Statistics of My Exchange
When telling people about my exchange and the Eurotrip it turned into, I often get asked the price tag that came with it. Normally I’d just provide a ballpark figure but after consolidating all of my banking statements, I finally have a total. Ready? The total price for my 4 month exchange is… $15,706.10! For this price, I paid my tuition, rent, food and all travel related expenses associated with the 17 countries I visited. Depending on who you are, some may think that’s a high figure but if you’re familiar with the cost of international travel, you’ll know this is a bargain. That’s not to say the exchange and Eurotrip were cheap, but for what I got in return, it’s a fantastic value!
To break down the total, below are the figures I used to reach my total. Note that debit and VISA card totals strictly reflect only exchange-related expenses and that debit totals do not include payments to my credit card as that would be a double entry.
Wire transfer for rent deposit 461.15
Tuition 3,408.26
Laurier International fee 100.00
Initial cash withdrawal 1,898.10
France plane ticket 1,010.00
VISA (August) 765.58
Debit card (August) 0.00
VISA (September) 391.47
Debit card (September) 790.81
VISA (October) 1,149.06
Debit card (October) 2,808.88
VISA (November) 463.82
Debit card (November) 1,311.91
VISA (December) 765.10
Debit card (December) 381.96
Total 15,706.10
What’s awesome about my school in Canada is that paying a semester’s worth of tuition covers the cost of international tuition — the school takes care of the difference. This is a massive cost-saver and one of the biggest draws in my decision to go abroad. In addition, my school only used online textbooks meaning the cost of studying abroad was actually cheaper than in Canada. My France rent was neutralized with the sublet income drawn from my room in Canada so that was covered, too. That means the real bulk of my exchange stemmed from the cost of food and travel… but was that ever worth it!
My exchange lasted 4 months, leaving Canada on August 22, 2012 (arriving in France the next day) and returning December 24, 2012 — a total of 124 days. During those 4 months, I travelled to 17 countries and 19 cities. They are:
France (Marseille, Cassis, Paris)
Netherlands (Amsterdam)
Belgium (Brussels)
Spain (Ibiza, Barcelona)
Morocco (Marrakesh)
Germany (Munich)
Switzerland (drive through the Alps)
United Kingdom (London)
Greece (Athens)
Macedonia (Skopje)
Serbia (Belgrade)
Turkey (Istanbul)
Italy (Milan)
Monaco (Monaco)
Lithuania (Vilnius)
Latvia (Riga)
Estonia (Tallinn)
Due to the enormous amount of travelling done, the total number of days out of Marseille (my host city) travelling Europe was 52 days, which equates to 42%. Yes, I was only in Marseille for just over half the duration of the exchange at 58% of my total time in Europe. I think that speaks volumes to my experience. Another statistic is that the total number of planes I took during my exchange (including the flights across the Atlantic Ocean) was 19. This figure does count layovers as separate planes, but still, that’s 19 separate take off and landings. This is coming from a guy who barely flew in his life. I’m not even going to bother with the number of trips that required bus or subway because the total would be too high a figure to count with precision.
I’m sure if I didn’t travel to as many countries as I did that I could have cut the cost of my travel to under $10,000 but for the amount I experienced with that extra $6,000 are memories that made my experience go beyond a typical exchange and turn itself into a Eurotrip; something I’d never trade.
With this statistics post, I can say that my blog posts regarding my exchange are now over. However, that doesn’t mean this blog will be discontinued. This exchange is only the beginning of my travel journeys and I will continue to update it with awesome travel stories as I continue to explore the globe. I’m proud to be recognized for the quality of my work and will continue to deliver great content.
Since my exchange, I’ve already travelled to Edmonton, Alberta and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with future travels planned for Halifax, Nova Scotia and St. John’s, Newfoundland; there’s still plenty to write about! This blog is an incredible space and I thank the thousands of readers across the globe who read and support my stories. See you in the next update!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels & was originally written on March 24, 2013
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
