<p>This forum is such a low posting one but I thought I might start a thread about what to pack for a semester or year abroad for college students. My son is going to the UK in the fall. He's a procrasinator and will probably pack the night before he goes. Son pretty much lives in t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and jeans so that will be one suitcase, along with toiletries. Laptop will be part of carry-on. </p>
<p>He's a rising junior so has all the dorm accessories but can't take them all (especially the tv and two chairs) across the ocean. What are some MUST HAVE items that would be expensive/hard to get in the UK that he should bring?</p>
<p>there are many lists online for study abroad packing, and most programs will provide you with at least a list of basic stuff specific to that program. Did your son not get a list from his school/program?</p>
<p>Umm, thanks for your helpful post and links.</p>
<p>I would not have posted if he had gotten a list. We're waiting for the official paperwork. For whatever reason, all he's gotten so far is an e-mail from the advisor at his school congratulating him on getting the abroad. </p>
<p>I just googled study abroad packing lists. Many of them seem geared to traveling abroad, not especially staying and studying in dorms. This one however, Suggested</a> Packing List has some good ideas.</p>
<p>I was kind of hoping that someone would post that has done an abroad and would be able to suggest particular items that you wouldn't want to be without or would be hard to get in the UK.</p>
<p>It's not an issue of not being able to get stuff in the UK, mostly you can get everything, even if it's not the same brand (or try ASDA supermarkets. they are cheap and owned by WalMart so they often have American stuff, eg US chocolate which Europeans hate), unless you are going backpacking alone in the Scottish highlands for 6 months or something. The problem is almost anything you will buy in the UK will be a LOT more expensive. So don't buy clothes, or shoes especially. </p>
<p>Medicines - most medicines you can get in the US exists in the UK (a few are illegal though!), but they have completely different names. Americans are particularly fond of using brand names for everything, rather than the name of the actual drug. Find out the generic name of anything you need. But better still just take along as much as you need from home. Do google it first though, just to make sure it's ok to take through customs. </p>
<p>Shorts - Europeans don't really wear them unless they are under the age of 12 or on the beach when it's very hot. This is the badge of the American tourist (shorts and flip-flops in winter are the badge of the Australian or South African tourist). No-one will be offended if your son does wear shorts, unless in church, but he will stand out. Ditto bright white sneakers than have obviously never been used for sport. Actually any really bright colours will stand out from a crowd. Subtle tends to be the way to go. </p>
<p>Umbrella - buy on arrival.</p>
<p>Thanks cupcake, that's exactly my point, we can't afford to buy everything over again once he's there. After all, we/he have already bought duplicates of lots of his things for his college here in the states so we would ideally like him to haul just what he needs there so he can use his money for traveling.</p>
<p>Son tends to wear his converse sneakers everywhere, they were never white. Thanks for the reminder about shorts. It was funny but when we were in China and it was 80 degrees we still saw lots of people in long sleeve shirts and even pants. I will mention that.</p>
<p>I beg to differ about the shorts thing. It kind of depends. I've seen many young people in Europe wear them, although they do look different from the typical shorts Americans wear. Definitely no jeans shorts (those are hideous anyway) and white athletic socks stick out as well. However, since he will be in the UK in the fall anyway, he isn't likely to need shorts anyway since it will not be hot after August.
Anyway, it is early (I'm assuming your son probably isn't leaving til Sept. since that's when school usually starts in the UK) so most likely he will be getting alot more paperwork about the trip that's bound to include a packing list. I agree that the emerson packing list is a great asset.
The typical advice is the make sure you have all your important paperwork, don't take too many bags or put too much in one bag (one checked bag+ one carry-on and a laptop bag/messenger bag/purse is all you need). Pack everything you think you'll need, then take half of it out.</p>
<p>I think that the one checked bag sounds a little too minimal for three months, especially since we're talking winter weather. AUlostchick, I really appreciate you trying to help, especially since no one else is, but we're not inexperienced travelers.</p>
<p>I am just looking for specific hints about what is worth son's luggage space. Have you done a study abroad and if so, was there anything from home that you were really glad you brought?</p>
<p>It's different for me because I'm a girl. I couldn't live without some things like a hair dryer or push-up bras, but I'm sure your son is pretty low maintenance, as most guys are. Assuming he will have access to a laundry facility, he won't really need that much clothing. I'd just take as much socks and underwear as possible, for obvious reasons. For bulky things, like a coat, I'd recommend those space saver bags. Additionally, he might be able to wear some of the thicker items on the plane (jacket, etc) if it's cool enough when he leaves. Most study abroad programs, whether they are for a month or a semester or a year, recommend that you take the least amount of clothing you can get by with. I'm just reiterating what my program told me.</p>
<p>Okay, I'll try again. Not worried about clothes. Son lives in t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts. He's a minimalist anyway. He'll pack that stuff. Will probably wear his coat on the plane even if it looks weird, just to save space. NOT WORRIED ABOUT CLOTHES. :)</p>
<p>Here's an example of what info would be helpful. My daughter is living in China. Before we left we found out that it's very difficult to get tampons and deodorant in China, so she stocked up on them. That was an excellent tip and saved us considerable money on shipping. I've spent too much money sending her some homemade cookies and mexican food, which she misses. A friend who did a study abroad in England really missed peanut butter so my daughter took some over for him when she went to visit. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. </p>
