Which are the most expensive cities in the world for students?

Savills real estate network has just published its ranking of the most expensive cities in the world for students. Three criteria were taken into account: the cost of living, tuition fees and of course accommodation.

Unsurprisingly, London is the city where accommodation is most expensive for students, coming in at 1,600 US dollars per month, just ahead of New York (1,580 US dollars). Next in the list are Seoul (South Korea), Boston (United States), San Francisco (United States) and Sydney (Australia).

At the bottom of the list come European and Chinese cities. It is far easier to find affordable accommodation in Shanghai and Beijing (China), Berlin, Munich (Germany) and Milan (Italy). Lyon and Paris are the two French cities that figure in the Savills study, and they fare reasonably well. Accommodation there is cheaper than in Manchester (United Kingdom), Madrid (Spain) and Barcelona (Spain).

While housing is one element to be taken into account when going to study abroad, tuition fees also weigh in the balance when choosing a university. Here, US cities figure at the top of the list. With tuition fees ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 US dollars per month (not including student health insurance which is often compulsory at university), the cities of Boston, New York, San Francisco and Chicago are all among the most expensive.

Again it comes as no surprise that the first European city to figure is London. The UK capital is closely followed by Madrid and Bristol (United Kingdom). Once again, the more affordable cities are to be found in Germany and China. “Students will spend the same amount in Berlin or Munich as they would in Beijing or Shanghai, but with lower tuition fees”, explains one of the authors of the study, in an interview with the Boursier.com website.

Overall, when the cost of living criterion is added in, Paris comes out 17th with a budget of less than 2,000 US dollars per month, ahead of Lyon which is 19th. Shanghai is bottom of the list – thus making it the ideal city to go and study.

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