Must-Have's for European Study Abroad?

<p>Thanks Caymandriver, I just copied your post and sent it to my d. I’m going to put together a small med kit for her with aspirin, neosporin, etc.</p>

<p>Maybe a small mending kit, a small pair of good scissors, a small clothesline and clothespins (for washing undies). (For the girls.) Maybe preprinted address labels for close family members to send postcards. For anywhere where it gets cold in winter, wool socks and long undies. A friend went to college in Scotland and it was freezing in their dorm. Her mom had to send over down coat and blanket.</p>

<p>I send a few travelers checks as ‘emergency money’ in case the debit card and credit cards are lost or stolen. We also learned to have a parent be co signer on the debit card account, and to have a duplicate card at home, which can be express mailed in case of loss. Much faster than asking for a new card, waiting for it to arrive, etc. </p>

<p>Mine always have ended up buying phones for local use when overseas. Seems they always think the one from a siblings’ exchange will work, and then it doesn’t. Know that the rules for cell use vary widely depending on the country. </p>

<p>My D preferred her dental floss from home, as opposed to what she could find in France.</p>

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<p>Would it not be more efficient to buy a cheap sleeping bag over there and use that luggage space for things that are not so easily obtained? Such as some of the medicines, school supplies, etc. that are really expensive or unattainable.</p>

<p>I have no idea but i don’t think traveller’s cheques are that widely used. If you are concerned about the debit card not working, I’d suggest you get some euros in cash before hand as well. American Express will give you them without charge if you have an AMEX card. My daughter has a little “travel emergency money” purse that has some Sterling, CHF, Euros, and $ that she can use if she’s travelling through different airports and needs to grab something to eat. The francs came in handy last December when, due to the storm she missed her connection in Zurich and had to stay in a hotel over night. At least she was able to get something to eat without figuring out where the ATM was.</p>

<p>I’d say another good suggestion that someone else mentioned is to have a shared bank account that you can transfer between your personal account and the shared bank account on line in the US. That way if the european debit card is damaged, you can get them cash easily through the US joint account. </p>

<p>One last way to get money quickly is good old Western Union. Will get there almost immediately in most cases.</p>

<p>Travelers checks can be exchanged at banks, currency exchange bureaus, and many businesses. They are free from many banks or AAA, easily replaced if lost or stolen, unlike cash, and never expire. Yes, they are not used as widely as they once were, but I like them as they are SO safe and cheap. Keeping some cash in various currencies is a good idea. </p>

<p>I checked on Western Union. From my state to Germany, sending $300 will cost $29. Good for an emergency, but I’d prefer the free travelers checks. </p>

<p>Sleeping bag seems to be less needed in Europe. A sheet sleeping sack used to be required for hostels, in at least some cases these days they have bedding. My D just finished WOOFing in France and Spain, no sleeping bag needed.</p>

<p>my son studied abroad for a year at LSE in London. He brought an unlocked phone and got a sim card, worked great. also used skype, and google voice, which was free to call to the US at the time. I got a capital one credit card because they don’t charge any exchange or transaction fees abroad. also opened a citibank gold account, with his account attached to mine so I could transfer (you have to keep a minimum, but might be worth it, it was for us) as no exchange or transaction fees for atm withdrawals. traveler’s checks are really no longer used as atm’s are so available and convenient. in the UK the national health covers students there for a year, so perhaps something similar in Germany. My son did use the service and found it quite responsive and convenient, same as seeing a private physician in his opinion.</p>

<p>as far as the things he’ll need there, you do need to trust that they will “figure it out as they go”. realizing that they can still wear typical student clothes from home helps, they will soon find stores, meet new friends and they all work it out. the first few days is stressful for the student abroad, skyping with family at home helps them get through the first days of feeling that homesickness…but soon enough they are ensconced in their new experience, traveling all over Europe and enjoying the freedom that comes with being abroad. with the new cheap airlines abroad students now fly instead of rail travel for the most part… good luck!</p>

<p>During D’s semester in Germany she asked us to send postcards and coffee table books of our city and state for hostess gifts.</p>

<p>This is a good thread. I never thought about over-the-counter Zyrtec. My daughter has allergies and relies on Zyrtec if she has trouble with pollen; maybe we will need a note from her doctor in order for her to bring Zyrtec into Oman. She is spending fall semester in Muscat.</p>

<p>we used amazonUK (amazon for germany ~ <a href=“http://www.amazon.de/[/url]”>http://www.amazon.de/&lt;/a&gt; )
to ship things like care package items since the shipping was free…and for extras like sneakers, sleeping bag, etc. that may come up once there.</p>

<p>This is most helpful for my nephew’s family. His mom called capital one (their credit card company) and they don’t have a ‘chip’ cc and were somewhat insistent that all places that accept visa will accept the magnetic strip style as well if you are firm with the merchant. Wondering if others have experience with this. Also Capital One confirmed there is no transaction/exchange fee when their cards are used abroad. Very helpful indeed… thanks!</p>

<p>Glad to see this thread! Myturn, can I buy on the German Amazon site from USA, pay in dollars, and have the pkg shipped to a German address?</p>

<p>Also, I need more info on using a laptop, etc in Europe. Does it takes more than an adapter? What is a converter? My older son blames using only an adapter (rather than a converter) for his laptop’s battery dying prematurely. Anybody familiar?</p>

<p>What my d found inconvenient about not having a chip was that she couldn’t use a cc to buy a train ticket from the automated machine at the station - that kind of thing. The work-around is to carry a lot of cash, but that has its own problems.</p>

