European Graduate Students in the USA...

[Shaqu_attack]

Hello,

I am a European student who will be starting his PhD in the US (California!!!) this fall... And of course, I have got many questions regarding life on the other side of the pond that I thought others in my situation might also have... Most are related to everyday life.

I'm going to state some that I have thought about lately, but I'd appreciate any further questions posted as they might be important details I might have forgotten!!!

1) What is the proper way to address oneself to professors / department staff / other acquaintances? Is it right to call them by their names once they sent you an email signed with their given name?

2) How much of a fuss is getting an American driver's licence (I have had my Spanish one for +5 years)? Will I need it? Is it worth it?

3) Can I expect to have enough free time during the summer period (maybe during some other?) to travel around the US? To return home? Is traveling in the US expensive??

4) What is the cheapest / most efficient way to get my stuff over to the US?

As I said... these are just some of the issues I have been wondering about... Hope you guys can i) help me out with these and ii) enlarge the list!!!

[economics]

CA=best state ever. i spent half of my childhood there...

sorry for the useless reply.

[Shaqu_attack]

YES!!! Sorry about that! PhD in Economics!

[economics]

sorry, i remembered you and then changed my first post

[Shaqu_attack]

Originally Posted by economics

CA=best state ever. i spent half of my childhood there...

Oh, yeah!!! Gimme more of that!! That's what I wanted to hear!! Tell me it beats Boston by far, please!!! (You can figure why by yourself...) Hehehe...

[leguan]

Originally Posted by Shaqu_attack

2) How much of a fuss is getting an American driver's licence (I have had my Spanish one for +5 years)? Will I need it? Is it worth it?

Heavily (if not exclusively) depends on the state you will be living in... some have agreements with some European countries to simply accept your EU driver's licence, in others you will have to take the test everyone else has to take (i.e., acquire a new driver's licence; not that big of a deal, though).

Originally Posted by Shaqu_attack

3) Can I expect to have enough free time during the summer period (maybe during some other?) to travel around the US? To return home? Is traveling in the US expensive??

Depends on your study habits, but in general there is enough time to travel around a bit (a couple of weekends or over holidays and study breaks); also, at least over christmas you should find enough time to return home. Some people do that also over Thanksgiving...

Originally Posted by Shaqu_attack

4) What is the cheapest / most efficient way to get my stuff over to the US?

Put as much as you can in your hand baggage (especially heavy stuff like books... last time, Air France accepted about 20kg of books I had with me, together with two other bags in the hand luggage). If necessary, use a third baggage, which should cost about a 100$ with most airlines. I rather not think that postal service is affordable. Also, consider that most stuff in the US is cheaper than in Europe/Spain, especially clothes and the like.

[economics]

Originally Posted by Shaqu_attack

Oh, yeah!!! Gimme more of that!! That's what I wanted to hear!! Tell me it beats Boston by far, please!!! (You can figure why by yourself...) Hehehe...

haha, yes - boston in the summer will be like SF in the winter...

[Shaqu_attack]

Clothes are cheaper there?? I had heard computers and other electronics goods were cheaper, too. Is that right??

Speaking about books... Do departments or the libraries at universities have enough copies of the most used textbooks for graduates, so that I do not have to carry my MWG, Greene, and so on with me?

[Shaqu_attack]

Originally Posted by economics

haha, yes - boston in the summer will be like SF in the winter...

I've been told palo alto has a way better climate than SF... Is that so?? Is it going to be sunny and warm all year round??

The celtics were always one of my favourite teams... Until last year! I was pretty sorry that they didn't make it to the finals this year though... maybe next year?