Overall, the positives of coming to San Francisco far outweigh the negatives. It is a beautiful place to live with amazing and eccentric people. Once the difficulties of housing and settling in to a new place away from friends and family have been dealt with,...
The main attraction of going to SFSU is obviously San Francisco itself – one of the most vibrant and fulfilling cities I have ever stayed in. There’s a few reasons as to why SF rents are so high, but I think the main one is...
It costs from $2-5 to withdraw money from an ATM that is not associated with your bank. Therefore your best bet is to open an account here and process all your transactions through them, to avoid withdrawal fees (which can really add up over a...
I lived right next to a Safeway and was lucky in that it was very convenient to do my shopping. However, groceries are super expensive and don’t help that rapidly emptying bank account balance. I would suggest shopping at local independent shops mainly because of...
You will have the chance to apply for ‘Academic Training’ whilst you are studying here, which basically means that you are eligible to work/intern at many SF organisations. This really is a fantastic opportunity, not only to extend your visa and stay in SF for...
The health insurance system in the U.S is a farce. But legally, you’ll still have to pay it. My advice would be to contact your health insurance/health care provider (a year later I still don’t fully understand how the system works) and find out exactly...
There seems to be a wider national problem with attitudes towards mental health in the U.S that marginalises those affected – you just have to walk around downtown SF for 5 minutes until you bump into someone quite clearly suffering from psychosis who has no...
The Office of International Programs is remarkably apt as an administrative body, responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of incoming international students and outgoing Study Abroad students. Dealing with this many students requires a highly mechanized system of checked forms, signatures and paperwork to ensure...
Finding affordable housing isn’t easy and will probably require many hours scrolling through and refreshing pages on Craigslist. I managed to find a private room in a tiny apartment for $890 a month on 19th Avenue and Taraval street (perfect for getting to SFSU on...
I’d like to give a special mention to 2 professors who made my time at SFSU, academically speaking, truly enjoyable. Lawrence Hanley – A professor of English who just also happens to be hilarious and chilled out. His enthusiasm and energy alone were enough to galvanize...