After spending over £40,000 to study in London, an international student said most who come to the United Kingdom struggle to make ends meet, even for basic necessities like groceries.
Varisha Tariq often contemplates the most affordable route home on the bustling London sidewalks. Living in Islington, she considered walking to Warren Street or Tottenham Court Road stations for the Tube but discovered it was nearly twice the cost of taking the bus.
A 27-minute walk seemed doable, but she'd already logged 6,000 steps and hadn't eaten in six hours. The thought of feeling light-headed was concerning. Her breakfast had been a decadent cheese omelette, and she looked forward to a dinner of leftover rice and pulses when she gets home.
"Could I treat myself to sushi?' I bargained with myself. It was the end of the day, so it'd only be around £5. 'No, I'll just get the bus," Tariq thought. As an international student from India living in the UK, she faces the daily challenge of living on a tight budget. Every penny counts - this is a sacrifice she and her parents have made for her education.
Balancing Dreams And Budgets
Tariq remembers growing up comfortably in Lucknow, India. Her family made sure she had everything she needed. She was accustomed to home-cooked meals, affordable transportation, including "cheap cab fares, rickshaws that would never cost more than the equivalent of 40p", easy access to domestic help, and the emotional support of her family.
Tariq recognised her privilege but also noted the challenges facing India. As a Muslim, she witnessed her community's marginalisation, including lynchings, Islamophobia, and discrimination in areas like employment, housing, and social and political participation.
Tariq attributed her decision to move to the UK last September to the negative impact the situation in her country had on her mental health. She felt trapped and powerless. Tariq applied to SOAS University of London for her one-year Gender and Law master's program and was thrilled to be accepted.
However, with few connections in the UK, the prospect of leaving her comfortable home took a lot of work. Before leaving, With the help of her family, Tariq carefully planned her first year in London.
Her parents secured a loan for the tuition fees, £23,400, and she contributed her savings from her previous job—"working as a writer and programme manager for an NGO." Additionally, her parents sold a piece of land to cover the remaining expenses, including visa fees, £363; health insurance, £470; accommodation, £8,640; travel, £2,000; and daily living costs, £6,000.
In total, that's £40,873, or over 4 million rupees. "For context, that's enough to buy a three-bedroom apartment in my city!" After arriving in London, she spent countless hours making financial decisions.
Every pound she spent caused anxiety, and her determination to maximise her experience on a budget became a constant stressor. She had to carefully consider every meal, drink, and mode of transportation. She felt that each penny she spent drained her family's resources.
She quickly experienced the realities of London life, including frequent strikes, fluctuating Tube prices, and surprisingly expensive onions. The cost-of-living crisis added to her financial burdens, and the intensity of her master's program prevented her from working part-time.
Unfortunately, the financial strain also affected her social life. After only a month in London, a new university friend invited Tariq to a £30 event. For the first time in her life, she had to decline due to financial reasons.
A week later, her friend accused Tariq of not caring enough about her or the event because she didn't attend "under the pretence of not having money." This made Tariq feel small and humiliated. "Maybe for her, £30 wasn't a big deal, but it was one week's worth of groceries for me," Tariq noted.
She didn't understand her friend's sense of entitlement and ignorance about how the cost-of-living crisis and immigration affect people differently. After nine months in the UK, Tariq is nearing the end of her course and is starting to look for jobs, but she remains concerned.
"In my mind, if I don't find a good job here, I will never be able to pay back my parents for the help they gave me to move halfway across the world," she wrote in a first-person account published on Metro. "I hope – despite the odds and financial pressures stacked against me – that I am able to carve out a space and create a name for myself here."
She advises international students moving to the UK to prepare financially well in advance. This will help them better manage the financial responsibilities of studying abroad. "The UK is wonderful – and there is so much you can do that won't cost you a lot, like free museums," Tariq wrote.
"For me, the opportunity to build a better life – and a much safer one – for myself makes the journey worth it," she added.
However, Tariq is not alone in facing financial challenges in the UK. Pranjali Hasotkar, another international student, recently admitted feeling too poor to socialise with friends. She also had to cut back on non-essential spending, like clothes and dinners, to afford basic necessities like groceries.
The Rising Cost of Groceries
Despite the personal sacrifices made by international students like Tariq, the rising cost of living in the UK remains a significant challenge. The recent increase in grocery price inflation, the first in 17 months, further highlights this issue.
According to retail analysts Kantar, supermarket prices increased by 1.8 percent in the four weeks ending August 4 compared to the previous year, slightly up from 1.6 percent in July. This marks the first rise in grocery inflation in 17 months, after reaching a peak of 17.5 percent and declining to its lowest point since September 2021 last month.
Official figures released on Wednesday are expected to confirm that the UK's headline inflation surpassed the Bank of England's 2 percent target in July, driven by a surge in prices for air travel, hotels, and package holidays.
Supermarket shelves displayed a mixed picture, with prices increasing for 182 product categories and decreasing for 89 others. Kitchen towels and baked beans were 7% and 5 percent cheaper, respectively, compared to the previous year.
"Having reached its lowest rate in almost three years in July, August saw inflation nudge up again slightly," Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said. "While this is noticeable after 17 straight months of falling rates, it actually marks a return to the average levels seen in the five years before the start of the cost of living crisis."
"With this kind of pricing spread, shoppers will find that the type of product they're putting in their baskets will really dictate how much they pay," McKevitt added. Consumers strategically utilised grocery store promotions to mitigate rising costs. According to Kantar, spending on deals increased by 15 percent, while sales of full-priced items remained stagnant.
International students like Tariq face significant financial challenges while studying in the UK. Rising grocery prices, coupled with other living expenses, can make it challenging to manage a budget. Despite these hardships, many international students persevere, driven by the potential for a brighter future.
