24-year-old American moved to Belgium to get his Master's degree—it cost just $4,610: 'As a student, there is no better cost of living'
Grey went and studied in Copenhagen for six months. When that time was up, he wasn't ready to head back to Santa Cruz, so he attended a Semester at Sea before finally returning to California.
"When I came back to Santa Cruz, it was a real reverse culture shock for me," Grey says. "There was no housing left there. The city is really not built for students."
Back in Santa Cruz, Grey lived off campus in a two-bedroom apartment with three other roommates and worked as a study abroad advisor. His share of the rent was $1,340 a month, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
"I was paying more to live in Santa Cruz than I had been paying to live abroad. I said to myself I couldn't do it anymore," Grey says. "I knew that after I was done [with undergrad] I would apply for a master's degree in Belgium."
Not only was Grey unhappy being back in California, he was also dissatisfied with the quality of education he received at UC Santa Cruz, especially considering the cost. For the 2024-2025 school year, the average cost for in-state students living on campus is $44,160. Grey's classes were canceled for more than half a semester one year and he still had to pay for the entire thing.
"It just didn't seem like I was getting what I paid for even with a ton of federal and state funding," Grey says. "I knew there had to be a better system and a better way to get an education. Through my study abroad job, I realized I could just get a visa and study as an international student for a sixth of the price."
Grey considered master's programs at Cambridge University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, but he couldn't justify the cost. That led him to Leuven, Belgium.
Leuven was built to be a "15-minute city," an urban planning concept where most daily necessities like shopping, healthcare, and more can be reached within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. The concept is gaining traction in other Belgian cities like Brussels and Mechelen and exists in major cities like Paris, France, Barcelona, Spain and Melbourne, Australia.
In Leuven, cars are banned in the city center and it is easy — and encouraged — to get around on bike.
"I fell in love with it and loved that Belgium was centrally located, so I could travel, too," he says "There are four different countries around me within a three-hour train ride, and that was very unique."
Leuven is home to the KU Leuven university, which offers a program for degree-seeking students called a search permit. This permit allows students or researchers to stay for a year and work unrestricted, provided they obtain a master's degree from a university in the country. It's a one-year program, and the tuition cost is about 3,800 euros a year or $4,481 USD. Most of Grey's classes provided all course material online, so he didn't have to worry about buying textbooks.
"As a student, there is no better cost of living. There is nothing better economically than being in Europe. There's no reason to go into debt here, so it just makes sense at this stage in my life," he says.
Grey arrived in Belgium in July 2023 with two checked bags and a backpack. He moved into a four-bedroom house with three other people and paid 500 euros, or USD $544, a month in rent at the time: "It was fantastic. I mean, I was paying a third of the price to get my own room."
Grey immediately set out to build a life in Leuven.
"When I first got here, it was daunting. I was aware of the fact that I had no friends here and I was totally on my own," he says. "I think that was the first time I ever felt like that in my life. I worked really hard to make friends and make a community here."
Grey graduated last summer, having paid 4,290 euros, USD $4,610 at the time, for the year-long master's program. Grey then moved about a 10-minute bike ride outside the city where he pays 420 euros a month in rent, including utilities. His current housing also provides some toiletries and some food, too.
The 24-year-old has lived in Belgium for almost two years now, and says he loves the work-life balance he's been able to find there.
"The community feels so strong here and I have a really great balance between my work life and my home life," he says. "It's such a slower pace of life here and it's really beautiful."
Grey loves living in Belgium so much that he's gearing up to start his second master's program at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, the country's capital, in September. The estimated cost for the year is roughly 4,960 euros — USD $5,848. He'll live on campus and pay around the same amount as he does in rent now.
"I'm really committed to living here in Belgium and eventually going for naturalization," Grey says. "After I graduate, the goal would be to work as a journalist in Brussels for either one of the American papers or as a North American correspondent for one of the Belgian papers."
The one thing Grey does know for sure is that he isn't ready to return to America just yet, especially after seeing how much his life has changed for the better in Belgium.
"I knew that Belgium was an option for creating a life here and it had more pathways for me to live here. I'm grateful to my 22-year-old self that I chose this country and I chose this path because it looks like I'm gonna stay and if I don't stay, it won't be due to a lack of trying," he says.
