Money: That is probably one of the many things you are thinking about when considering the University of Tartu for your international education needs and desire. Well, fear not, I am here to give you all the financial information your fiscally aware heart could ever want! For me, I was concerned about whether I would be able to afford to live in Tartu! Luckily, as this post will highlight, Tartu is a highly affordable city! However, before we dive into this exciting world of fiscal responsibility, it’s essential to know how strong your native currency is compared to the mighty euro. A great website for looking at exchange rates is xe.com.
The first and foremost budget consideration for you should be housing. Where are you going to live and how much will it cost? Your first option is the dorms, and you can find the monthly rent for each dorm here. Rent for the dorms is around 117€ to 250€ depending on whether you’re sharing a room and which dorm you choose. The dorms are economically beneficial as you do not have to pay for utilities. Another option is to get a long-term room at Hugo Stay; you can find their rate at hugostay.com. However, Hugo Stay does require you to pay utilities in addition to your monthly rent. You should expect to pay around 380€ to 450€ a month including utilities at Hugo Stay. A third option is to look for an apartment or room on kv.ee. KV is the largest real-estate site in Estonia and allows landlords to post available rooms and apartments. While you may need to translate the post, you can find excellent and affordable accommodation via these sights. Always make sure to ask about utilities and whether the Internet is offered. Personally, I found my current room on kv.ee for 250€ including Internet and utilities.
Another necessity is your phone plan. While free Wi-Fi is in great abundance around Tartu, you’ll probably still want a data plan and a way to make phone calls. Estonia has three major cell phone service providers – Telia, Elisa, and Tele2. You can get a pre-paid SIM card at any of their stores. This site provides an excellent comparison of the three providers and their monthly rates. You should expect to pay at the maximum of around 10€ to 20€ for a phone plan monthly but, you will have no problem with a 3€ month phone plan.
Food is cheap in Tartu, depending on where you are eating. If you are solely cooking at home, you can expect to pay around 100€ to 200€ on groceries. Regarding groceries, Co-op and Rimi are the affordable options, while Toidumaailm is the fancier grocery store. Your budget might drastically increase if you choose to eat out regularly. However, there are a variety of cheap restaurants to grab food at. You can always grab a slice of pizza from Rimi for 1€ to 2€ or get a 5€ lunch at the library café. Also, some restaurants offer daily lunch deals – you can find these at päevapakkumised.ee. A typical dinner at a restaurant in Tartu can be around 10€ to 20€. (I highly recommend La Dolce Vita or Kolm Tilli for my fellow pizza lovers; I give it my Chicagoan stamp of approval).
The best Pizza in Tartu! Photo courtesy of Kolm Tilli’s Instagram
Naturally, you cannot go to Tartu without having fabulous fashions. Rule number one do not stock up on clothes from your home country! Save that luggage space for something more valuable like good books or a stockpile of candy. There are the leading fast-fashion stores in the malls, such as H&M, Zara, Guess, and New Yorker. However, these are not going to be financially friendly on your budget. Instead, you should absolutely buy your clothes at the second-hand shops! You are saving the planet and recycling, but you quite literally cannot beat the prices and quality these stores have to offer. The three main second-hand stores in Tartu are Humana, Uuskasutuskeskus, and Võru Varblane. I cannot recommend these stores enough; they are a penny pincher’s dream! Humana has the occasionally 1€ end-of-the-month sale where everything in the store is a euro! Also, not to brag, but I found a warm and stylish wool coat in, Uuskasutuskeskus for only 1€! These second-hand stores are great for finding cheap dishware, utensils, kitchen appliances, quilts, and all your other various household needs.
Another consideration for your financial budget is transportation. You can walk almost anywhere in Tartu, so your transportation costs are going to be very minimal, almost non-existent. There is a bus system that can get your around Tartu quickly and cheaply, the fare is usually less than 1€ (0.51€ with student discount and even cheaper monthly tickets). While you can pay with your debit card, you can also get a bus card – more information on Tartu bus cards can be found here. You can also get around Tartu via Taxi, Bolt, Bolt Scooters, and Smart Bike. If you’re traveling outside of Tartu to another city, you can buy a ticket from Lux Express. Passengers under the age of 25 can qualify for a youth discount. A ticket to and from Tallinn costs around 17€.
Riding around Pärnu on a Bolt Scooter
The last and arguably most crucial budget consideration is leisure. It’s a common occurrence for students to gather and enjoy some adult beverages with each other. Beers and ciders cost around 3€, while cocktails and hard liquor can cost around 6€. Some great and affordable options to partake in such activities are Moku, Kivi, and Illegaard. A good rule of thumb is that anything near the Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square) will be more expensive. You can also see a movie at the Apollo Cinema in Lõunakeskus for around 5€ to 7€ euros. You can also partake in a gym membership at Lemon Gym for about 20€ to 30€ a month.
Budgeting and practicing fiscal responsibility can be challenging initially. The first month in Tartu will be the most expensive, as you are acquiring all the supplies and materials necessary for making Tartu your home. So, do not panic if you spend an outrageous amount of money your first month. You’ll find that Tartu is the perfect student town, especially for our fiscally aware students. For those of you staring at Dream Apply and wondering if you can feasibly study at Tartu University and afford to live in our beautiful city, take it from me; you absolutely can!
Don’t forget to factor coffee into your budget!
