Are you studying abroad in Europe? Are you curious about what it will be like? I lived and studied in Florence, Italy during the fall of 2022 and had the best experience. I've made a list of what I would have liked to know before moving abroad.
In this post you will find:
How to Best Pack for 3+ Months Abroad
Things I would have liked to know about living in Italy
General Travel Tips for Study Abroad Students
In many parts of this post I will be referring to my experience in Italy, however, other European countries may be similar.
How to Best Pack for 3+ Months Abroad
**I was abroad from September to December meaning I was packing for multiple climates.
The list below is what my roommate and I did/didn’t do that we’d recommend when it comes to packing for months in Europe.
Bring 2-3 bags with at least one being a carry on size for weekend trips. I took a large checked bag, small checked bag, standard carry on bag and backpack.
Pack versatile clothing. I wore mostly neutrals and although people dress up in Europe, I always chose the comfier outfit when traveling. Although I packed jeans, I wore my linen pants and black pants the most.
Neutral Wardrobe. Keep more “bold” clothes at home. I had a new, fun, multicolored shirt that I decided not to pack and am glad I didn’t. I would have worn it maybe once. Although I’ve already said it… stick to neutrals!
Packing for multiple seasons. Unless studying abroad in the summer, you will most likely be packing for multiple seasons. For half of my trip I was wearing lightweight clothing and the other half I was bundled up in sweaters and scarves. I packed about 8 sweaters and 1 cardigan which was perfect. I re-wore everything many times, but still felt like I had options. Once again, keep them neutral.
Athletic Clothes. Do not pack athletic clothes. As an avid legging wearer in the US, I NEVER wore my leggings. Pack maybe one pair of airport leggings and sweats that can be dressed up. I only wore my black athletic tanks because they could be dressed up. I’d recommend bringing 1-2 pairs of leggings, 4 athletic tops, 2 pairs of sweats (one for lounging at home and one that can be dressed up), 1-2 casual zip up jackets for layering.
Coats. Bring jackets that are easy to layer. Here’s what I packed that I felt was perfect for what I needed: 2 neutral colored blazers, 1 fun blazer, leather blazer, leather jacket, and 2 light quilted coats (1 multicolored brown one and one all black). My plan was to buy a heavier long coat when it got colder out which I did.
Heels. Don’t even pack them. No one wears heels in the city. If you have any shoes that are so cute but even remotely uncomfortable, do not bring them. We all have those shoes. If you have a block heel shoe that is comfortable for walking, do bring those. I brought black heeled booties, but they are comfortable enough to walk around a city in and worked well for me.
Winter Gear. When it got colder in November, I was glad that I packed a pair of gloves, a winter hat and a scarf (which I used as a shawl in the warmer weather). I bought a larger coat in Italy, but was thankful to have those smaller warm items for long days walking around different cities in Europe.
Jeans. Jeans are heavy and take up a lot of space, but I did end up needing them and wearing them a lot. I’d recommend brings 2-4 pairs. I brought 2 denim pairs, a white pair and a black pair.
There is no AC in the summer and the heat is only turned on for a few hours a day due to government regulations. If going in the winter you’ll want those fuzzy socks and maybe pack an extra lounge sweatshirt.
Beauty Products. If you have beauty products that are very specific or just a brand that you like, bring all what you’ll need for the amount of time you’re there. (Explained more in the section below)
Do not bring any expensive hair styling tools that you don’t want to get ruined. The voltage is different in Europe so some tools may blow up. If you don’t want to risk it, don’t bring it. I’d recommend either bringing a cheap option or buying a european option in Italy (which was hard to find and did not get as hot as American styling tools). Either way I would not recommend bringing a hair dryer.
Use Air Compression Bags. These bags were very helpful to get more into my suitcases. Any type of suitcase organizers are very helpful in keeping everything organized. The linked bags are from amazon and don’t require a vacuum.
What I Would have Liked to Know About Living in Florence
(Also check out my post on “Life in Italy from an American’s POV”)
The grocery stores in Florence are extremely basic. Although they have most of what you need, there is usually only one type of each item. There are also many cooking ingredients that you will discover are difficult to find.
