and point you toward better options for bigger weekly shops. Once students have access to a rental car, grocery runs often turn into a group activity — easier, cheaper, and a little more social.

This is also when many students sort out a local SIM and start getting comfortable navigating the island on their own.

For most people, the first weekend includes at least one beach day.

Curaçao makes that part easy. Kenepa, Cas Abao, and Playa Lagun are popular first choices, especially when you're still discovering which beaches match your vibe.

Usually, plans come together without much effort. Someone wants to go, there’s room in the car, and suddenly half the house is packing towels and snacks.

A week can change a lot. You might already have a favorite coffee spot, know which beach you want to revisit, and have a rough idea of how your week will look. Maybe you've started swimming in the morning or cooking dinner with the same few people.

You're still new, of course. But you're no longer arriving.

That's one of the best parts of starting life at NextWave in Curaçao: settling in doesn't have to feel like a project. You unpack, meet people, explore a little, and let the routine build itself.

By the end of your first week, you may not know the whole island yet — but you'll probably feel like you actually live here.