Moving somewhere for work is not the only way to try and test the vibes of Expat life.
People move abroad for several reasons, some do it for work indeed, but it is not always for their work, in some cases it is due to the choice of the partner, some others to study.

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Living abroad during study period can happen in different ways and ages.

The most famous and, probably common, is the Erasmus program which students can join during university time.

How to join it?

To be eligible for Erasmus you must be in higher education, and have successfully ended your first year. You don’t need to pay any extra fee to the college/university of the Country you are moving to to study and you can also apply to receive a kind of payment for the period you are spending there (it can be from €250 to €400 more or less).

There are more than 30 Countries part of the Erasmus program, you can choose one based on the agreements your University got with others, for a semester or a full academic year.

It is definitely a great opportunity to enrich your general culture or the knowledge you already have of a specific Country. You can meet many other students, and maybe start having a part time work experience abroad.

Although this is mainly the first experience abroad for a lot of young people, it is not the first one you can have.

Do you know about the Student Exchange program?

There are several associations which can take care of it in agreement with your high school.
Also in this case you pay nothing more than the living cost, all the rest (flight, school fees etc…) is part of the deal. The difference is that you not only will join a local school in a foreign country, but you´ll go to live with a local family. At the same time, your family will have the son/daughter of the family that is hosting you. Does it make sense?

I had the pleasure to talk more about this first approach with life abroad with Carolina. She had the possibility to move to Canada, from Italy, during a full scholastic year at age of 17, and so living with an English speaker family and going to a francophone school.

It is an experience that makes you grow and feel more responsible for yourself. Despite the language you learn how to take care of things, you explore a total different culture at an age where you are normally used to have your family doing the most for you and your knowledge of ¨others¨ can be quite limited.

Reach me out if you have studied abroad and you´d like to share your experience with me.

Looking forward to hear your stories
Rossella

You might be interested in other articles of he blog about the school system

Talk to you soon

Rossella