<p>For anyone coming to the US from Europe, you can pack very minimally for basics because you can always, always get things on sale, probably cheaper here then you can at home.</p>
<p>For anyone that lives in the US and done a study abroad in England, what kind of things were you glad you packed or wished you would have taken with you?</p>
<p>I don't know about the UK, but my daughter is in Australia this semester, and she asked us to mail her fabric softener (Bounce) because it was no where to be found. Also, apparently chewing gum is more expensive there too...</p>
<p>other than that, it was just clothes and towels (using "space bags" to help squeeze everything in). While there, she bought a small refrig.</p>
<p>p.s. she left with deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, Dial soap, and we've also mailed deodorant</p>
<p>For gawds sake - you can get peanut butter in the UK (and in other European countries, New Zealand and Australia). I really like it and I have some in my cupboard. American students always bring suitcases over of the stuff. It's not the exact same brand as you can buy in the US, but it exists in every large supermarket in the UK. Just ask for it. It's in the jam aisle next to Marmite. The most common type is called Sun Pat, and there are also supermarket own brands.</p>
<p>Big UK supermarkets for price comparison</p>
<p>Online</a> Grocery Shopping & Delivery Service - Tesco.com
The</a> home of Sainsbury's online - Try something new today
<a href="http://www.asda.co.uk%5B/url%5D">www.asda.co.uk</a></p>
<p>I think you have to register to look at the gorceries, but registration is free and you can always cancel it afterwards. Online gocery shopping is extremely common in the UK. Everyone does it.</p>
<p>Tylenol/Motrin
Voltage converter
Burt's Bees (my S & D can't live without)
raincoat</p>
<p>Kathie, we lived in the UK for 2 1/2 years. I always tell people if you have a brand of something you can't live without, buy enough before you go. Yes you can get peanut butter but it tastes different (sorry cupcake). Also when we were there you could only get pain relievers in packages of 10. </p>
<p>Definitely take some type of rain gear as it rains quite a bit. I remember friends having a hard time getting contact lens solution. With the pound close to 2-1 with the dollar, I would even consider taking supplies whether they're available in the UK or not - but I guess it would depend on his storage capacity.</p>
<p>I hope he enjoys his time there. We LOVED it and would return in a heartbeat - but I guess it's different on an expat package. Hope he can travel and enjoy that part of the world while he's there.</p>
<p>Thanks all. This raincoat thing keeps coming up so I'll make sure that goes in the bag. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately), the peanut butter complaint is not his - son doesn't even like pb. I was excited to find that there's a UK branch of amazon.com so I can send him an emergency case of kraft mac 'n cheese if I feel he's wasting away.</p>
<p>It's been awhile since I really studied the European continent map. I mean, I've been to the Mediterranean but just on cruise, and then just the coast. Anyway, all of the countries look so close together. I hope he can really travel on the weekends.</p>
<p>You need budget airlines</p>
<p>Ryanair.com</a> - Book your cheap flight, hotels, car rental with ryanair.com
easyJet.com</a> - book cheap flights, hotels and car hire online
Flybe</a> - Cheap flights & budget flights</p>
<p>These are the most common ones in the UK but there are others. It's nearly always cheaper to fly from a small regional airport to another (rather than use the bigger international airports Heathrow, Gatwick etc) but bear in mind this may require additional travelling time at the other end (Ryan Air was famously once sued for false advertising because their flight to Copenhagen actually went to Malmo, which is in Sweden not Denmark, and the passengers then had to make their own way to Copenhagen over the bridge). People in UK like Spain, Ireland and Prague very much so these are the places where the cheapest flights are heading. Note that the advertised flight prices do not include tax, but this will be added on payment. Sometimes they have "1p flight sales". That would be 1p plus £11-ish in tax. But even bearing in mind these issues, these airlines are good value.</p>
<p>I don't think amazon.co.uk does food. It doesn't have exactly the same products as amazon.com.</p>
<p>Thanks for those links cupcake, I'll pass them on to my son. I actually just booked his flight last night through STA travel Cheap</a> student airfare deals, hotels, travel | STA TRAVEL | Home A co-worker had mentioned that she used them when her daughter did an abroad this past semester because they have a great policy on changing tickets without charging an arm and a leg. The only downside is that he will have to take a train from London to Norwich instead of flying right to Norwich.</p>
<p>You are right about the food on amazon.uk. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>I think Norwich airport is the kind of place often described as "a shed on a runway". You can only fly to/from the US from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester or Glasgow as far as I know. Possibly Newcastle as well. There are lots of UK airports but most of them are tiny and don't fly outside of Europe. My parents used to live in Australia.......... (and I also used STA a lot back then).</p>
<p>Get used to using trains because everyone does. Purchase a 16-25 railcard and get 1/3 off.
16-25</a> Railcard - Make Epic Savings on rail fares</p>
<p>Actually, the option I was looking at was Newark NJ to Amsterdam to Norwich, but I think it was a 13 hour flight compared to a less then 8 hour flight from Philadelphia to London. </p>
<p>I love trains. Hope son does too! Thanks for the link. I've got all these links bookmarked for son now, hope he appreciates my research! I did find a bus shuttle that goes directly from his gate to UEA so will try to set that up.</p>
<p>Kathie here's another great webpage with discount airlines all over Europe:</p>
<p>Budget</a> Airlines / No-Frills Airlines - Low Cost Flights to Europe</p>