Do I have enough saved for a year of studying + traveling?

Congratulations on your acceptance to a postgraduate programme! Being over here is a great opportunity to see more of Europe. In terms of budget, that is a tricky one to answer. London is a very expensive place to live so it depends how much of that needs to go towards your housing, food, etc. However there are lots of inexpensive ways to travel from here to other parts of Europe- especially using low cost airlines (easyJet is the best, there is also RyanAir and Wizz). Once you are at your travel destination you can stay in youth hostels- they can be very inexpensive especially if you are happy to stay in a dorm, tho private rooms can be quite affordable as well. It also depends where you want to go, as your money will go a lot further in southern and eastern Europe than, say, Scandinavia/Nordics.

In terms of hiking recommendations, I love the UK's network of national trails: https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/
Something amazing we have in this country is public rights of way. They've been established since ancient times so even if they go through someone's private property they have to keep the way clear for you to walk through. The national trails link up a lot of these public rights of way into wonderful long distance walks. France also has an extensive national trails network called Grandes Randonnées.

If you just want general natural beauty in the UK, there's an almost endless supply- some of my favourites are North Norfolk, Yorkshire Dales, Cornwall, the Lake District, the Peak District, Pembrokeshire coast, the Hebrides, the Mourne Mountains, and the Antrim coast. I'm sure other people here will have their own favourites. Good luck with your studies and future Europe travel!

As Cat says, a lot depends on whether your US student loans actually cover your living expenses at Imperial. Before you know that, though, you could do some tentative planning.

I've spent more than 100 nights in hostels in Europe, and I'm in my 70s, so you can do this. Hostels indeed are much, much cheaper than hotels in most cities, although if you have to have a private room, that's when you need to start comparing with hotels because the hostel won't necessarily be cheaper. Get on hostelworld.com for fast comparison of hostel costs in various cities and towns. Bus, train, and budget airline make getting around affordable in most countries, but I have to say the British Isles are the most expensive trains I've encountered by far.

As said already, the further east you go in mainland Europe, the more likely you will find affordable prices, although of course there are exceptions. Think about what you want to do in each potential town and then figure out how much those obvious sightseeing destinations will cost. (London is great in that respect, many free museums.) Some inexpensive locations to consider: for big cities Berlin is youthful and can be quite economical, Athens in off-season, Budapest although I haven't been there yet, Poland, smaller cities. Yet it's great if you can at least get a taste of the big three: London, Paris, Rome.

Browse the Watch, Read, Listen part of this website (choose Travel Articles under "Read"), also check out nomadicmatt.com. Some of his numbers will be dated, but still he'll be correct on order of magnitude. For hiking, think about what experiences you want and then look for economical destinations. The Alps are obvious for hiking, but you don't need to do the Swiss Alps--look at Austria, Italian Dolomites, etc., for example.

I don't know that any of us can tell you if your savings will be enough, but think and plan, then prioritize, and then just start traveling when there's an opportunity. Anything you can experience will be a bonus and probably give you clues about how to plan travels later in life.

It really does depend on what that £11k needs to cover. If it’s just ‘fun money’ then you should be able to travel if you’re frugal because £900 a month doesn’t go very far in London. If it needs to cover living costs as well then money is going to be very tight for you.

The cheapest way to travel is by coach (bus) if you have the time. You can get to Paris and other European cities very cheaply that way.

The main question is whether your loans will be enough for your fees and living expenses- my son did three years at a UK university, and still lives there having graduated a couple of years back, and I can tell you (having paid for it) that it's expensive.

If the £11k is purely for for travel, then I'd say it will allow you some interesting trips. Do you have work rights? My son worked through his studies and that money allowed him to do more than he otherwise would have been able to.

One tip for UK travel - get a young person's railcard for discounted fares.

Also get a Young Persons Coachcard for 1/3 off National Express. Ages 16 to 26 or full time students of any age - £18 a year. Buy on line or at Victoria Coach station where it should be £17.
Yes it is available to anyone, not just UK citizens.

https://www.seat61.com gives a whole load of advice about train travel.

https://www.flixbus.co.uk is one of the cheapest ways to travel.

UK rail fares can be quite reasonable if you plan ahead and can snag a discounted Advance fare. Otherwise, they can be extremely costly on a per-mile basis--4 or 5 times more expensive than an Advance ticket to the same place. Explore the difference timing of purchase makes on the nationalrail.co.uk website. When it comes time to buy a ticket, consider using scotrail.co.uk, because it does split-ticketing when two tickets are cheaper than one. Use the Search box here to read about split-ticketing.