"Living in the U.S., I felt there was a ticking clock inside of me where I had to get into the workforce, get a house, have a family, and I think now I've slowed down a little bit and kind of just smelled the roses a little bit more,."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Private equity firm Capitol Meridian started in 2021 to bet on defense. Suddenly it's the hottest sector around
Adam Palmer remembers the days in March 2021 when he and Brooke Coburn would interview potential investors from his home just outside Washington D.C. They had just done the unthinkable. Palmer and Coburn had left the security and success of Carlyle Group to launch their own private equity firm right in the middle of Covid-19, when employees for most companies were still working from home. 'No one was in the office. The world was shut down,' Palmer said. Sitting around Palmer's dining room table, he and Coburn would talk to possible investors, employees and advisors about their plans to build a private equity firm. They didn't have a name yet, but the firm would invest in companies and products that protect the U.S. and its military personnel, both men and women. Luckily, it was mild outside, so they kept the windows open. 'It was daunting, and scary, but also rejuvenating,' Palmer told Fortune. It took about a year but the firm that would eventually call itself Capitol Meridian Partners did get an office. In March 2022, the PE firm opened its doors on K Street in downtown Washington D.C. Capitol Meridian now has 14 employees. About 10 of them, including Palmer and Coburn, previously worked at Carlyle Group during some point in their careers. Capitol Meridian is part of a breed of PE firms that focus on specific sectors, developing deep expertise and networks to understand the unique challenges and opportunities these industries face. Sector specialists often have an edge over generalist firms. Capitol targets defense and government services. The firm invests in companies that provide hardware, software and services for national security, as well as the aerospace market. The timing couldn't be better. Public aerospace and defense companies have outperformed the broad market over the past three years and into the first quarter, according to data from investment bank Greenwich Capital Group. Aerospace suppliers posted a three-year performance return of 108.7% as of March 31, while defense suppliers were up 32.8%. This compares to the S&P 500 which gained 23.9% for the same period and the Nasdaq which increased 22.4%. A shift in sentiment, much of that due to geopolitical issues like Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the recent U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites, is benefiting defense companies and their investors. Much bigger PE firms like Veritas Capital, which targets aerospace and defense and national security as one of its sectors, have been very successful. Veritas collected over $13 billion for its ninth fund earlier this year. 'More investors are interested in defense today than have been in my memory,' Palmer said. Capitol Meridian, however, doesn't invest in products, such as handguns, that could wind up in a high school. 'That's not where we focus,' Palmer said. Instead, Capitol Meridian bets on businesses that 'support the nation and the warfighters, or U.S. servicemen and women,' said Palmer. Though he has never been in the military, his father was a reservist in Vietnam while his grandfather served in World War II. In 2024, Capitol Meridian shrugged off a difficult fundraising market to raise $900 million for its first pool plus $300 million in co-investments. Palmer and Coburn are the third largest investors of the pool. Capitol Meridian has so far taken stakes in six portfolio companies along with 20 add-on deals. It has yet to clinch an exit, Palmer said. The firm is still early in its life cycle with its oldest investment turning three, he said. Defense is typically not a sector that is favorable to new entrants or generalist investors, due to shifting priorities in government spending, said Matt Autrey, a partner at Adams Street Partners, an investor of Capitol Meridian's first fund. 'Adam and the Capitol Meridian team have been able to succeed investing in the defense sector due to the specialized expertise and networks they possess in the space,' Autrey said in an email. Palmer has a long history, more than 25 years, in defense and aerospace investing. In the mid-1990s, he was a Lehman Brothers financial analyst working on some deals for Carlyle, which was then a Washington D.C. private equity firm known for its political connections. (George W. Bush sat on the board of one of its portfolio companies). Bill Conway, one of the Carlyle cofounders, recruited Palmer to join the firm over a breakfast meeting. He received a one-paragraph offer letter days later. Palmer was just 22. 