Study abroad spending money?

Question

I'm going to be in the UK for 5 weeks in July. I'm not planning on buying a ton of souveniers, so I plan on spending most of my extra money on side trips to Paris and Dublin. We are only provided breakfast and we are on our own for lunch and dinner. I wouldn't expect anybody to know exactly how much money I need to take, but I have absolutely no idea of even a ballpark range. If anyone else has done a program similar, about how much spending money did you take or should someone take with those conditions?

Answer 1

Lunch and dinner everyday in the United Kingdom, it depends on where you would be eating out - but you will neede 200-300 pounds minimum per week to eat out. The average meal for one at a pub will cost around 8-10 pounds.

As for more money, you will need to include transportation costs? Are you planning to drive, if so gas/petrol is very expensive (about 1.03 a litre/$8 a gallon). Public transport is very good in the U.K. and extreamly cheap. Check out the websites for the buses and rail, they are below. Taxis/cabs are also a good way to get around, but they can cost quite a bit depending on te distance.

Flights to boh Dublin and Paris are also cheap, less than 100 pounds return.

I am sure others will chime in with other costs, but I suggest that you visit the American Expats forum for more up to date information.

Answer 2

Eating out will be very expensive, and grocery shopping is not that cheap either. I would say budget between 100 and 200 pounds a week for food and plan to do a combination of grocery shopping and occasionally going out to cheaper places.

Plan on spending about 200-300 pounds on each weekend trip you take (both Dublin and Paris are pretty expensive. You can find a cheap flight to Dublin at www.Ryanair.com and plan to take the EuroStar to Paris--on their website they have travel packages that are worth checking out.)

Also budget a good amount of money for other activities such as shows, nightlife, shopping, because face it--in London you are going to want to do those things. I have no idea how expensive Scotland is, probably slightly cheaper but not by much. Remember that 1 pound=2 US Dollars, a good ball park range for 5 weeks in the UK, including 2 weekend trips, would be $2500-3500 (dollars not pounds), and definalty more if you are not looking to live on a budget. Good luck and don't get too wrapped up in money, it will be worth every penny.