For trains outside the UK, the Seat61 website will tell you where to buy online tickets and provide lots of very useful background information.

Budget-airline tickets to more-distant destinations can also be very inexpensive if you buy them early and take only a small carry-on bag; check each airline's rules for details. Check travel options on skyscanner.net.

Ahhhh the romance of the rails and all of the UK is at your doorstep. Wonderful!! https://live.staticflickr.com/5157/5869699665_c9df40d5f0_b.jpg

Or hop on Ryan Air to Malta for three nights. Air and room for maybe 500GBP. https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/17/15/newFile-8.jpg

Thank you all for the replies and tips! I really appreciate the help :D

To clarify, the US Loans are covering my Tuition, Living Expenses (Food/Housing, Transport, School Materials, etc.), so the 11k GBP is as Helen describes, "Fun Money" haha.

I've made a list of some of the places I really want to visit, so here's some of the bigger ones on the list beyond the British Isles

• Prague (I plan to go with a friend from undergrad who's from Czechia)
• Vienna (Vienna Philharmonic [potentially next year's new years concert], Mahler and other composer's graves)
• Iceland (puffins/arctic foxes, big fan of fjords)

Germany, Italy, and Greece are definitely on the to-go list, but where to go and what to do has yet to be decided. I've also been entertaining Turkiye or Kyrgyz/Uzbek/Kazakhstan for a trip during a longer school break.

Regarding the hostels, how is your stuff is stored when you're out and about, i.e bags, suitcase, etc? I don't mind the idea of sharing a room with other travelers, but I'd be a bit worried if there's nowhere to really secure my bags.

To your question Simon, I believe the student visa allows me to work, it says I can't

• claim public funds (benefits) and pensions
• work in certain jobs, for example as a professional sportsperson or sports coach
• be self-employed
• study at an academy or a local authority-funded school (also known as a maintained school)

Thank you again everyone!

I would check your work rights very carefully. Assuming there are some jobs you can do, will you need a National Insurance Number? Employers need this to pay tax for you and NI contributions. Don’t know how someone in your position would get one

That is definitely enough money to do some international trips while you are here! A few thoughts from me:

-You could combine Prague and Vienna into one trip- it's easy to travel between them
-Hostels have big lockers so if you're staying in a dorm you keep all your things in there (the lockers are in the dorm room)
-It's true people on student visas in the UK can work and can indeed obtain NI numbers

Honestly the hardest part will be deciding how you want to spend your free time while you are here. But once you have decided- this forum is full of great resources.

I would prioritize your must-sees and do those first so that if you run out of money, you will have already seen those.

It's probably worth developing (if you haven't already) some simple skills.

You mentioned luggage. Learning to travel with minimal luggage is (part of) a way to do it cheaply. Learning what goes with you is worth figuring out. It varies with the person. And it tends to get better as the person does travel.

Cheap food. Might be worth it to develop (if you haven't already) ways-to-eat/meals that are simple/easy to do. Especially on the road. Hard to say because I tend to wing it with bread/cheese picnic things.

As posters have said above, information is a route to cheap travel. Since you've reached out to this forum I'm sure you appreciate that.

I'm in the UK now. I'm hitting a supermarket for at least one meal on most days. I don't have cooking facilities in my cheap lodgings, and there's no way I want to eat--or pay for--three restaurant meals a day.

Not all supermarket chains are the same. Perhaps one of our UK residents will give you a list, ranked by likely cost. I prefer the salads sold in the better supermarkets--one of which is M&S (Marks & Spencer) Simply Food, but for commodities like packaged nuts or a banana, I try to save money by going to a store like Aldi or Tesco. However, the finer points of UK supermarket pricing and quality are not within my realm of expertise.

Here is some info on our supermarkets, from most to least expensive:

-Waitrose- the nicest supermarket- has the best stuff but also the most expensive- where wealthier people tend to shop
-Sainsbury's- the nicer of the two mid-range supermarkets
-Tesco- the slightly less fancy of the two midrange supermarkets
-Aldi and Lidl- to me these are basically the same- the least expensive but the selection can be a bit random... mostly known for own brand or brands from other countries- but you can find a lot of hidden gems there

To me, M&S isn't really a supermarket as I wouldn't do a weekly shop there. Most of what they sell is prepared foods- like ready meals or sandwiches, tho you can also buy ingredients there. That one is more on the expensive side I would say.

