<p>My son will be studying in London in the spring this year. I know the exchange rate is not favorable, and that London is terribly expensive. He has nearly $10,000 saved up with ~$4000 left to pay for tuition, costs, etc. He is also living off campus next year and will be paying $450/month in rent a few weeks after he gets back. He has wanted to do this his entire life and would like to travel while abroad. Will he have enough $$? How much should I help?</p>
<p>And any basic tips/ideas for budgeting, packing, supplies, etc?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>There is not nearly enough information in your post to make a determination if he has enough. My daughter studied in Oxford for a semester and went through about $250 a week on travel, incidentals, etc. Does your son’s program include is room and board? With the $6000 he will have left, what is he expected to pay for? His rent all next year and his incidentals in London? As for basic tips, have him leave all his bathroom stuff behind and just pop into a Buckles (like a CVS) when he arrives and purchase what he needs. No need to lug it across the pond. My daughter was responsible for her own bedding, but took bedding she had used at camp during the summers pre-college and then just left it there so she had room for the things she bought in England.</p>
<p>S was able to get through 17 days of traveling about and a semester in London with 50-lbs in one suitcase and his backpack (probably nearly as many lbs, lol). Whittle down the luggage. He spent a lot of money, so I don’t even want to think about that! Also, we used the phone app VIBER for a lot of the texts and calls. It works if your phone is in reach of a wifi access. Take converters for the power cords. You can get what you need at Radio Shack if you ask there. </p>
<p>@collegeshopping - I think you mean “Boots”, which is our biggest pharmacy chain. Yes, exchange rates are not great right now. When I compare costs, I usually find that prices are roughly equal, dollars to pounds, eg. a can of Coke in the US might be $1.25, here it would be £1.25 (or about $2.00). Rents in London are about like NYC. Taxis are expensive (I just paid £8 to go 1 1/2 miles.), as are the tubes (about £20 a week). Long-distance travel is relatively inexpensive - Ryanair and Easyjet fly to most European destinations for less than £100 round-trip. </p>
<p>I would think that £150 (about $250) a week might be reasonable for food, transport, entertainment and occasional weekend travel. </p>