What to Actually Buy Before You Study Abroad (The Real Shopping List)
Packing is the stuff you already own. This is the other list, the one nobody hands you: what you actually have to buy before you fly. Some of it does not really exist in Europe, some of it costs triple once you are there, and one whole category of it will physically die the moment you plug it into a wall. We keep the full version as a shopping list on our Amazon storefront, about 160 things across eight lists, and everything below is pulled straight out of it.
First, get the clothing counts right
Before any of the buying, sort the clothes, because most people overpack those and underpack everything else. Our printable lists live on the pre abroad page, one for guys and one for girls, and they are specific on purpose. Guys: 15 underwear, 15 socks, 10 daytime shorts, 3 to 4 jeans, 4 to 5 daytime long sleeves, 3 to 4 button downs, one warm jacket and 2 to 3 going out jackets. Girls: 15 underwear, 15 socks, 5 to 7 bras including one strapless, 5 to 8 sports bras, 5 to 7 bathing suits, 5 to 7 jeans or pants, 10 going out tops, 4 to 6 dresses and one warm jacket. Print it, tick it off, then stop thinking about clothes. You will also shop over there, so leave the room.
The one that actually breaks things, which is voltage
An adapter changes the shape of the plug. It does not change the electricity. Europe runs around 220 to 240 volts and the US runs around 110 to 120, so a US only hair tool plugged into a European wall gets roughly double what it was built for. Here is how you check anything in about five seconds: look at the small print on the plug or the charging brick. If it says 100 to 240V, it handles both and you are fine. Almost every phone charger and laptop brick already says this. Hair tools usually do not. So the straightener, the curling iron and the blow dryer are the three things to replace with dual voltage versions before you leave, and the expensive laptop charger you were actually worried about is the thing you can stop worrying about.
Your pharmacy is the thing you cannot replace
The header we put on this list is blunt and I stand by it: do not get sick, do not go to Shoko, you are going anyway, so at least be prepared. European pharmacies are genuinely good, often better than ours, but the brands are different, the doses are different, half of it sits behind the counter, and you are asking for it in a language you do not speak on the one morning you feel awful. So bring the boring stuff from home. Advil and Tylenol in the packet format, Pepto and TUMS, Dramamine for the boats, Zyrtec or Flonase if you get allergies, DayQuil and NyQuil, throat drops, hand sanitizer, and electrolyte packets. It fits in a shoe. You will use all of it.
Buy the bag that fits the airline you will actually fly
Every weekend flight you take is going to be Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet or Wizz, and all four make their real money on bags rather than seats. The under seat backpack is the entire strategy. If your whole weekend fits in the free personal item, you never pay a bag fee again, and across a semester of weekend trips that adds up to a trip in itself. Measure it against the strictest airline on your list, not the friendliest one, and pack to that. This is the single highest return item on the list.
The apartment stuff, and what to leave until week one
Our apartment list runs about two dozen things and I would split it straight down the middle. Fly with the things that are annoying to find or that you want on the first night: slides for a shared shower, a real towel because plenty of buildings do not give you one, a small shower caddy, a drain catcher if you have long hair. Buy the rest when you land. Hangers, a laundry basket, a fan, a trash can, a doormat, all of that is cheap and sitting in a shop within a ten minute walk of wherever you live. Do not fly a laundry basket across the Atlantic. I have watched people do it.
What do I actually need to buy before studying abroad in Europe?
Four things carry most of the weight: a European plug adapter, a big power bank, a US pharmacy kit, and dual voltage versions of any hair tools you use. After that it is a travel power strip, an under seat backpack sized to the budget airlines, AirTags for your bags, and TSA sized bottles. Everything else on the list is a nice to have that you could buy locally in your first week without much pain.
Do I need a voltage converter or just a plug adapter?
For almost everything, just an adapter. Phones, laptops, cameras, headphones and anything charging over USB are already dual voltage, and the brick will say 100 to 240V somewhere in the fine print. The exception is heat: hair dryers, straighteners and curling irons are frequently 120V only, and those need either a dual voltage replacement or a genuine converter. Buying the dual voltage version is cheaper and far less annoying than carrying a converter around.
Is it cheaper to just buy this stuff in Europe?
For household basics, yes, easily. Towels, hangers, laundry gear and kitchen bits are cheap everywhere and not worth suitcase space. For medicine, tech and anything sized to US standards, no. You will pay more, spend an afternoon finding it, and end up with a brand you do not recognize. The rough rule: if it is generic and heavy, buy it there. If it is specific, small, or something you would be annoyed to be without on day two, bring it.
The whole thing in one place
All of it sits in one shopping list, split into luggage and bags, weekend trips, tech, health and wellness, beauty and toiletries, apartment, abroad events, and the fun stuff we file under the FLEX. It is the same list we send members before they fly, and to be upfront about it, we earn a small commission if you buy through it, which is part of how we keep it free and keep it updated. Buy the adapter, the power bank, the pharmacy kit and the dual voltage tools, and you have covered ninety percent of it. The rest you can handle in week one, on the same walk where you go buy hangers, which you will be doing by day two whether you planned for it or not.