Living in the U.s.: includes accommodation, furnishings, clothing and food
Please note information supplied on this page is for the benefit of Fulbright Scholars travelling to the U.S., to assist with travel preparations and also to support Scholars in their transition to life in the U.S. Please note: the information has been extracted from recent Fulbright Scholar Final Reports and is not necessarily the views or recommendations of the Fulbright Commission.
| Ensure you know what weather you host city is likely to have, enabling you to find suitable accommodation with heating or air conditioning as required. |
I would encourage scholars to sign up for mailing lists with estate agents and bulletin boards (e.g. “Craigslist”) in your destination city. 2006 Senior Scholar Note: Craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events - http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html |
| Our landlord was happy to use the PayPal system for rental payments (this is an offshoot of E-bay that allows international monetary transactions) – it was safe and reliable in my experience. You need to set up a user name and password, and also establish various security measures using your Australian banking details. While it can be set up after you leave home, it is easier to do in Australia because one of the security steps involves PayPal mailing a security code to your home address to confirm your identity. 2006 Senior Scholar |
| The accommodation provided through the housing department of the University of Illinois is very basic, but it is clean and affordable with good central heating and hot water. Given that it can get below negative 20 degrees this is important. Only having a short visit (4 months), staying at Orchard Down apartments appeared to be the best option; given that many of the privately run accommodation services only take yearly leases. 2006 Professional Scholar |
| Food is brilliant in America as long as you stay away from the deep-fried high-fat end of things. The range of available food, fresh produce and international products is just amazing. If you are careful, you can eat well at home, and take advantage of university discounts at certain restaurants and cafes that might be available to students. Also, a lot of university towns have good food co-ops, where you can become a member and benefit from cheaper, bulk local produce. 2006 Postdoctoral Scholar |
| I might also recommend getting to know the area before finding a place to live – stay in a hostel and scope out the city/town, ask locals where are the good places to live, go to local bookshops which often have community/rentals notices, check on public transport availability, whether shops are within walking distance etc. 2006 Postdoctoral Scholar |
| America has tons of cheap places to shop, so you’re better off buying things here instead of bringing them. I got my whole placed minimally furnished for $200. Craigslist is your friend. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| I applied to an on-campus graduate apartment complex (La Aldea) as soon as I found out that I was accepted to study at Arizona. I was very happy with the accommodation, a four bedroom apartment, with an ensuite for each bedroom. The apartment is fully furnished except, strangely enough, for a study desk and chair! I was told that the price was a little high for Tucson, but it was very convenient for classes and I didn’t mind the price (living is very cheap in Tucson anyway – much cheaper than Sydney, even with the exchange rate). 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| One issue I initially had problems with was that my Australian licence was not accepted for ID in bars and restaurants. I did not find this issue elsewhere in the US, but Tucson is a big university town so the checks on ID are very tight – even if you are well over 21! I did not have a car so I decided against sitting the drivers licence test, but the Motor Vehicle Department offered a proof of age (Arizona ID) card which I found useful on many occasions, including proving ID for credit card purchases. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| At UCSD, it is best to try and get into the Graduate student housing, which is the cheapest rent in La Jolla. La Jolla is an expensive place to live and if you do not have graduate student housing budget at least $700 p/m on rent. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| I reduced my airfare costs significantly by arranging my itinerary around major transportation hubs – my international flight from Australia was to New York City. I bought my flight to Syracuse as a separate domestic leg over the internet. This had disadvantages, in that my luggage was not checked through and I had to stay overnight in NYC to ensure that my connection would be made, but it was several hundred dollars cheaper than booking the Syracuse leg in through an Australian travel agent. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Car rental is quite cheap – it was much cheaper for us to rent a car when we really needed one than to buy (and insure) our own. Rental car insurance is expensive, but many American credit cards include rental car insurance. Washington DC and other cities also have ‘flexcar’ and ‘zipcar’ which allows you to book cars for a few hours with quite cheap rates that include insurance and fuel. Australian drivers need a copy of their clean Australian driving record from their state RTA to become a member. