Money Issues as an Exchange Student

Hi! My name is Benni and I’m an exchange student in the USA.

I was placed in the San Francisco Bay Area. The biggest cities are around 45 minutes away with public transportation. I lived with my welcome family in Palo Alto and moved to Menlo Park in November. Today, I’m going to be writing about my experience with money during my exchange year.

The financial situation of my family in Germany is complicated. The first ten years of my life I lived with my parents in a village near Kassel. Our life was comfortable, but not upscale - typical middle class. We went once a year to southern Europe for a trip and my brother and I got birthday presents and Christmas presents that were big, but not overwhelming. I was happy with it. My father worked full-time as a landscape gardener and my mother half-time as a physical therapist in a hospital.

Around 2015, my parents got divorced. My father moved to another village and I lived with my mother and brother in our house. This was a tough time for me. My mom still worked half time as a physical therapist, mostly to take care of my brother and me, we were 10 and 7 years old. The situation between my parents was complicated. There were some issues with the child support, to put it simply. Our income was low but my mom still gave us a lot of opportunities. During this time, I learned how to handle money and make the most of what I have

My mom found a new partner and we moved out of the house where I grew up. My now-step-father lives in a pretty good neighborhood of Kassel and has a good income. I would describe our situation as upper middle class. We have a lot of bonuses, but at the same time my step father has three children and has to pay child support for them and to his ex-wife. My life was definitely improved. I’m happy, but are very cautious with money especially my step father who grew up poor. He compares prices and really careful when spending money. 

My situation in the US is very different. The bay area is an expensive place. My host father works in the tech industry and my host mother for the local town government. They went to ivy league colleges, which is new for me, since my parents never attended college. My host family is into classical music and they attend many concerts. They’re also well-travelled. They’ve been to Japan, Alaska, and Europe, just to name a few.

Our house is nice and has a lot of space. My host brother and I each have our own room and bathroom. 

During the Californian Ski break, we went on a college tour. We flew from San Francisco to Minnesota, stayed there for three days, and then flew to Ohio. From there, we drove all the way to New York City. It was an amazing experience. I’m super thankful for my host family and I love them a lot. 

In New York, I had a slightly bad experience. We stayed in Brooklyn, at the house of my host mother’s friend. We dropped my host brother off at his friend's house that he met during his exchange program in France. My host mother and I spent a nice day together. We went to the top floor of the Empire State Building, walked around Wall Street, and saw many must see tourist places in New York. We had a lovely dinner with another friend and then went to a Broadway show. 

Once again: I love my host family and this trip was amazing. I wouldn’t be able to do all this stuff without them. 

However, my host mother spent a thousand dollars alone on that day. This is on top of all the expenses like flights, hotels, and apartments. 

I never told them that I feel bad about this and all the money they spent on me. It’s weird for me since I come from a family that had a difficult time with money. I know that I could just tell them, but I can’t bring myself to. 

My advice to current and future exchange students is to discuss money and trips with your host family. Obviously, every family situation is different but being open with them will go a long way.

If Katie, Cyrus, or Henry reads this: Guys, I love you. You gave me a second home and a wonderful time. Thank you.