Congratulations!! I'm sure you can do quite a bit of traveling with the money you have saved. My friend's daughter spent a semester at Glasgow University, and she was traveling almost every weekend! She would buy cheap tickets on sale on buses (Mega, Flix, National Express) and planes (Easyjet, Ryanair, Wizz). She made a lot of friends at uni, as I am sure you will too, and she generally traveled with them - sometimes staying at their homes or at hostels. They would travel really light (wear half their wardrobe on the flight lol) to keep baggage down to free levels on the cheap airlines. Food - mainly picnic and street food. Some places are more expensive than others, so do your research as even expensive places have comparatively cheaper seasons, and options.

Best wishes!

"Assuming there are some jobs you can do, will you need a National Insurance Number? ... don't know how someone in your position would get one"

You just apply for one, same as everyone else:

"You can apply for a National Insurance number if you:

• Live in the UK
• Have the right to work in the UK -Are working, looking for work or have an offer to start work"

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

And yes, you can work on a student visa. There are some restrictions on hours.

I generally agree with Cat VH but my take -

M&S has less selection which is mostly at the upper end of price/quality spectrum.

Waitrose may be seen as for the wealthier people but I'm not wealthier and Waitrose is my supermarket of choice - even though my local branch has problems keeping shelved stocked sometimes. Excellent staff, very good quality, usually. Meal deals (sandwich or other main, snack like crisps or fruit or small sushi and a drink from a wide selection of bottles) are £5.

Between Sainsburys and Tesco in my area I far prefer Tesco. They have the best choice in fresh and frozen veg and fruit, a very comprehensive range. Meal deals cost less than Waitrose. Sainsburys near me are scruffy, veg always looks half dead, not kept clean, and I avoid it. Yet there is a new small Sainsburys about 15 miles away in a small town which is lovely.

Morrisons wasn't mentioned. At the lower priced end of the market, based in the North, prides itself on value for money and was the first chain to sell "wonky" veg and fruit - perfectly good but not to normal supermarket standards in terms of shape, size, or appearance, and they sell it cheap. Good veg, and usually a good selection of ethnic veg. Want plantain? My local has 3 or 4 varieties every day. Not many Morrisons in London, although they are pushing to the south.

Asda wasn't mentioned. Used to be owned for several years by Walmart. Used to have a few more American groceries. Before the arrival of Lidl and Aldi, Asda was at the bottom of the value/price spectrum. Tend to have the least expensive but high quality auto fuel.

Lidl and Aldi are both German, good value and stock a fair amount of German and Polish foods as well as British standards. The store footprints are quite small so the total range is also quite small but covers most bases, just not deeply. Almost everything is own brand. I prefer Lidl, good fruit and veg, cheap cookies, fresh bakery at the entrance. Good bratwurst and Nuremberg little bratwurst at nice prices. A couple of weeks ago it was "Alpine Week" and I picked up a couple of boxes of Mozart Balls from Salzburg. And some bratwurst. I find Aldi a bit too much rough and ready for me. Both Aldi and Lidl are taking huge chunks out of the market share of the Big Four.

Anyway, that's my take. For what its worth. Others in different parts of the country may have differing opinions...

My personal opinion is that Morrisons are now more expensive than Tesco. That wasn't the case until they sold out to a debt laden American private equity firm.

In my opinion they have been getting very greedy with their pricing.

In my town it is very striking how much busier Tesco is now compared to Morrisons. It wasn't always so.
And Tesco actually employ a respectable number of check out staff, at least where I am.

It's true, Morrison's is more of a northern chain... the only one I can think of in London is the one in Camden near the Roundhouse (which, incidentally, is my favourite live music venue, in case you need suggestions for that as well).

I can't think of any Asdas in London- Asdas tend to be really big so tend to be out of town in a place you would drive to. Waitrose, Sainsbury's, and Tesco all have a variety of sizes/formats so you will see everything to really small ones that only sell the basics to huge ones that sell clothes, electronics, etc.

1. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door to help develop your travel skills before you go.

2. YouTube is a great resource for travel planning - and it's free.

3. This website has a ton of valuable information - start at Explore Europe and drill down as your curiosity leads you.

I'm still going through a bit of culture shock with grocery stores. The average size of a Tesco across Europe is 30.000sf. I would kill to have one that large in Budapest. The average size of a market in my Texas home town is 75.000sf. Half the difference may be circulation, but half is choice. I miss choice.