The United States is a big country with amazing towns and cities all over the country. From Maine to Florida, there are so many places you could choose to study in the USA.
But if you want a good memorable all round study abroad experience, here are my top reasons why you won't regret going to the US East Coast on your study abroad program.
1. Cheap Flights
Where ever you choose to go on the East Coast, you’re never too far from an international airport. This means more flights, more airlines and more flexibility.
So, if you want to fly into New York JFK or Washington Dulles, youll be spoilt for choice. As a result, you’ll be able to find yourself a great deal. Recently with the addition of low cost long haul airlines such as Norwegian and Primera Air, there are many budget flights to the USA that can get you over to the east coast for less than £200.
2. Top Quality Universities
East coast is home to some great universities, such as Cornell, Harvard, Yale, NYU, Georgetown, University of Maryland and University of Pennsylvania; just to name a few.
3. Iconic Spots
Of course, on your studies in the US, you’ll want to take time to see famous places, most of which is just a short plane, train or bus ride away.
Whether its Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, White House, DisneyWorld or Miami. All the best USA east coast travel destinations are within easy reach.
4. Time Zone
The time zone along the east coast is GMT-5. So it’s around 5 hours behind the UK. As you’ll be away from home for most of the year, reaching out to friends and family easily can help with your homesickness
5. Weather
East Coast weather changes a lot. You can get really hot days or really freezing days. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine when its baking hot in Boston, that some periods in the year its freezing cold.
Having said that, east coast weather is good, as you won’t be sweating every day of the year like in LA. It’s warm, but there are mild days to cool off. If you’re a beach lover or a snowman builder; the East Coast can offer you that.
6. Cultural Differences
You’ll be able to immerse yourself into the different cultures with the people along the East Coast. There are 15 states along the East Coast.
That’s a lot of states in a relatively small distance. Each with their own way of life. You could have a real mix of Americans in your class. So, you’ll have the full American college experience.
7. Friends
If you have friends from home, studying abroad in the US as well. There are a lot of different types of universities and colleges on the East Coast, so you’re never too far from each other.
8. Better Public Transport
Whenever Spring Break or Thanksgiving comes around, travelling and exploring cities is easy.
You’ll be able to use the many Coach lines to travel between cities. This is a popular method of travelling, so pre-booking is ideal. There are deals from New York to DC for as low as $5.
Major carriers are Greyhound, Peter Pan Bus, OurBus and Megabus; each has their pros and cons. This means you can usually spend a weekend or a day trip in New York or Boston with a cheap budget.
If coaches are not to your fancy, then there is a wide train network along the coast. Such as the 24 hour journey I took with Amtrak from Orlando to New York.
If you were enrolled in other locations such as the west coast or mid-west, you’ll find it difficult and expensive to explore major cities unless booking USA tours.
9. Latest Entertainment
One great advantage to going to a top US university is that TV subscription could be included in your tuition. Usually Xfinity TV, that means you’ll have access to high quality live TV and sports, latest boxsets and series. No more waiting for half a year for your favourites series to appear on our screens.
10. Be on Prime Time TV
The US is home to some famous and most watched shows such as late night talk shows, so If you’re a big fan of American TV and shows, then you’ll be able to try and get tickets to watch live shows and talk shows. Getting these tickets are not easy, but as you’ll be in the US for a longer period, you’ll have more opportunities to bag those free tickets.
By Josh Lo
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