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Old 03-11-2009, 07:34 PM
 
5 posts, read 34,800 times
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Hello,

I am planning to stay in Texas, Houston in the summer for about 3 months.

I would like to know how much money I'll be needing to have with me, for that period of time.

I am planning to rent an apartment for that period. I don't own a car so I won't be needing gas.

Can anyone help?
Money for: Food, transportation, pocket money, etc..
PS: Excluding rent for the apartment.
Thank you.. Much apprecaited =).

Last edited by roswell67; 03-11-2009 at 07:45 PM..
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:39 PM
 
4,246 posts, read 12,025,375 times
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billion dollars. Seriously we don't know how you live if you smoke, go to mens clubs, drink alot, need a nice place. To many variables.

Safely I would say 4k for 3 months
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:41 PM
 
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mmm sorry..?
I smoke, but i'll be bringing my smokes with me from my home country... I don't drink... am going there to do an internship, so mostly.. I'll be doing work on the weekdays.. and weekend.. I really don't know.. lol..

What else do you want to know that could help you... I just need an estimate?
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Old 03-11-2009, 09:08 PM
 
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I hope you'll be living close to where you work if you won't have a car. The public transporation in Houston is not very good.

I'm assuming your apartment with be furnished and include all utilities (gas, water, electricity)?

Will you be eating out a lot and going out to lunch everyday? Or buy groceries and pack a lunch?

Will you take cabs or the bus?
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Old 03-11-2009, 09:26 PM
 
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I hope so too, I havn't found an apartment yet. But ofcourse.. what am lookin for is a fully furnished apartment, I could use some help with that too. Looked up a couple on rent.com they look pretty nice and goes for 800$/month..

I would ofcourse be using public transportation if work wasn't close to me. I don't know about cabs or buses, I dont wanna be limited with my options.

My personal budget excluding rent would be around 2500-3500$ for 11 weeks in houston. So all advice, recommendation are highly appreciated.

I can cook in the apartment so I'll be having food cooked or sometimes I might go out for lunch etc, but the frequent thing would be having food cooked.
I don't think packing lunch is an option to me, so I might be having lunch out or not.. as I said don't know what my situation will be as i have never been to the states.

I know that am making this more difficult for anyone to help me out, but please bare with me. I'll answer more questions if wanted.

Thanks again.
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Old 03-12-2009, 12:42 AM
 
4,246 posts, read 12,025,375 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roswell67 View Post
mmm sorry..?
I smoke, but i'll be bringing my smokes with me from my home country... I don't drink... am going there to do an internship, so mostly.. I'll be doing work on the weekdays.. and weekend.. I really don't know.. lol..

What else do you want to know that could help you... I just need an estimate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by roswell67 View Post
I hope so too, I havn't found an apartment yet. But ofcourse.. what am lookin for is a fully furnished apartment, I could use some help with that too. Looked up a couple on rent.com they look pretty nice and goes for 800$/month..

I would ofcourse be using public transportation if work wasn't close to me. I don't know about cabs or buses, I dont wanna be limited with my options.

My personal budget excluding rent would be around 2500-3500$ for 11 weeks in houston. So all advice, recommendation are highly appreciated.

I can cook in the apartment so I'll be having food cooked or sometimes I might go out for lunch etc, but the frequent thing would be having food cooked.
I don't think packing lunch is an option to me, so I might be having lunch out or not.. as I said don't know what my situation will be as i have never been to the states.

I know that am making this more difficult for anyone to help me out, but please bare with me. I'll answer more questions if wanted.

Thanks again.
You must smoke a cig every 2 days. Can't bring in more than a carton or 2 into Texas. If you live cheap then it can be done. But not for 2500 bucks, no way no how. Even if you plan on spending 800/month on an apartment. You must be very very young to expect 2500-3500 to go that far and long. Just rent alone would be 2400 for the 3 months. Might want to do that math again.

Did they include all utilities for the 800? How much are you expecting to spend on food?
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Old 03-12-2009, 07:41 AM
 
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2500-3500 for food and fun for 11 weeks is a good amount.

I'd say you'll spend around $50 / week for groceries unless you choose to spend more, of course.
And a lunch out would be $6 for fast food (McDonald's etc) or $15-$20 at a casual restaurant.

And then you'll need money for any entertainment. And, since there's a lot of variables, it doesn't hurt to budget as much as $3500 for your trip (excluding apartment).

It's hard to tell you what to budget for transportation. I think a bus costs $2? I really don't know. You can look at METRO - Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas for info on buses.
And with cabs, it just depends on the distance of course. Buses in Houston really aren't fun. You'll want to make sure you're apartment is near a bus stop for a bus that goes to your work.
You might want to consider renting a car for the 3 months. Check out
Long Term Car Rental - Enterprise Rent-A-Car
and
Long Term Car Rentals from Budget
and
Monthly Car Rental - Long term rental deals from Avis.com for information on monthly car rentals.

What area of town is your internship in? Have you decided in what general area you want to rent an apartment in?
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Old 03-12-2009, 09:19 AM
 
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To reply to daniel, my budget without the apartment's rent will be around 2500-3500$ ... and for the apartment i have about 2400-2800$.
So in total i'll be having 4900-6300$

and to Alex, mmm... I wasn't filled up with every detail yet, all I know at the moment is that i'll be doing an internship for ExxonMobil. Am also not quite sure of the location, all i know it's in houston so far.

And no havnt decided on the area that'll be renting in.
Am sorry for having such little information.

I would like some suggestions about good apartments that are furnished and are Cable TV ready / has high-speed internet.

to confirm, so 2500-3500$ excluding rent is enough for 3 months.. am i correct?
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Old 03-12-2009, 09:29 AM
 
809 posts, read 3,569,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roswell67 View Post
to confirm, so 2500-3500$ excluding rent is enough for 3 months.. am i correct?
I would say so unless you take a taxi to work everyday or plan to eat at fancy places a lot.

I think you really need to pin down where you'll be working before you pick an apartment.

I have no clue as to who rents furnished apartments on a month-to-month basis.
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Old 03-12-2009, 09:31 AM
 
809 posts, read 3,569,575 times
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Do you have a HR contact at ExxonMobil that might be able to recommend furnished apartments to you? I image they have a lot of people in your situation.
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