Insight on Living Abroad

[Darth SS]

H'okay, so here's the skinny.

I am entering the fifth year of my undergraduate degree. At the end of this year I will be (hopefully) graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics, with a Minor in Political Studies. My first year was the drink/party/shenanigans/bedroomshenanigans festival that had been advertised by the Hollywood portrayal of College life. And...that was actually a pretty good summation of my second year at University. Student Residence is wonderful for meeting people, not so wonderful for actually being studious. Resulting from this was me being forced to confront the precipitous fall of my academic standing and the realization that to succeed academically would require a genuine effort.

The last two years have featured in no small part a cessation of the philandering and smoking which made me feel emotionally and physically crappy, and an aggressive and radical curbing of drinking and partying. Simultaneously, I've improved my academic standing substantially. In the last couple months I've come to realize that an undergrad doesn't feel like enough, I want to learn more. Through busting my ass off, I've put myself in a position where pursuing a Master's of Economics is a legitimate and viable option. Thankfully, most of these programs are just one year long, so it's not like I'd be tossing away another four years.

Anyways, I've started compiling a list of schools I am planning on applying to, which takes me to the point of this whole thread.

University of Saskatchewan (where I am now, Saskatoon Saskatchewan)
University of Calgary (where I'm from, Calgary Alberta)
Memorial University (St John's, Newfoundland)
Western University (London, Ontario)
Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, Quebec)

University of Seattle (Seattle, Washington)

University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland)
University of Essex (Colchester, England)
University of Cambridge (Cambridge England)

So the bottom three are the big ones, and if I managed to defy the odds and somehow get accepted to Cambridge I would unflinchingly go there. But here's the rub I get when I consider uprooting and moving to the UK or to Seattle...

How much of a pain in the ass is it to live abroad? How do you scout for an apartment from that far? Would moving to the UK be that much of a culture shock? Do you get a one year cell phone plan? Is it a pain in the ass to have to continually convert between currencies? What do you do with your car back home?

Those of you who have moved between countries for any amount of time, please inform me; Was it a logistical nightmare? And would you do it again?

[Aerozord]

I didn't live a full year abroad, but I'll share what I learned

Originally Posted by Darth SS

How much of a pain in the ass is it to live abroad?

short answer, living is living. There are cultural differences and how that country handles it. Not sure about England but US, while you will run into close minded xenophobes our nation is so intermixed we are used to culture shock. Just watch out for the unwritten rules, tipping, where you should stand in a line, what kind of shirts inappropriate, that kind of stuff.

Originally Posted by Darth SS

How do you scout for an apartment from that far?

didn't do this myself but well you kind of have to trust whats in the ad is accurate. Could also ask for help from people in the area, like if there is someone you know in the area from say, on here. Can have them look for you

Originally Posted by Darth SS

Would moving to the UK be that much of a culture shock?

culture shock isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be. I studied in Japan and appreciated all the differences as a learning experience. Not likely for it to cause any serious issues.

Originally Posted by Darth SS

Do you get a one year cell phone plan?

your current phone will be worthless, so yea, short term contract or pre-pay is the way to go

Originally Posted by Darth SS

Is it a pain in the ass to have to continually convert between currencies?

Dont even try because it can change hourly. Set aside X amount of your currency each week or so and convert it into new currency. Then treat it as normal. You will quickly learn what are common prices for items there and adapt to the other currency.

Originally Posted by Darth SS

What do you do with your car back home?

there are storage places, otherwise you will have to have someone look after it for you.

Originally Posted by Darth SS

Those of you who have moved between countries for any amount of time, please inform me; Was it a logistical nightmare? And would you do it again?

I am glad I did it, and its not as bad as you'd think. Biggest issue I came across was language barrier but you dont have it. Do have back-up plans though for initial move and move back. For example my plane landed during a monsoon, so bus to the dorm was delayed, can see where problems will pop up.

Go with what times and methods work best for you, but remember the alternatives, you might end up using them.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I moved mathematically as far away from home as is possible to get without going to space huzzah.
The biggest issue is finding somewhere to live. If you're doing a postgraduate degree the university will generally have apartments you can stay in either and you can stay their either full time or until you find somewhere to live. Alternatively if you talk to your supervisor and his group they can usually find someone to put you up till you find something. You can search online and get a flat but that's not as nice. I know all the UK flat places if you need them.

I don't know if you'd need a visa for a 1 year visit but the british visa office is an absolute nightmare. Consider this- my parents are british citizens, I'm from the commonwealth who gets special priveledges, I had the required money, had a sponsor, had a job- still got rejected twice before getting it finalised.
But apart fromt he visa there is no real logistics- jump on a plane, blam you are done.