Also on the topic of food, there is very little variety in food choices in the city. Of course the Italian food was amazing, however there are not as many cuisine choices like there are in America. Very little options for Mexican, Indian, American, Spanish, Sushi, etc. Just something I was not used to and something I missed about America!
Beauty Products. Unlike Target and grocery stores in America, there are very few products in Italian grocery stores. 1 brand of shampoo/conditioner, 1 brand of toothpaste, 1 brand of soap, etc. (Make sure you have google translate for figuring these out…Ha)
Caddy’s is a beauty type store that sells more American Beauty products. We didn’t find this until later in our stay, but it was a jackpot for all convenience and beauty products that you'll recognize.
I did Duolingo for a few months prior to moving to Italy and I am so glad I did! It not only helped when learning the language at my University, but it was also nice to know simple phrases when locals ask you questions at stores and such. If you didn’t get a chance to learn Italian, most people also speak english. I’d recommend learning the language if you can. It was one of my favorite parts of living in Italy!
It is very cheap to live in Florence. I spent $450 on groceries in 4 months. I could hit that in 1 month in America! Also take advantage of eating out and those yummy Italian meals!
Some credit/debit cards have a larger currency charge than others. Ask your bank beforehand the best option for abroad spending. Some people in my group had large charges on their cards and always had to use someone else's card for transactions.
Do not get Euros at the airport upon arrival. Wait to use an ATM in the city and when it asks if you are okay with the conversion fee hit DECLINE CONVERSION. Otherwise it will charge you a large percent of the transaction instead of a few bucks.
There is no dryer so your clothes will dry outside/on drying racks. There are laundromats with dryers which are helpful to dry sheets and such.
Florence has buses as an option to get around, however the city is extremely walkable. Bus tickets are available for purchase at the Tabacchi's.
Train stations do not have a waiting area like you may think. If you have a train to catch, you can arrive around 20 minutes before it leaves. The train typically doesn’t even get to the station until 10 minutes before it departs. No need to arrive hours early like you would at an airport.
List of helpful places for living long-term in Florence:
-Caddy’s (Beauty products)
-Conad (main grocery store throughout the city)
-The mall under the train station has more American food pantry items with some basic clothing items and products.
General Travel Tips for Study Abroad Students
With little time in Europe and lots to see, you’ll want to pack in as much as you can while you’re there. Below are some helpful notes about ways to travel as a student on a budget:
Ryanair has cheap flights for students. They typically fly to further airports with the need to get a train into the city center after landing. Sometimes the cost is the same as flying a different airline directly to a main airport. However, when flying Ryanair we were able to get flights for as low as $80. Our flight to Santorini cost $82!! Other good, reasonable European airlines we flew were Lufthansa, Swiss Air, British Airways and Air France.
Download Trainline to find good train prices. I would not recommend buying tickets until a few days before your travel date. If going somewhere in Italy for a day trip I wouldn’t get a ticket until arriving at the train station. Sometimes trains are cancelled without the ability to get refunds and it can be cheaper to buy right before boarding.
Hostelworld is another app to find cheap places to stay. Sometimes its just as cheap to stay in a hotel with nicer accommodations so check both!
If you can bring a backpack as your luggage for the weekend, do it!! Since not all airlines have a free carry on, this is a way to save $$$. If you need some luggage space, my roommate and I would typically only bring and pay for one carry-on and we’d both pack things in it and in our backpacks. We were never away from Florence for long enough to each need an entire carry-on.
A lot of study abroad students will travel around together meaning we would have larger groups on trips. Use google docs to plan everything and share it with each other.
Download Splitwise to keep track of expenses. Many restaurants in Europe will not allow you to split the bill meaning one person may be paying for large meals. Splitwise allows everyone to enter the price of their meal into the app. If one person pays one time and another person pays the next time, the cost of the meals will take the difference of what is owed automatically. It is so much easier to figure out who venoms what at the end of the trip instead of everyone venmo-ing each other back and forth throughout the trip.
Want more information on Living in Italy? Check out this post on my page titled “Life in Italy From an American's POV”. Stay tuned for an additional blog post about recommended restaurants and bars in Florence.
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