The Housing Situation

An important part of life is having a place to live. When planning to study abroad, we had to consider our lease and the start date of our study abroad program. With the exchange, we would have housing in Prague starting February 1st, and the lease on our apartment in Manhattan ended December 31st.... "Homeless" for a whole month. Luckily, as a wise man--Bill Cosby--once said, "Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home." My husband and I are blessed to have MANY family members who are more than willing to take us in, feed us, and spend quality time with us*. (In fact, I'm writing this blog from my husband's grandparents' house with a very full belly!)
Another consideration we had to take was what to do with all of our stuff, and let me tell you, we packed WAY too much stuff into our one-bedroom apartment. To save the trouble of renting a U-Haul, moving all of our belongings 5+ hours back home, and cramming it into one of our parents' spare bedrooms only to do it all again five months later, we rented a storage unit in Manhattan.* Somehow, we managed to fit most of our belongings into a 10x10 unit, and the rest came home with us.
Currently, we have a month to spend time with our families, and any opportunity you get to spend with your loved ones before you will be oceans away from them for 5 months is one you should take advantage of!

Friends and family can stop reading here if they would like! :) If you're considering study abroad or are planning your trip I have some suggestions below.

**TIPS FOR STUDY ABROAD STUDENTS**
1. Although we are lucky to have family to take us in, many college students aren't as fortunate. If your lease runs out and you have nowhere to go, you still have options.
          --The first thing you could do is speak with your landlord--if you've had a favorable renting relationship, they may be willing to extend the lease an extra month when you explain your situation.
          --Some hotels offer pretty great deals for extended stays. Even if the website doesn't share information about extended stays, you can call for information.
          --Go to your destination early!! You may or may not be able to get into the dorms early depending on where you're going, but if you have the funds available, why not go a month early and backpack Europe? You could go to the destination you'll be studying at and get a good feel of the environment before you're tossed into a rigorous study schedule.
2. Call around to find the best price for a storage unit. There were a couple of storage units who were willing to give discounts if you booked six months at a time, paid in advance, were a military member, or were a student.
3. Get the best storage unit for your needs--if you have very expensive furniture, a plasma-screen TV, and priceless paintings, the extra money for a temperature controlled unit may be worth it. If you're willing to wrap your furniture up, or even have a family member to keep some of your more precious belongings, you could save a lot of money by renting a regular storage unit.
4. Pack your unit strategically. This basically goes without saying; put your large items in first. Make sure to wrap your furniture to protect it. We used cellophane, but UPS sells bed and furniture plastic covers. Also, we used wood pallets to stack our boxes on. This way if there were a large storm, or water leaked in under the door our belongings were a few inches off the ground. This also helps with ventilation.
          --Don't worry about paying for wood pallets. Go to one of your local businesses and ask if they have any extra. We got ours from Case, and I believe most Ag businesses would be helpful, but ask around!
5.  Find ways to save money. I don't want to sound like Mr. Scrooge, but every cent adds up. A cheap flight through a company like ryanair can cost as little as 30 euros round trip. Two meals at the fantastic Little Apple Brewing Company and you've given up your trip to Italy!
6. Take your move-out seriously and get your deposit back. If your deposit was $500, and you have to clean 10 hours to get your deposit back, you're still making $50/hour. That's a pretty high paying job for a college student!

A little picture of the HUGE mess our apartment was before moving out.

We were intimidated to say the least.

But I'd say our place cleaned up nicely!

Starting the Journey

We depart from DIA on February first. In reality, our trip started long before that.

Early in May, my husband, Ty and I set up a meeting with a study abroad advisor at Kansas State University's study abroad office. We had several expectations for our trip.
1) It had to be affordable.
2) It had to be a semester program.
3) Location. (Our first choices were Ireland, New Zealand, or Australia.)
Taking all of these into consideration, our adviser suggested the Czech University of Life Sciences (CULS) in Prague, Czech Republic. Upon doing more research, we figured out the cost of living would be reasonable in the Czech Republic, CULS offered classes in English, and decided central Europe would be a great location so we could travel other places in Europe.
The next several months were a whirlwind of gathering papers, getting the correct insurances, planning classes, and getting financial aid.
After all of the paperwork was filed, we ordered our plane tickets.
After the end of finals, we will be moving all of our belongings into a storage unit... Yuck, moving. On the bright side, all of our belongings will be here when we get back and it should be fairly easy to move into a new apartment.
Now, we have to look forward to packing our lives into a 50 lbs suitcase and a carry-on, and trust me, I will post more about that later!

Family and friends can stop reading here if they'd like. :) In the future I'll be posting more about our trip and getting ready to leave! If anyone has questions for me I'd encourage them to email me at kelsiehoss@ksu.edu. Future study abroad students, keep on reading!

*Tips for future Study Abroad students*
1) DIRECT ENROLL--Our advisor suggested the exchange program to us because he believed it would be easier, but when it was all said and done we lost nearly $2,000 from the exchange, and could have saved that money had we direct enrolled. Also, many times in Europe you can find scholarships that will allow you to study there nearly free. If you have questions about this, ask past study abroad students.
2) Start gathering classes early--sometimes you have to go to different departments on campus to get classes approved, and depending on the time of the year it can take them quite a while to get back to you.
3) Apply for scholarships early--some scholarship applications are due WELL before the study abroad date and some of the applications can be time consuming.
4) Turn your visa application in as early as possible. Not all flight insurances will save you your ticket if your papers get to you late.
5) Stay in touch with your academic adviser--Many times they'll have had advisees study abroad before and can give you great advice before your trip.
6) Consider housing--do you know where you'll be staying when you get back? When does the lease on your current apartment end? You should talk with your landlord about their subleasing policy. If you are thinking far enough in the future, make sure your lease ends before your trip.
7) Have enough money for plane tickets before the semester--this is especially important for students paying for their own trip. Financial aid won't be given to you until 10 days before your trip. You'll find the best deals for your tickets if you buy them in advance, so if you have a way to purchase them before your financial aid gets back, do that.