4 . Pursuing education abroad opens up many opportunities for international students. However, one of the struggles they face when deciding where to study is the affordability of the city and the schools there. Here are five affordable cities to study and live in.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City remains one of the more affordable cities to purchase a house with only 26.49 percent of residents’ income spent on living expenses. Whether you are looking for English language programs or seeking a degree, Oklahoma City has a lot to offer. Check out The Language Company and Oklahoma State University for affordable options to learn English or degree programs.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the state of Indiana in the Midwest. Residents spend only 25.24 percent of their income on living expenses. University options include the University of Indianapolis, Marian University, and Butler University.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City and surrounding areas remain quite affordable with residents spending 25.78 percent of their income on housing, utilities, and other household utilities. Here are affordable universities such as Utah State University, University of Utah, and Snow College.

Des Moines, Iowa

Residents spend only 23.8 percent of their household income on living expenses. With a booming economy, Des Moines is an ideal city for international students to study and experience American culture. Drake University is an option in Des Moines.

Buffalo, New York

Located in upstate New York, the city of Buffalo provides international students with quality education. Residents spend 25.54 percent of their household income on housing and utilities. International students will not only be able to experience American culture in Buffalo but they're only minutes from Canada.

Roy Austin first experienced an African adventure in 2018. All he wanted to do was get close to some African wildlife. Although Roy did realize this dream, he found something even more meaningful in Africa.

Roy spent time in many countries throughout East Africa. He was most interested in the people of rural (农村的) Kenya, especially people of the Amboseli Primary and Secondary School.

During his stay, Roy became friends with several students and teachers at the school. He was deeply touched by their positive attitude, even thought it was hard for them to get books and other school supplies. Even finding basic stationery (文具) was a challenge, not to mention the lack of school buildings.

In rural Kenya, school buildings are not built by the government. Students, their parents, and teachers find materials and build the schools themselves, or they have to raise money to get builders’ help. Without schools, buildings like libraries and classrooms are just dreams. The students and teachers of the schools very much wanted a library or at least some books to read.

After returning home to South Carolina in the United States, the Kenyan students’ yearning for something as seemingly “basic” as books to read still worried Roy. He decided to do whatever he could to help these children. So he started the organization Libraries for Kids International.

Since it was started, Roy has shipped over 11,000 books to 11 schools in African countries, including Kenya and Tanzania. To keep costs down, he uses the post office to send the books instead of a carrier like FedEx. The organization has helped to supply these schools with much-needed books, which brought Roy much happiness. He plans to continue shipping books to Africa.