I just came home from my semester abroad in Illinois, USA. In this article, I will tell you which things made it easier for me to live on the other side of the Atlantic.
Wise: The first problem I ran into when planing my stay was that it is pretty expensive to pay the rent via bank transfer. Luckily I found Wise. It offers the easiest and cheapest way to transfer money from Austria to the United States.
Tatonka Flightcase Carry-on backpack (40l): In the USA the hand luggage can be much bigger and heavier than in Europe. So traveling without a suitcase is a viable option. For example, I traveled through California just with this backpack. I chose the Tatonka Flightcase because it is the only travel bag with a Laptop pocket big enough for my MacBook Pro 15″ in its Incase Sleeve.
Mint Mobile: The prices for phone plans are high and have a long run time. Mint Mobile offers short-run time prepay plans that are reasonably priced. The only problem I ran into is that the coverage is worse in the national parks than with the major providers, but it is okay in the cities.
Uber and Lyft: As the USA does not have an excellent public transport system, I became a regular user of these two ride-hailing services. The main advantages are that I knew what I would have to pay in advance and did not have to talk to anyone to order a ride. They both offer. It is worth checking the prices of both apps because they can vary.
America the Beautiful Passes: As a European, one of the most incredible things is the large national parks in the west of the USA. And the Ticket for a year is worth it after only a few visits.