<p>@joanlawson Just to be clear, this does or does not include the cost of housing/campus meal plans? I will assume it doesn’t include those since you can find those costs easily. </p>
<p>I do a lot of late-night snacking, I don’t often buy clothing on shopping trips, and I occasionally do something fun like go to a concert, and my monthly expenses besides housing and the campus meal plan and other school costs averages about $200-300. Anyone living on campus has a meal plan that includes every major meal except for dinner on Saturday night, and that will run you between $10 and $25 if you go out with your friends. Depends on your appetite and what kind of restaurant you eat at on any given night. I use Zipcar if I need to get somewhere far, which costs $25 per year and then about $8 per hour you are renting the car. However, I don’t often use it because Rice provides free Saturday morning grocery shopping shuttles, Saturday night shuttles into Rice Village (an area right off campus with clothing stores and restaurants), and they let you ride the light rail and city bus for free. The light rail can take you to a lot of different restaurants. </p>
<p>Houston is a reasonably affordable place to live. Texas in general is known for its low cost of living compared to employment opportunities. Does that give you a good enough idea, or were you wondering more about the costs of specific grocery items compared to other countries? If you have any other questions feel free to ask! </p>