Save Money When You Study Abroad

It's not that I don't care. Really, I wish you only the best. It's just that I have more important things to worry about. So, altruistic though it may be, I wrote this article for money. I'm not proud of that. In fact, I hate it, almost as much as much as I hate the two part-time, low-wage, name-tagged, shirt-tucked retail jobs I'm working this summer. Studying abroad doesn't mean you have to stockpile cash, but choosing to study abroad like I did just might. So read my article, excuse my poorly concealed bitterness, and learn how simply shifting your focus to a different destination city could make all the difference in your study abroad experience's financial demands.

All college students possess an innate kind of economics - the going rate for solo cups, the satisfactory girl to guy ratio at a party, the percentage of relevant words on a powerpoint slide, but when it comes to studying abroad, it pays to engage in economics that are a little more conventional. Exchange rates, import and export rates, the availability of housing, government policies, all of these things combine to give every city in the world a slightly different "Cost of Living," a comparative measure of how much X amount of dollars can buy you on average in a particular place. For example, an unfurnished, 3-room, medium-quality apartment in Amsterdam would have cost you about $1,750 (USD) a month in 2003. In Barcelona, you could get the same thing for roughly a third of the price. I'm going to London, where our fictional apartment would cost about $3,530. In fact, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting's 2007/2008 Cost of Living Survey, I will be going to the world's second most expensive city to live in, cheaper only than Moscow (a difference the plenitude of vodka in Russia would no doubt have mitigated anyway. I've never been, but I imagine you can find the stuff in small fountains outside of restrooms).

Now, you may be thinking, "If I really have my heart set on Paris, isn't it worth a little extra money?" To which I would answer, "Absolutely." The point here is only to keep your options open. Love Paris? Peak at Prague, the "Paris of the East." Anglophiles might consider Birmingham instead of London, a full 60 spots lower on Mercer's 2006/2007 list (which was published in more detail than the 2007/2008 list). Want Portuguese immersion? Financially speaking, Ascunsion beats the heck out of Sao Paolo. If it's Communism you crave, you can better spend that money you should be ashamed you've earned in Tianjin than Shanghai.

You may be noticing a pattern here, that less popular and mainstream means less expensive, and, you're right to an extent. Urban areas tend to be expensive than suburban or rural areas, and strong economies drive up the cost of goods. The 2006/2007 list has its fair-share of cosmopolitan bargains, though: Berlin, Mexico City, Brisbane, and Buenos Aires, and Bogota all come in surprisingly low. Just remember to keep your sense of adventure. Much like a car, the reliable option is quite often the expensive option, and, while no one's suggesting you spring for the Pinto of study abroad experiences (Mercer apparently didn't survey any Iraqi cities), taking risks and walking away from the security blanket of normal American college life is part of what the whole experience is about, isn't it? Honestly, laziness and complacency were what led to my financial infeasible London decision.

There are other ways to save money while studying abroad, of course. Scour your school's study abroad office for scholarships; search the Internet even more thoroughly. Programs tend to reward seriousness on your part, too. Trips that include volunteering, particularly long stays, or focused research often come up much cheaper than more recreational jaunts. I'm still looking forward to my trip, of course, and I'll write more to help fund it, of course. That's all for now though - I've got an appointment at the sperm bank in a few minutes . London, here I come!

Sources:
"Global/World Cost of Living Rankings 2007/2008," FinFacts.com, URL: (http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm)

"Global/World Cost of Living Rankings 2006/2007," FinFacts.com, URL: (http://www.finfacts.com/costofliving2006.htm).

UBS, "Prices and Earnings. A comparison of purchasing power around the globe." (Switzerland-4you.com, URL: http://www.switzerland-4you.com/pdf/apartment_rental_price.pdf)