Hi! My name is Lilly, and I am a Politics and International Relations student at Queen Mary University of London. Moving to live in a new city for study abroad can be exciting, if a bit daunting. I had never lived in another country before departing for New York to study at Columbia University for a year on exchange. I feel that if I came prepared with the knowledge here before I embarked on my exchange, it would have made settling into my new life as a college student at Columbia a little easier. What I gained through experience and pre-departure research I have compiled here and share to help you get the best out of your exchange journey:

• Do your research about the university and campus, set up bank accounts you will use while abroad, and keep contact numbers for embassies and your bank. Learning how the subway works by going with other people on your first few journeys is a good idea. Remember the New York subway (unlike the London Underground) is tap-in only – if you go past your station, in some stations you might not be able to change to the opposite platform to go back, and watch out so that you get on local trains and not express!
• Get a normal scheduled airline flight, not a low-cost carrier. ‘Budget’ carriers that look like they are offering bargain flights can end up costing more with all the extra charges they add on that are factored into the ticket price of the full-service airlines – such as baggage allowances, food, and rescheduling fees.
• If you are landing at JFK, to get a taxi to campus, you can follow the directions to Rideshare pickup points or leave the terminal and find the taxi box with uniformed official staff. They will arrange a licensed and insured New York Taxicab for you. Do not accept rides from anyone else but the official NYC taxis or your booked Rideshare. You will be offered rides by taxi touts in Arrivals but move on to avoid scams.
• Research tipping guidelines. It can get complicated. In some situations a tip is optional but in others is expected or it is impolite not to tip. Smaller or larger percentage tips are typical for some services over others.
• Bring multiple adaptors so you can charge or use more than one appliance at the same time.
• Get a mobile phone plan with SIM – it will help you out when you need to make phone calls, and the unlimited data that you get on even the cheapest plan is a must when navigating around New York.
• Get a recent/up-to-date mobile phone before you go – the US has now shut down all their 3G masts, so you cannot get 3G service. If you have turned off roaming on a UK SIM or have removed it, make sure to use it again in the UK if you fly back home over the winter break or, if staying in the US over Christmas, turn it on again and text someone in the UK you know from it every few months, so your number remains active. Be aware of roaming charges.
• Kettles are somewhat common. Toasters are less common. Malt vinegar is not a thing in the US. Jaffa Cakes, biscuits (the sweet kind), Chocolate Oranges, and prawn cocktail crisps are basically unheard of, and I had a longing for mince pies at Christmas time. A major advantage of the US is birthday cake flavour everything. Trader Joes does decent tea if you run out.
• You can save money and eat how you like by cooking for yourself, but you need to learn some basic cooking skills before you go – practice those in the summer before. If you cook for yourself, you will need to factor in time for cooking and cleaning up as well as grocery shopping, so bear this in mind. If you go for a meal plan, you pay for the convenience and variety, but, the dining halls are only open during certain hours, you will have to schlep to them, and sometimes food is labelled Halal or Kosher simply because they are vegetarian or vegan.
• For groceries (and some other stuff), take the 1 line from 116^th street station next to the University campus straight to 72^nd street and shop at the Trader Joe’s there – its safe to get to and far cheaper than any of the local supermarkets, and higher quality. One of my favourite things to do when abroad is shopping in a grocery chain of another country! Fun fact – this is the busiest Trader Joe’s in the US! For that reason, shop on a weekday in the morning soon after opening if you can – it’s far quieter. Trader Joes also has you covered for almost all your herbs and spices, lots of great seasonal items you can try out, and provides a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options, as well as Kosher meat. Come with a shopping list though – groceries are more expensive in the US than in the UK and Trader Joe’s candies are tempting. The tote bags make for excellent low-cost souvenirs.
• Get takeaway meals with Halal meat from Food carts near campus (also cheaper than most takeaway food options nearby) – I recommend Hooda Halal on 115^th and Broadway. Halal carts are a staple of New York cuisine, and students will regularly congregate around them for classics like chicken and lamb over rice or a Gyro. Easy on the red sauce as its much hotter than you’d expect!
• Besides social media, e-mail Newsletters and events calendars are your resource to sign up for free events. The University dining puts on a free meal for those staying over Thanksgiving, which even students without a meal plan can go to. But you have to look out for them and sign up for tickets as spaces can go fast!
• Remember to check out the Columbia College Student Council (CCSC) Instagram page, as well as the CCSC page for the junior or graduating year group (e.g., CCSC ’25). Sometimes there are events posted on one but not the other.
• Remember you will be considered a junior, as in the US, undergraduate degrees are usually four years. Enjoy your new life as an upperclassman!
• You will have to file taxes with the IRS as a non-resident even if you had no US income. Columbia’s International Students and Scholars’ Office (ISSO) will send you information on how to do this with links to the tax software Columbia provides for you to use for free, which guides you through and sorts it all out for you when you fill in the details. Then you just send it off with certified mail to the address provided, at a post office.
• Invest in a proper, winter coat – it gets very cold in New York.
• Barnard College has the Arthur Ross Greenhouse on the rooftop of Milbank Hall – with visiting hours year-round and its own social media pages. Immerse yourself in an indoor jungle with orange blossom, Begonias, and Bougainvillea. See a preserved previous inflorescence of Berani – the College’s rare Titan Arum – on the staircase up. The Dodge Centre has a sauna. Try them out!
• Stroll around the leafy and beautiful campus and enjoy its delights. Admire the changing colours of the foliage. Sit in the area outside the Philosophy building and at the tables on Revson Plaza amidst the greenery and blossoms.
• Speak with your academic advisor at Columbia while abroad if you need help with planning your classes or accessing university services. They can really help you out and my advisor, Dawn, was amazing.
• Remember to tell everyone you are from Queen Mary University of London and that they should come on exchange and pay a visit to this prestigious institution!