'It was a different world back then,' he said. Palmer's first PE deal at Carlyle was the firm's $750 million acquisition of United Defense Industries, maker of combat vehicles, naval guns and missile launchers, in 1997. Carlyle took United Defense public in 2001 and fully exited in 2004, making more than $1 billion in profit. United Defense is widely regarded as one of Carlyle's best and most notable early investments. The deal also crystallized Palmer's ambitions. He found that investing in businesses that 'support the nation and U.S. servicemen and women' was very rewarding. Other triumphs include Carlyle's acquisition of naval ship repair firm Titan Acquisition in 2019, which it sold four years later, for a near four-fold return on invested capital. In 2000, Carlyle scooped up Vought Aircraft, and sold it a decade later, earning a five-fold return. Palmer's dealmaking was so noteworthy that in 2010 he was featured in Fortune's '40 under 40,' where insiders predicted he might one day lead Carlyle. The next year, Palmer was named co-head of Carlyle's global aerospace and defense sector team. Despite Palmer's accomplishments, things at Carlyle were changing. In the 1990s, Carlyle was a middle-market firm recognized for its defense deals. Carlyle, like many pioneering PE firms, grew with each success. It went public in 2012, raised its largest fund ever ($18.5 billion) in 2018, and began investing in sectors outside of private equity. It also started calling itself an 'alternative asset manager.' Carlyle, in the 2000s, began focusing on more than defense, investing in consumer, healthcare, industrial and technology. Palmer and Coburn, who was named deputy CIO for real assets in 2018, didn't care for Carlyle's 'elephant hunting' style of investing where it sought fewer, larger deals. In early 2021, Palmer and Coburn learned Carlyle wouldn't be raising another middle-market fund and opted to leave. They decided to launch a new, smaller firm—not a Carlyle clone—that would return them to their middle-market roots. Palmer defines the middle market as deals below $1 billion. 'The opportunity for the best returns in this sector, defense and national security, is in the middle market,' Palmer said. While geopolitical tensions remain high, Capitol Meridian is expected to return soon to the fundraising market for its second pool. Roughly 60% of its first fund is invested. (PE firms generally start marketing when a fund is about 70% invested.) Fundraising is still difficult. Several large PE firms have struggled to raise funds. Carlyle closed its eighth flagship at $14.8 billion in 2023, significantly below its $22 billion target, according to Buyouts. TPG is seeking $13 billion for its latest flagship, below what it sought for its prior fund, the Wall Street Journal reported in May. Blackstone was expected to wrap up its latest flagship in mid-2023 but didn't close the pool until earlier this year at a little over $21 billion, far below its initial $30 billion target. Capitol Meridian is anticipated to seek over $1 billion for its next pool, a person familiar with the situation said. Palmer declined to comment. Palmer still has the dining room table, where Capitol Meridian started several years ago, stowed away in the firm's office. His goals for Capitol remain simple. 'We want to be the best small PE partnership that helps U.S. servicepeople,' he said. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
High-income earners to benefit most from megabill tax breaks
View Online The Big Story With the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' headed to President Trump's desk for signature Friday, wealthy Americans are poised to receive significant tax breaks. /iStockphoto Here's how the bill would impact your taxes. High-income earners (>$217,000): For taxes filed in 2026, households making between $217,000 and $318,000 would see their after-tax income raise 2.6 percent, a tax break of about $5,400. For Americans making $318,000 to $460,000 — in the 90th to 95th percentile — that cut would be about $8,900, or a 3.1 percent increase to their after-tax income. Middle-income earners ($50,000-$200,000): The tax breaks for the rest of Americans are far less substantial, according to the center's estimates. Households making between $100,000 and $200,000 a year would see their after-tax income increase by 2.5 percent, about a $3,000 tax break. For those making between $75,000 and $100,000, the tax cut as a percentage of income is similar — at about $1,700 or 2.3 percent. Low-income earners (<$50,000): For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, that cut will be about $630. Those are after-tax boosts of 1.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Those in the bottom quintile of incomes, making below $34,600 a year, would see their taxes decrease by about $150, or a 0.8 percent increase in their after-tax income. The Hill's Miriam Waldvogel has more here. Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter, I'm Aris Folley — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Programming note: We will not publish tomorrow for the July 4 holiday. See you Monday! Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond: Trump: US to begin informing countries Friday of tariff rates President Trump said Thursday his administration would begin sending letters out to other countries this week informing them of tariff rates they would have to pay to do business in the United States, downplaying his desire to strike dozens of individual trade deals. Layoffs climb to highest level since 2020: Research Layoffs across the United States have climbed to the highest level since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down economies around the world, according to a new report that was published on Wednesday. China knocks Trump trade deal with Vietnam China knocked the newly announced U.S. trade deal with Vietnam, saying Beijing 'firmly opposes' any deal that disadvantages its economy and pledged to take 'countermeasures' to protect its own interests. Tax Watch Inside Trump's push to pass the 'big, beautiful bill' With the signature policy bill of President Trump's second term hanging in the balance this week, the president and his allies got to work, using a mixture of vinegar and honey to win over skeptics and ensure its final passage. It was a week of late night meetings and phone calls, stern posts on social media and cordial discussions at the White House as Trump and top advisers sought to win over skeptics of the 'big, beautiful bill.' Sources close to the White House argued Trump's dominance within the Republican Party and the political risks of drawing his ire loomed large as the administration corralled votes. But they also pointed to assurances the White House made to lawmakers to win their support as a sign that it was not just threats that got enough Republicans to 'yes.' Trump is expected to sign the legislation Friday after it passed the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Thursday, with both chambers having embarked on marathon rounds of voting procedure, including several all-nighters. 