Travel
You want to study abroad, but do you want to spend holidays abroad? Do you want to fly to a new country at the beginning of the first semester and fly home the day after graduation? Do you want your family at graduation? Do you want to go wherever you want in your new country? Do you want to have all the freedoms that come with being a college student? Do you want the comfort of sleeping on your own sheets next to your own lamp?
CollegeAbroad.com is here to help.
Getting There
There are a couple options for getting to your destination, and then moving back and forth from it to your home country.
Flying
Flying is the most obvious form of transportation. If you are going to another part of the world, the simplest, quickest way is to fly. Of course, depending on the country, this can become expensive, and with layovers, it can be cumbersome. But it's still the quickest (unless you are studying in Canada or Mexico, and live in a neighboring state, then you can just drive over the border).
If you plan on returning to the states for holidays or long vacations, we suggest joining a frequent flyer club or buying a set of tickets long in advance. This will save you vast quantities of money and will relieve you of stress. Web Flyer is a great resource for discounted flights and racking up lots of miles to make multiple trips overseas and back affordable: www.webflyer.com.
Driving
That's right, just drive right over the water. It's a little known fact that a few years ago, the American government created massive bridges stretching from its borders to those of other countries. You can drive from California to France in just two weeks.
Okay, that isn't true, but you can still bring your car overseas, so that you'll have a means for getting around in your new home. www.shipmyvehicle.com is a website dedicated to shipping automobiles and motorcycles to other countries, and you can travel with your car on the boat or freighter. You just have to make sure your new country will let you drive your American car (each individual country has specific inspection requirements, and we'll get into driver's licenses later) once you're there.
Moving all your stuff - When you go to college in the states, you typically shove all of your belongings into the back of a car or two and then unload them when you get to campus. This can't happen when you are attending college in another country. Therefore, you have to make the tough decision of just how much stuff you want to bring with you.
If you want familiar furnishings in your new dorm or townhouse (see NEED LINK for information on finding housing), you can have it shipped via www.shipmystuff.com, or you can try to carry it in suitcases, or have your family ship it. For something like comforters and pillowcases, the better bet might just be to buy new ones in your new country.
The same holds true for wardrobe. While you obviously can't replace your entire wardrobe, you also can't bring four seasons of four year's worth of clothes. You might be able to bring warm clothes on your way to school the first time, and cold clothes on your way the second (assuming you come home between semesters or years), and then bring them home in a similar fashion, but that would make for some heavy suitcases. You can also use www.shipmystuff.com, but it will probably prove too expensive for just clothes (unless you're a Paris Hilton type and just have to have all forty pairs of Gucci sunglasses).
The outcome, then, is that it is really a judgment call. Do you want to have your dresser and desk shipped, so you can use those familiar furnishings in your unfamiliar new setting? Do you need all your clothes? Can you sleep on a different pillow? You make the call. There are plenty of options for whatever you decide.
Getting Around While There
You have made it to your new country, but now you need to get around. Most foreign countries have bustling metropolises with amazing subway systems that can get you anywhere you need to go for low cost (Paris and Tokyo have the metro, London has the tube, etc.), but if you are studying off the beaten track, there may not be many options for public transportation. For this reason, CollegeAbroad.com offers some alternatives:
Driving Part 2
Once you've gotten your vehicle overseas, you will need to make sure you are legally able to drive it. The National Transportation Library offers information on how to obtain an international driver's license at ntl.bts.gov. But please, keep in mind that in some countries, people drive on the other side of the road.
If you didn't have your car shipped, but you still want to drive, and you are of age, there is always the option of renting a car. Most of the big rental companies (Thrifty, Hertz, etc.) allow you to make arraignments in the states and pick up the car overseas. Cellular Abroad offers useful advice on renting cars in one of sixteen popular countries at www.cellularabroad.com, and Kiplinger's Magazine has an article on protecting yourself when renting a car: www.findarticles.com.
Public Transportation
While there may not be a powerful subway system where you are studying, there might be a nice alternative. Buses, for instance, or maybe ferries. Read up on your country and see what options are available.
Cabs
Yes, cabs exist overseas, and while it will be very expensive to always use them, they are an effective means of getting around.
If you have used other transportation methods (horse and buggy, rocket powered rollerblades, Segue) successfully, then please let us know at our contact page.