<p>Hi, :)
I was wondering, is $2000 - $2400 per month sufficient for me to survive, or any other term, at Rice University/Houston/Texas?
This amount is not affected by the tuition fees or any other compulsory fees, as I have them settled.
I just need a clear sense of comprehension on the value of the currency as used locally there.</p>
<p>I mean, how much do one usually spend per day in US? How much do you spend?
How much more expensive is <em>living</em> at Rice/Houston as compared to any other parts of Texas?
I need a clearer, and more human response to this rather than the heaps of statistical data that are often the minimum (provided I take the cheapest food per day per 4 years), or too generous ("plus a Ferrari to go around Houston with ease").</p>
<p>@joanlawson Just to be clear, this does or does not include the cost of housing/campus meal plans? I will assume it doesn’t include those since you can find those costs easily. </p>
<p>I do a lot of late-night snacking, I don’t often buy clothing on shopping trips, and I occasionally do something fun like go to a concert, and my monthly expenses besides housing and the campus meal plan and other school costs averages about $200-300. Anyone living on campus has a meal plan that includes every major meal except for dinner on Saturday night, and that will run you between $10 and $25 if you go out with your friends. Depends on your appetite and what kind of restaurant you eat at on any given night. I use Zipcar if I need to get somewhere far, which costs $25 per year and then about $8 per hour you are renting the car. However, I don’t often use it because Rice provides free Saturday morning grocery shopping shuttles, Saturday night shuttles into Rice Village (an area right off campus with clothing stores and restaurants), and they let you ride the light rail and city bus for free. The light rail can take you to a lot of different restaurants. </p>
<p>Houston is a reasonably affordable place to live. Texas in general is known for its low cost of living compared to employment opportunities. Does that give you a good enough idea, or were you wondering more about the costs of specific grocery items compared to other countries? If you have any other questions feel free to ask! </p>
<p>OP, your original estimate sounds a little high. My daughter is at Rice, so I have some idea about the expenses. Let’s assume the following are already covered:
Tuition and fees
Meal plan
books
no car</p>
<p>That leave’s you with these expenses:</p>
<p>Dinner once a week, because the serveries are closed Saturday evening. You can take the free university bus to Rice Village for dinner. Look at the restaurants at <a href=“Rice Village Restaurants”>http://www.ricevillageonline.com/dining.php</a>, and then look up the restaurant websites for menus to get an idea about how much dinner will cost. Assuming no alcohol, you can probably get dinner for under $20.</p>
<p>You can go to Target for shopping on Saturday mornings on the free university bus. Target stores have all your bathroom items, snacks, basic clothes, etc. Look at <a href=“http://www.target.com”>www.target.com</a> if you want to know what it costs to buy anything at Target.</p>
<p>Expenses for my daughter are around $400/month, including some inexpensive clothes at the Galleria once in a while.</p>
<p>200-300 is more than sufficient IMO to live comfortably if you are not paying for tuition, meals or books. Saturday night dinners, late night snacks, coffee runs, basic necessities are your major expenses.</p>
<p>If you need to rent housing, and you have roommates, say $750 a month for housing and assorted bills. $400 a month for food, etc. Transportation… well, both my kids lived offcampus some of the time, but close enough that they walked or rode their bikes, so transportation costs were negligible. I would think that a frugal person could get by on $1400 a month. Lots of free stuff to do on and around campus, and medical care already covered.</p>
<p>@SoCalDad2, thanks! I checked that out! But I’d rather hear and learn from experiences than just the official guide. @jfking01, thank you so much! Yes, I’ve settled the housing plan and the meal plan in my expenditure list! Glad to know that my remaining expenses allow me to “live like royalty” @ScienceGirlMom, thanks a lot! I am clueless about the convenience stores in the US… Target, huh? I’ll look into it. Thanks again. @Antarius, thanks for the confirmation! @anxiousmom, thanks! I’ll be staying on-campus maybe for about the first year… Hv to find myself some friends first, and a little getting used to around Houston, then hopefully off-campus for the next year onwards. Not really a solid plan but never really been abroad to the US so I’m a little clueless about the housing and contracts and all that… @barrk123, thanks too for the confirmation! And yes, I’ve a different expenditure plan for books and necessary instruments.</p>
).</p>
But I’d rather hear and learn from experiences than just the official guide.
