Money Stuff

Moving abroad can have a lot of financial implications, I'm just writing this so you have an idea of what finances might look like when you go.

What was the cost of things in France?

For my rent I paid 530 euros a month. This can vary depending on where you stay. I saw some cheaper and a lot more expensive ones. 

My flat was fully furnished so I didn't have to buy many extra things. The only major thing I bought was an electric heater as it got really cold in winter and our heating didn't work very well.

Food was in general a little more expensive - meals out and groceries. 

What financial help was available?

I went as a student so I was eligible for the Erasmus grant. For me I got 80% of it during my stay and 20% when I returned and completed all my forms. 

I was also put forward for the Stevenson Scholarship Award. I had to pitch a project proposal and the selected ones got a monetary award. This really helped my finances when I was away. It's worth checking with your uni if there's anything like this you can apply for.

As I've mentioned in my CAF blog, I got 528 euros in total for the time I was in France. It's supposed to be paid monthly but never was so I got it on return. 

I also worked part time as a tutor so I got 50 euros per week for that. You can read about it here.

I also got half of my travel reimbursed as an ELA, you can find out more about this in my other blog.

And finally I was getting paid monthly for my ELA exchange so around 750-850 euros per month depending on how many weeks I worked.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of finances in France x

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