<p>Is there an ideal way to pack for such a long term trip? Or a perfect piece(s) of luggage? As mentioned, he plans to utilize his backpacking pack as he will need a manageable bag for traveling/hosteling within Europe. His mom is thinking of sending him with a big hard-side cases. Bulky fall/winter clothing and a sport coat are going to require considerable room. They are considering sending some of those things by mail, if it’s not cost prohibitive. What have others done?</p>

<p>If taking a large suitcase, be careful about the total weight when fully packed and check the rules for the airline he will be using. We had purchased a large case for our son, but discovered that if it were filled up, it weighed too much. He ended up removing some non-essentials and filling the space with his bed pillow.</p>

<p>Another consideration is his living quarters in Europe. Will he have space to stow a hard sided suitcase? Or would he be better off with a large duffel and the backpack? </p>

<p>While in Europe our son purchased a wool coat and some sweaters. That is another option. I suspect that the cost of shipping would make purchasing items there seem sensible.</p>

<p>Careful with shipping things. Depending on the country, even if you write on the label “old dirty jeans” the customs folks will charge you for importing them. Germany seems to be particularly a pain in this regard. </p>

<p>I have ordered things on the german amazon site for delivery to a german address and that works perfectly. Mind you, you’ll be paying more due to the higher cost of certain things but eh its our children right :slight_smile: Just don’t try to order it from the US site and then shipped directly to the other country- Customs will grab it, open it up, keep it for a week or a month, and then charge you import duties.</p>

<p>As for bags, I’ve travelled with High Sierra rolling duffel bags. They are nice because they also have back pack straps. They won’t last you forever but a season or so of travelling they should be good.</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> High Sierra El Series Luggage, 28-Inch (Wheeled Drop Bottom Duffel): Clothing](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T3HIX8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000HZBZWA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=197018N2RK1YV3XDJ32H]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T3HIX8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000HZBZWA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=197018N2RK1YV3XDJ32H)</p>

<p>With regard to chip and pin…I’ve personally had an issue recently when we were in London where they absolutely refused to take the card or they said they would have to phone the cc company and they couldn’t get through or what ever…</p>

<p>I did have this happen at the grocery store and i had zero cash…i wasnt about to put all my stuff back so whilst the lady was fussing, i simply pressed “credit” on the key pad instead of debit and it went through no problem. The merchants don’t like you to do this because they pay more but it will work.</p>

<p>Sorry if this is long :)</p>

<p>D1 just returned from 6 months in France (Loire Valley). She traveled ALOT during her time in Europe, including Germany, Italy & UK). We also visited her for 10 days in June (long-planeed 25th anniverary trip-a wonderful experience) and traveled to Normandy & Paris. So, we saw first hand how she handled the chip/strip issue. </p>

<p>Not sure exactly how it works in Germany, but from what I saw in France, here’s my 2 cents. She had a 6 month VISA to study in France. She opened a bank account at BNP Paribas. With this account, she received an ATM with a chip. She used this extensively. Groceries/train stations/tours/restaturants all were handled MUCH easier with the chip card. We did use our US credit card at hotels/car rentals/some restaturants with no issue…but several times, we were SO GLAD she had her chip card with her. </p>

<p>Don’t be fooled by local banks/credit card comapnies that say you can use the strip cards everywhere. You absolutely CANNOT. You can work around it sometimes, but the hassle factor is very high. For example, the train staion kiosk situation is very important- if you only have a “strip” card (US ATM/credit card, etc.) you can only buy tickets at the counter and the counters are not always open, or if open, are sometimes very crowded. (You may miss a train if you are tight on time). We purchased tickets at kiosks with no trouble using her chip card, day & night.</p>

<p>The other thing she did before she left was open an account at Bank of America. She set this up for online banking so she could make transfers, etc. from her computer overseas. There is a cooperative agreement between 6 banks where you will not be chagred fees for ATM withdrawls if you use the ATMS from these banks. It is called the ATM Global Alliance. Here’s a quote from the press release.</p>

<p>BNP Paribas joins five of the world’s leading financial institutions to create the first ever Global ATM Alliance. The group’s first major initiative will be to provide more than 40 million people free access to around 23,000 cash machines on three continents.****The six banks in the Alliance - BNP Paribas, Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank/Deutsche Bank 24, Scotiabank and Westpac, will offer their customers the benefit of no international access fees for using member banks ATMs around the world.</p>

<p>So, she ended up with two cards, used one for cash withdrwals and one for purchases.<br>
However complicated it seems, and admitting it took a little pre-planning, it really worked out so well for her. </p>

<p>First, we could make deposits here in the states to her BofA account (no wiring money, no mailing checks). Second, she could use ATM’s all over Europe with no service fees. (Her friends without this, paid $5.00 fee for each withdrwal). Next, she could use the BNP ATM to take out cash from the BofA account, then turn right around and put the cash into her BNP account when that was running low. Easy peazy. Lastly, she had the online aspect that let her use her computer where ever she was to check her balances.</p>

<p>I think the key was having an address in France to use when she opened the BNP account. If this is not available, I am not sure how to get a chip card.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>at most places the capital one cc worked fine w/o the chip that the European ones have. good to have a debit card too for those instances where you need to use cash, ie. traveling to another country. </p>

<p>ordering on amazonuk or germany also worked well with the capital one cc.</p>

<p>Sounds like he needs to open a bank acct at Deutsche Bank to avoid the fees. That would give him an ATM card with a chip and his parents could put money into his stateside acct. Great tip. Thanks!</p>