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| I had a medical issue and this is something you really need to be aware of. It is very different to our system and thus can feel hard to navigate and can be a very long, frustrating and costly exercise. I suggest really reading all the information on line and once in your area check in advance of an emergency where the hospitals are and who your PROVIDERS are. The system here only allows you to see certain people in your plan. If you go outside these providers it will cost you more. Through the Fulbright we have what’s called a PPO provider, this is better than a HMO. You need to understand a whole different language to navigate this. MAKE sure you have extra insurance and if possible take any medications with you as they cost a lot here. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Yard sales are a great way to get cheap good furniture, much cheaper than a furnished place, and easy to sell at the end. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Austin is a city comparable with Adelaide and all services are available, usually at a reasonable cost. Get your social security number sorted out ASAP and if you have anyway of establishing a US credit rating and/or bringing past landlord references and anything else that confirms your creditworthiness, this might help with renting a place, getting a phone plan, etc. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Housing on campus does make life easier and allows you to integrate into student life easier and more effectively. However, in the instance that this is not available (or does meet expectations as in my case) shared housing is an economical alternative. Such accommodation is typically affordable on the stipend and when located near the host institution minimizes transport costs. In my case I lived 10 minutes from my host institution and traveled this each day on a bicycle which I found effective and economical. These shared housing options are also usually furnished with simple items being able to be purchased for minimal cost. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Money can be saved at a university by living off campus, but often the convenience and location of on-campus accommodation outweighs any small savings. Housing in a big city like Boston is expensive, and competition for good places is high - start looking for an apartment at least a month in advance. Expect to pay over $100 extra in utilities for heating in winter. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| sub-lease a room when you arrive on campus or find a decent apartment well before the semester begins. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| My apartment came what they call “furnished” but I still had to buy a TV, DVD, VCR, pots, pans, cutlery, plates, cups, kitchen utensils, bathroom stuff, bedding etc. It cost me about US$1000 to set myself up fully and then a further US$1500 for a good laptop. 2006 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Food: cheap – but beware! Do not expect the same quality control like in Australia, e.g. beef typically is grown with hormones (go organic – tastes much better), injected chicken. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Fresh, good quality food was often quite expensive although nearly all of the supermarkets have loyalty schemes with large (10-20%) discounts. World Market stores (in most cities) sell Tim Tams, Cadbury chocolate bars, Darrel Lea licorice and sometimes vegemite. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| I purchased a bike ($100) and found this the best way to get around Cambridge. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| If future scholars rent off-campus, it would be a good idea if they could find someone in the city to look at the house for them, or make sure they had lots of photos of the house/apartment. Housing standards tend to be lower than in Australia, and photo on the internet can be deceiving. Also, agents tend to charge more rent to foreign students who rent over the internet, than locals who know the market prices. It would be a good idea to have someone locally advice on prices etc. 2005 Postgraduate Scholar |
| Housing – at NYU Medical Center, is not really available to research fellows, although the Medical Center will help you find off campus housing. This is expensive in Manhattan, and I believe it is cheaper to rent in Queens or Brooklyn. 2005 Professional Scholar |
| Women’s Clothing – chain stores (e.g. Gap, Old Navy, Strawberry, Forever 21) are good for affordable clothing. Department stores – Macy’s, particularly when sales are on; Century 21, near the World Trade Center site, sells a lot of discounted clothing, shoes, bedding etc. 2005 Professional Scholar |
Whole foods – nearest branch in Union Square. Has really nice produce but is expensive. Trader Joe’s – another supermarket which is reportedly more affordable than whole foods with good quality produce. Cheaper options - Gristede’s, Food Emporium, D’Agostino’s. Greenmarkets – Union Square. Look out for fruit and other food stands on street corners – they are everywhere, and sometimes fruit is cheaper than in supermarkets. Chinatown – great for cheap, fresh fruit/veggies, meat/fish etc. if you are prepared to wade through crowds. Eating in – thousands of restaurants deliver food in Manhattan to your door, and if you are living alone, sometimes this can work out just as well as cooking for yourself in terms of cost and variety. 2005 Professional Scholar |
| I lived in the Kips Bay area, east of the Empire State Building, and found the cost of living much higher than what I was used to in Melbourne. The largest drain on my budget was rent… 2005 Professional Scholar |
| Tennessee was cheap and California was expensive. For instance, the rent was only half the cost in Tennessee as it was on the West Coast. 2005 Senior Scholar |