[CABAL49]

I arrive in Germany August 31st for my year abroad. First off, German websites suck. They just do.

But I was able to handle things like finding a place to live and most issues online. The biggest issue I have had so far are classes. My university wanted a list of what I am taking back in may, but Tuebingen didn't release their classes till, well now. So I had to make up some classes.

[pochercoaster]

Although I've never lived abroad, I just thought I'd mention many of my friends and acquaintances attend Western University and found it to be an enriching environment. The culture there is laid back yet studious, if that makes sense. Plus you're not too far from Toronto.

Regarding culture shock, I doubt it'd be too much of a problem. There are differences between the countries, but you speak the common language and the differences wouldn't be anything particularly momentous or insurmountable.

[Bobbey]

If I you're planning on going to University in Québec, you can prepare yourself for a small culture shock, with the French speaking and all. I don't know much about Bishop's, but Sherbrooke is a nice town, with a lot of anglophone speakers, less than in Montreal though. I almost went to Sherbrooke University for my own studies, but then I learned I was accepted at McGill, so I switched. Also, Montreal was a lot more eventful than Sherbrooke for me, at least music-wise.

For appartment scouting, there's always Kijiji.ca, or lespac.com, which is kind of Québec's Kijiji for adds. I know that's where I always go for appartment scouting myself in this province, and I've been satisfied everytime I found a new place. It's better to look for your own place than taking what the college recommends (which are usually dorms that cost over 1000$ a month and that are smaller than normal sized appartments; you can barely fit a bed in the room. I pay 400 a month and that includes heating, hot water, oven and fridge, and my own personal, quiet place. A dorm would only be parties all the time, but you know that.)

I haven't moved out of the country per say, but just doing that switch from rural living to living in a big city was a great experience in itself, and I'm sure that if you do the same, you'll be glad you did it.

[Darth SS]

Originally Posted by Smarty McBarrelpants

I don't know if you'd need a visa for a 1 year visit but the british visa office is an absolute nightmare.

Well shit I need to look into that. How far in advance would you suggest applying? Bearing in mind that acceptance letters would only go out sometime in February, and with the joys of international post I would get it right at the end of february. I suspect I would, given that two of my friends who were there for 4 months for an astrophysics research project had to get visas.

The biggest issue is finding somewhere to live. If you're doing a postgraduate degree the university will generally have apartments you can stay in either and you can stay their either full time or until you find somewhere to live.

Yeah, I figured that would be "the big one," to deal with. I'm fundamentally not okay with the idea of renting something that I haven't had a chance to inspect in person. At the same time though, one year, I can't really bring that much across, so having a tiny bachelor suite in downtown _______ would likely be totally acceptable.

your current phone will be worthless, so yea, short term contract or pre-pay is the way to go

So just suck it up and accept that I'm going to have to get a one year contract? Okay, I can do that.

If I you're planning on going to University in Québec, you can prepare yourself for a small culture shock, with the French speaking and all.

That won't be an issue, I'm bilingual. Got the little paper from the government and everything. (Side note: I've lived my whole life in southern alberta and saskatchewan. You should see the looks on Francophones faces when they try to talk shit in their native tongue, only to have this western guy cut them off and tell them to go fuck themselves.)

[rpgdemon]

You can get a Tracfone, or similar, that doesn't require a contract, and pay for a certain number of minutes, and just buy more when you need them.

[Magus]

Most cellphone providers due to the recession are offering pretty low cost monthly plans without contracts, I believe. Like 20 dollars for 250 minutes, for Verizon. Tracfone I think offers 9.99 but I think you get even less minutes.

Personally I hardly use my Tracfone so I just buy 60 minutes every three months, which costs 20 dollars so it's really a horrible deal per minute but I seriously never use the thing. I was looking into getting a monthly plan, though.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Re visa: As early as possible. You want at least a couple of months. The problem is that usualy you need university acceptance first- in this case if you press the university and expain to them the circumstances they can get it through to you.
Re places to live: Really try and get temporary accomodation while you look, either ask your department/university or even stay in a hostel if necessary.
Re cellphone: The key thing to remember is you will have a lot less need of a phone overseas- you will have less friends and the friends you have wil be les diverse- at home you have friends and famiy in all kinds of groups and all over the place, working for a year in a place your friends are pretty much going to be in uni/in your accomodation. At home I am always on my phone all the time but while I'm living overseas I barely use it at all. I recommend just get a cheap at fuck prepay. I have like a £5 phon that keeps me going.

The absolute biggest rule before moving overseas before i forget- make copies of your passport/visa/credit cards and leave one copy at home with your folks and take one copy with you. Will be very helpful if you ever lose anything.