Université de Liège, Belgium

Your first month will be more costly as you buy things for your room, books and supplies. The more you travel the more you spend, but it is worth it.

The currency in Belgium until January 1 2002 is the Belgian Franc, which comes in coins of 1, 5, 20 and 50, and bills of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000. After January 1 2002 the currency will be the Euro. The fixed exchange rate between the Belgian Franc and the Euro is 1 Euro = 40.33 FB. The exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Euro fluctuates around 1 Euro = $0.90.

Here are some sample costs you will encounter in Liege:

• Rent: $150-$250/month
• Groceries: $20-$30/week
• 1 bus ride: $1.00
• 8 ride bus card: $5.50
• Monthly bus pass: $25.00
• Yearly bus pass: $200
• Loaf of bread (fresh from the bakery): $1.00
• BELGIAN Fries: $1.00-$1.50
• Glass of Coke, juice, water, or Belgian beer in a cafe: $1.50
• Restaurant meal: $7-10
• Pizzeria: $5-6
• Movie: $6-$7
• Newspaper: $1.00
• Postage stamp to the US: $1.00
• Postage stamp in Europe: $0.50
• GoPass (10 one-way train rides in Belgium): $40.00
• Taxi from Sart-Tilman to town center: $12.00
• Plane ticket Chicago-Brussels $500-$1000
• Liege-style wafle: $1.00
• University French courses: $50.00 per course
• Membership to the university athletic facility: $12.00/year (includes pool, gyms and weight room)

If you have to buy textbooks, they will be cheaper in Belgium because they are usually the paperback international version. I found it helpful to buy my own copies of the English textbooks since they are much easier for me to study than the French class notes. However, textbooks are usually a supplementary reference, and most professors keep a copy on reserve in the engineering library.

Bring an ATM card (with a full checking account behind it)! That is the easiest and cheapest way to change money. Bring a back-up source of money too; if the bank machine eats your card on a Sunday you are in trouble.