It’s not just travelers impacted by a puffed up European currency. This Wall Street Journal article, Weak Dollar Crimps Study Abroad , says the traditional European study abroad programs are taking a big nosedive. They’re just getting too expensive to justify.
Many other college students, hit by sticker shock, also are steering clear of Western Europe, especially the United Kingdom, and opting for study-abroad programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Many of those destinations are cheaper to begin with and have currencies that haven’t been as rough on the dollar.
As many students are finding out, the college lifestyle takes a big hit when you can’t afford to leave the dorm.
Sarah Singletary, a University of Richmond student who has been abroad since last fall, first in Senegal and now in Croatia, likes the lack of financial pressure in cheaper countries.
In places like Hungary, she says, “you have a lot more freedom to go to museums and eat out rather than buying cheese sandwiches from the grocery store,” she says.
As the article points out later, if you study in Asia or Latin America, you can also afford to travel on your breaks, either within the country or to its neighbors, without breaking the bank. Hey, maybe there’s an idea for a book in there: The World’s Cheapest Destinations for Studying Abroad and Still Being Able to Party. Let’s see, the cheapest places for beer outside of Europe are Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Panama, Honduras, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Malawi, Kenya…
Find links to study abroad options at Transitions Abroad’s Study Abroad portal
