<p>I just got admission and financial support to go to UCSD. I did undergrad in Australia and have no idea about living expense in America. Will it be expensive living in San Diego? How much roughly would you spend in a month given that you're pretty thrift? Thanks for any ideas</p>
<p>My actual spending from Jan 2009 to Dec 2009 while attending UCSD, in US dollars:</p>
<p>Housing: 3900
Food: 2400
Utilities: 500</p>
<p>I also spent money on taxes, entertainment, charity, grad school apps, but those were more discretionary.</p>
<p>geez Slorg, where’d you manage to find a $325/mo rent? I lived in La Regencia for three years and even there it was $400 to share a room.</p>
<p>I would suggest you check out craigslist.org to get an idea of what housing costs down in San Diego (particularly La Jolla). I grew up in Southern California and since lived in about half a dozen other major cities across the US. It is by far one of the most expensive places to live… from the cost of gas, housing, utilities, groceries, movie tickets, ect… things just cost a bit more down there. </p>
<p>Also check out an international cost of living calculator… it can at least give you an estimate on the differential cost of living from your home city in Australia to San Diego.</p>
<p>Jesus Slorg, $3900 is a real steal for the whole year anywhere.</p>
<p>I was thinking the same thing… maybe he forgot a zero or shared a room in a house full of students??? I remember my share of rent for the house I rented in undergrad was about $350 a month and it was a DUMP (and it was also not in California or a city with a high cost of living).</p>
<p>actually, UCSD has a decent amount of grad housing (ranging from heavily-subsidized like Mesa or not-so-subsidized that are close to market value). but there are also a number of colorful neighborhoods where students (both undergrad and grad alike) choose to live, like hillcrest and pacific beach. while those are somewhat farther from campus, there’s a lot more to see and do than in la jolla.</p>
<p>and if you’re intent on living as close to campus as possible, there is a wealth of housing around the area (where else do you plan to house ~15,000 undergrads?) that’s really not that expensive. craiglist is an option, or UCSD’s off-campus housing listings. when i went looking for housing, we just strolled around the complexes, wandered into their leasing offices, and asked what they had to offer. pretty simple stuff, and we wound up staying for three years.</p>
<p>(i will now complain that in my current city, SUBSIDIZED one-bedroom apartments are $1500/mo. and they’re tiny. no view. no beach. sucky weather. and sometimes vermin. but hey, it’s NYC.)</p>
<p>My rent was cheap because we packed 7 people into a three bedroom apartment. Even our walk-in closet was inhabited. :)</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Even in Australia you wouldn’t be able to rent a room as cheap as slorg’s.</p>
<p>I assume I can pack $800 into a month. Just like to save up for my musical stuff.</p>