Help, new physics student looking for advice

[LuluH]

Hi All

I have just joined, i am a physics student & very much look forward to hearing more about , i am currently studying at Queen Mary's University in London but look to travel to other areas to learn more about the world of physics, however i was wondering, in 2022 I am looking to go & visit; Massachusetts Institute, Stanford Uni & California Uni just to see if I could learn anything and experience i can take away. (& get some sun! Tired of the miserable weather)

So I've been looking into the exchange rates & I'm going to attack it at the best time. (At the moment I am getting 1387.00 USD for 1000 GBP from my exchange. However what I need some advice on would be; When I go there will I have to pay tax or will it be similar to how it is in France? Is it cheaper to exchange in cash or use my UK card in a US machine at the airport? Is there any physics "courses" or workshops anyone could advise me on over in the UK or Canada?

I'm sorry if I ramble a bit here but I really appreciate the help.

Yours

Lulu

[Post edited by the Mentors to remove unnecessary links]

 

[jedishrfu]

Just reading your post, it seems like the first thing you could do is find contacts at those universities so you could actually visit those departments as they aren't going to let a non-student of the university just walk in and say hello.

Perhaps some of your current profs can give you some good contacts.

Exchange rates vary from day to day and from exchange service to exchange service. In general, its never a good idea to use an exchange service like an airport exchange service unless you need cash immediately and are willing to lose out in the exchange.

My personal feeling is its always better to let your credit card handle it if it can ie you might need an international credit card. Also you should carry at least $100 to $200 for miscellaneous expenses for when a credit card option isn't available.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-you-should-have-an-international-credit-card-2019-06-04

Next you could use Airbnb and Uber to travel around in the host country unless your contacts can help for free. You need to check that those services will work with your international credit card.