'The president's focus on relationships carried us through in kind of a cascade here when it came to be crunch time and the president was asking people to take tough votes, to come together, to unify,' a senior Trump White House official told reporters Thursday. The Hill's Brett Samuels has more here. Tax Watch is a regular feature focused on the fight over tax reform and extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year. Email a tip In Other News Branch out with more stories from the day: US stocks set another record and yields leap on signals the US economy is solid NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed further into record heights on Thursday after a report showed … Good to Know Business and economic news we've flagged from other outlets: What Others are Reading Top stories on The Hill right now: House sends GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' to Trump's desk in major win for Republicans The 'big, beautiful bill' is heading to President Trump's desk. Read more What to know about the $6,000 'senior deduction' in GOP megabill The Senate's version of the 'big, beautiful bill,' which passed Tuesday, includes a $6,000 tax deduction for Americans 65 or older. Read more What People Think Opinion related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you next week! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
To appease Trump and retain grants, UC bars student governments from boycotting Israel
University of California's president this week told campuses, including student governments, that they may not boycott companies 'based on their association with a particular country.' The clear reference to Israel in a letter from UC President Michael Drake to chancellors Wednesday followed new federal requirements that institutions receiving federal grants affirm they won't boycott the Jewish state. In May, the National Science Foundation updated its grant qualifications to include the certifications against boycotting Israel, which it labeled 'discriminatory prohibited boycotts.' The new rule did not say why boycotts against Israel were being singled out. UC's announcement and the new grant requirements come as the Trump administration continues its relentless assault on universities — slashing billions of research dollars, accusing campus leaders of tolerating antisemitism and pressuring them to resign. UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons was scheduled to testify on July 9 about the university's handling of anti-Israel protests that swept across his campus and many others throughout 2024 following the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's retaliation and the war in Gaza. On Thursday, federal officials canceled that hearing. UC received more than $4 billion in federal research grants last year. The Trump administration has already rescinded at least $312 million of those grants because they centered on research involving people of color. In a letter to campus chancellors Wednesday, UC President Michael Drake summed up his message, couched in legal language, that UC campuses — including student governments — 'do not engage in financial boycotts of companies associated with a particular country.' No UC campus is boycotting products or associations with Israel, although several student governments and other student organizations have called for their campuses to divest from companies that do business with Israel. UC Berkeley's student government passed such a bill in 2013. Drake's letter framed the ban as a sound business policy that does nothing to impinge on freedom of speech, and linked to a 2021 UC policy requiring competitive bidding in contracts. 'While our community members have the right to express their viewpoints, financial boycotts are inconsistent with UC's commitment to sound business practices, academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas,' the university said in a separate statement that also linked to the policy. Student leaders with the UC Student Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, the Department of Justice announced that it was including all UC campuses in its expanding investigation of alleged antisemitism on campuses across the country. While the nation's Jewish community is united in its opposition to anti-Jewish discrimination, groups are divided about how the Trump administration has handled its crackdown. Some welcome the attention to combating antisemitism. But others, such as the Nexus Project, which identifies as an 'antisemitism watchdog,' accuse the Trump administration of exploiting 'false accusations of antisemitism for political gain.' Dan Mogulof, a spokesperson for Lyons, said the UC Berkeley chancellor is looking forward to telling the Congressional committee 'how the campus has been investing, and continues to invest, in resources and programs designed to prevent and address antisemitism on the Berkeley campus.'
