What should I do before living abroad?

Wikitravel or whatever it’s called.

This site has some good country-specific info and discussion forums about living abroad.

Your school’s Study Abroad office

Pretty much all the planning you do is never enough. It is a different world overseas and you will still need to get a lot and learn a lot once you get over there. For the time being I would look into the neighborhoods not to be in after dark, what clothes are appropriate and what clothes won’t make you stick out as an American moron (i.e. nickelback tees). Watch your wallet/purse, people will do anything to get your belongings, sometimes seeing it as a challenge or a sport. Don’t carry your passport around if you don’t need to, American passports are sold for high dollar and you are screwed if you lose it.

Don’t mean to scare you but it is best to go into the setting thinking everyone is out to get you. I spent 4 months in Barcelona and I can tell you, too many times to count American kids didn’t watch what they were doing or paying attention and had their stuff stolen.

I suggest you study the language and culture of the country you are traveling to for several months before your departure.

@CaseyWVU10 Which countries are you talking about? You make the rest of the world sound like a scary, forlorn place full of pickpockets and cheaters. Who are these people ‘who will do anything to get at your belongings’? I never encountered them when traveling. Of course there are thiefs in any country, but no more, no less than in the US. Should one walk around scared at home in the US too?
Also, one is not screwed is one loses ones passport. You simply report it as stolen and apply for a new one. That is what embassies and consulates are for.

@MuffinMonarch Most countries have tons of info through their embassies websites, their government websites and tourist bureaus. Also, for instance in Europe, you will be pressed not to find info in English on any university website regarding all aspects of studying in that particular city and country. Also check out the EU websites if you are planning on going to Europe.

@CaseyWVU10 We are all heathens and degenerate thieves, we don’t have the pleasure of being American citizens you see, we want your stuff, we need your lives, we are so cold and desperate here in the big bad world, if you come we will rob you.

We don’t even have the internet, oh wait, fuck, I really messed up there.

@CaseyWVU10

You have never been further away from home than you can get by bus – have you?

I am simply saying expect the worst because if you go into another country not prepared you are in for a rude awakening. I speak from personal experience and observation. I did witness a lot of thefts when I was abroad. I was in Rome and saw the gypsies, I saw someone mugged in the metro in Madrid as the doors were closing and one of my acquaintances had her backpack stolen in Athens. OH and the kicker, my Spanish teacher in Barcelona (a resident) had her belongings stolen, so its not just Americans.

I loved being abroad and I was never a victim of pickpocketing, I loved the people and the difference in the lifestyle. I watched my surroundings and secured my things. Among the Americans while abroad, the biggest and worse problem WAS pickpocketing. Look at any sight online and look at the bags they sell for people who are going abroad. Steel cables in the straps, wire bottom to prohibit cutting, and a clasp zipper. It speaks for itself.

@DarkScribe when you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u-m-e”

P.S. There are thieves everywhere (even in the US), but how about we stick to the topic at hand of being abroad and in a different country, shall we?

@CaseyWVU10 DarkScribe when you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u-m-e”

Did you mean: ” DarkScribe when you assume, you make an ass out of u & me”?

I assume that when someone is as unrealistically alarmist as your posts indicated, that you have no experience. If that makes an ass out of “u”, then that suits me.

Ignorance is bliss…

I second the epatforum.

But keep in mind that living/working in a foreign country is different than being an American exchange student in a foreign country. The later is more like an extended vacation where you happen to be studying. Living on a different country for an extended period where there may not be anyone that shares your background and frame of reference is different than visiting.

Just a little fyi to maybe help along the conversation, I speak fluent Spanish (parents are Cuban and lived in Miami my whole life), plan to be fluent in German and French before I move, I’ve been to China (all bee it only for 2 weeks), all throughout the Carri bean, and Up and down the East Coast of the U.S.

Also, I wouldn’t be moving until at least 2 yrs from now.

@MuffinMonarch (
I am so very curious as to how you plan on being fluent in German and French before you leave? How on earth does one become fluent in a language before even living there?

@CaseyWVU10 Seriously…
If you check out statistics (EU; UN) all kinds of crime are higher in the US than in the EU – pickpocketing included. Also there are Gun laws banning people from carrying fire arms in the EU – making gun related crimes and accidents very low.

Please talk about your experiences but don’t make it out like it is a sport to steal from Americans. That is just ignorance.
Oh, and when it comes so the Gypsies, which are really called Romani, they have for centuries been discriminated against in Europe and treated like shit. There are reasons why they do not have jobs or housing and why they turn to crime. Not saying it is ok but that is the way it is.
And your poor Spanish teacher. I bet no one in the US ever got robbed like that….

Europe is famous for their leather goods. Instead of looking online at ‘the bags they sell for people who go abroad’ I’d go to furla, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, LV or somewhere like it and get myself a real handbag and fit in instead of running around liked a headless American with a silly fanny bag looking like a moron basically screaming ‘I am a senseless tourist please rob me…’

@MuffinMonarch by “all bee it”, did you mean “albeit”?

I had the opportunity to live off base in Okinawa. As an Officer, I had a pretty good allowance, so had a housekeeper and a gardener. The house was a little small, but as I was raised a little ways away at Kadena AFB didn’t bother me at all.
Now that I am retired, considering moving to Mexico where I could live like a king on my pension. I have been there only once and paid a kid $5 to watch my car. I sat him on the hood and I think he hired neighborhood kids to set up a perimeter. I bought a bag of candy and toys to pass out to them when we headed home. I don’t know what it’s like at night, but am told it’s a whole different world.

These are my opinions and observations after my abroad experience and the fact that you are trying to change that is a moot point, after having LIVED in Europe for 4 months on my own. You can give the politically correct answer or the socially acceptable answer all you want and have this “we’re all just people…you’re ignorant” outlook of the world, but the fact of the matter is google any advice about going abroad, and security and keeping your belongings safe is one of the top issues.

So high tail it on over to Gucci and go ahead and buy that expensive bag to make yourself think you have sufficiently “blended” into your newly adapted culture. All I can say is good luck to you with that top notch idea.

While we are all impressed with how many designers you rattle off in one sentence, I was generally trying to help this fluther question asker and prepare them for the not-so-pretty aspect of Europe. Instead of filling their head with the PC answers and giving them a rose colored view b/c it is not always like that.

The responsible answer for this question originally posed about travel ABROAD should be, that arming yourself with information about your safety and security in any foreign country is the first priority. This will lay the ground work for a more relaxed experience, taking in the culture and heritage each country has to offer.

I already said this above and I will say it again, I have no idea why you are trying to draw comparisons back to the US b/c the US was not the topic of this question. It says something about how you can’t let go of comparing everything back to the US, instead of just accepting and getting over the way things are across the pond.

I think this horse had been sufficiently beaten to death…any takers on wanting to accuse me of being a supporter of horse slaughter too along with being a racist?

Aw, Kriminy here we are talking about eating horses again!

@CaseyWVU10 You are actually quite funny in your ramblings. And wow have you really LIVED abroad for 4 months… thats amazing.
Since I am European and have lived there for more than 20 years, yes I get offended, at ignorant remarks like yours that scare people into acting like fools.
I am perfectly aware how things are ‘across the pond’ as you so prettily put it and the thing is – people are the same all over the world. No one is out to get you or your belongings any more in Europe or anywhere else than they are in the US.

As to accusing you of being a racist, god forbid, I am just accusing you of ignorance!