Introduction to Week 4

This is a fun lesson because it involves exploring what it’s like to actually live in certain countries or cities, as opposed to just traveling there as a tourist.

This is a fun lesson because it involves exploring what it's like to actually live in certain countries or cities, as opposed to just traveling there as a tourist. I love shows like House Hunters International, or even books that really give a glimpse into what actual day-to-day life is like in certain places and different cultures. And that's what we're going to be doing this week. 

There are so many cities in the database that I had never heard of before Beyond the States. And I know I'm guilty of having some preconceived notions about some of them that have absolutely been proven wrong. Take Estonia. Before Beyond the States, I couldn't have placed it on the map, never really even heard of it. And then, when I did become aware of it, my preconceived notions were based on the only thing I knew, which is that they were under Soviet rule until 1991. However, when I dug deeper, I learned that they're one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, that they're an E-society, a huge startup hub, and Internet access is actually a defined human right. This is certainly not what I envisioned. 

I talk a lot about how this country is a hidden gem for international students. They have reasonable tuition, affordable cost of living, it's super easy to explore other parts of Europe and the world. They have a great international airport, you can take a two hour ferry ride to Helsinki, you can get to Russia pretty easily, if you want to do that. There are also great opportunities to learn from Estonia around technology, and even startups through internship opportunities. 

There have been some students who I've done a best fit list for, and they've been a little skeptical when they see schools in Estonia on their list. And then they looked into it, and they're totally psyched. We have a few students studying there. And actually, one of them is one of our student ambassadors this year. But I can tell you, they both love it. But I know that none of them had said to themselves before that, “You know, I'd really like to study in Estonia.” 

So that's just to say that I really encourage you to keep an open mind in this lesson. The factors that make a place fun to travel to aren't necessarily the same factors that make a great place to live. And certainly, may not be the best factors that make a place great to live for an international student. 

So this lesson is going to help you determine what you are and aren't looking for in a location. And then we're going to take that big list from last week, and start narrowing down based just on location. Let's get started.