The two simplest airport choices are College Station (code: CLL) and Intercontinental Airport Houston (IAH).

> CLL is small and easy to use, as well as only a coupleof miles from the university.

> IAH is enormous with connections all over the world, and there is a shuttle bus between IAH and the Bryan/College Station area, the Ground Shuttle.

Check both airports. You can’t tell which will be a better deal, especially when you add the cost of the Groundshuttle to the airfare to IAH.

Austin (AUS), Dallas (DFW), and even San Antonio (SAT) are also within a few hours’ drive; however, getting to Bryan/College Station from those airports can be a challenge without a personal car or someone to give you a ride. It’s a long walk!

++Once you have made your travel arrangements, please upload your detailed itinerary to your Google Drive. It should have flight numbers, bus numbers, times, dates, etc. The more information we have, the easier it is for us to look for you in the event that there’s a problem during your trip.

Car: By far, the simplest way to get around in Bryan/College Station is by car. However, most of you won’t be here long enough to bother with buying a car, though we know of many folks here for short periods — as short as 3 months! — who decided to get a car and sell it when they left.

Both Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are good places to start car shopping if this is the route

Your department can help you sign up for a parking permit on campus; know that it is not cheap.

Depending on what country you come from and the existing agreements, your driver’s license might be good in Texas or you might have to get a Texas driver’s license to drive legally while here.

Car insurance is mandatory in Texas, so if you choose to purchase a car, you will need to arrange insurance.

Texas A&M Bus Service: Numerous routes serve the Texas A&M community on and off campus. However, they do not work like standard public bus routes; you cannot transfer from one route to another along the way when off campus. All the routes follow essentially separate routes so that, in most cases, transferring is only practical on the main campus, primarily at the first/last stop, which is around the Memorial Student Center/Simpson Drill Field. So, on campus or off, if you need to transfer, you will usually go to the end stop, exit, and go to the end stop of the other bus line.

Here are some Transportation Services webpages for the bus: The Ride Guide and bus routes, which have tabs for on-campus buses, off-campus buses, and “gameday” bus service, referring to days with home football games. There’s also a webpage to look up exactly what times the buses are running on a particular day.

On the bus routes, if you look at a computer (rather than a small screen like a phone), you can zoom in enough to read the street names and other details so that you can tell exactly where the bus runs when you are looking for places to live.

To get to our school, the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) — your workplace while you are here — exactly where your workspace is will determine which on-campus line you would need to take.

To get to the VMBS Global office, take Bus 03 “Yell Practice” to the end stop and go to the building to your right as you exit the bus. The office is in the VENI building, upstairs in Suite 317.

Bicycle: Let’s be clear. Summers in Bryan/College Station are TOO HOT to bike much. In the morning, the humidity can be so high it feels like you are going to suffocate; in the afternoons/evenings, it’s just appallingly hot.

Additionally, local drivers — among them many students who are not very experienced drivers — are not used to sharing the road with bicycles. This means they are not watching for people on bikes; consequently, biking can be dangerous. So, if you are riding a bike, you must watch for yourself and for all the cars and pedestrians around you.

If you do want to bike around and you won’t be here for long, ask around and see if you might be able to borrow/rent one from someone. VMBS Global has 2 bicycles with locks and helmets available for visitors to borrow; it requires completing a contract with the university. It’s best to start the process to borrow the bike before you arrive on campus, as it can take a while to complete.

You can also check into buying one. Again, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are resources; a few resale stores might also have used bikes available, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army,y for starters. Walmart, Target, and Academy, among others, might have new bikes for sale.

Veo: Texas A&M’s campus has a pay service called Veo for shared pedal bikes and motorized bikes/scooters. You can set up an account on your phone, and then if you ever need it, you can use it quickly. If you don’t use it, no problem. When you leave, you delete your account and the app from your phone.

With the Texas A&M log-in (sign in as a “student” — it accepts the Texas A&M NetID and password, regardless of your category), the rates the date this webpage is being created are 50 cents for 30 minutes “plus tax and fees” for a traditional bicycle “Halo” and, for a motorized vehicle “Cosmo”, an unlock fee of $1 + 25 cents/minute “plus tax and fees.” The tax and fee info does not seem to be accessible on the app right now.

City Bus Service: Bryan/College Station has a combined public bus system. It’s seriously underused, and presumably that is because it is inconvenient, either the routes or the times, maybe both. But it might be perfect for you! (In contrast to the information on its website, please know that the entire Texas A&M community can ride the Texas A&M buses, including you. If you have trouble because you don’t have a university ID card, we can give you a letter. However, being asked for a Texas A&M ID on the bus is a rare occurrence (as in, swiftly approaching zero in mathematical terms).

You can get groceries — food — at many stores around the community. Here are some of the main places to shop, but check around where you live for other options.

Be sure to compare prices on the things you generally buy because the differences can be surprisingly large or small, kind of like airfare into Houston is sometimes lower, while in other cases, flying into College Station is a significantly better deal.

Several of the grocery stores will also deliver to your home; usually, this service requires a minimum purchase + a delivery fee.

HEB: This is a large, Texas-based chain that is the major grocery store in the area. The different stores carry somewhat different products depending on their primary clientele; mostly, the specialty items for ethnic cuisine are what are different. You should be able to get basically everything you need here at reasonable prices. HEB also has a special program that delivers groceries to people at certain locations on campus for a fee.

Walmart: All three Walmart stores in Bryan/College Station are Supercents, which means they have large grocery sections in addition to housewares, hygiene products, school supplies, some auto parts, and an auto service center that changes oil and such, clothing, electronics, craft supplies, toys, furniture, and more. You probably won’t find as many ethnic food items there as at HEB. The prices tend to be a little lower, but it might not be worth making an extra trip here if another store is more convenient.

Kroger: As with the previous two, this is a large chain of grocery stores. The prices tend to be somewhat higher unless the items are on sale. However, they are also somewhat more likely to have certain specialty items, but not necessarily ethnic foods. These stores tend to be located fairly far from the university, so you might not go there often.

Brookshire Brothers: This store is convenient to West Campus as it is located immediately south of campus, a couple of blocks from Reed Arena. It can be a little less economical than some other stores, but it has a good section of fresh, prepared foods where you can get something quick for lunch or dinner. It also has a place called Stage 12 inside of it, which is an event venue that hosts watch parties for Aggie athletic events, live music, games (Musical Bingo, anyone?), etc.

Aldi: In Bryan, there’s an Aldi. It has quality produce and most of the basics + some specialty items, especially Central European products. However, it is smaller than major US chain stores and does not carry everything. The prices are generally very good if they have what you want.

The Farm Patch: A couple of miles north of the main campus is a store that focuses on fresh produce and whole plants. It tries to promote produce from the region when possible, but also carries some specialty produce, such as the long, skinny Chinese eggplants and kohlrabi, which you’re less likely to find in a regular grocery store. It also has a room with more specialty items that are not produce. Stop by and explore the Farm Patch for fun and to see what it has that is hard to get other places locally.

Target: The local Target stores carry groceries. However, they tend to be more limited in brands as well as products, especially fresh foods like produce (vegetables and fruit). But it can be very convenient if you are already there and what you want is available! Target carries many other products such as housewares, hygiene products, school supplies, some auto parts, clothing, electronics, craft supplies, toys, and small furniture.

BCS Asian Market: A large Asian+ grocery store with good products and quality produce, many things that are hard to impossible to get other places around here. However, it is often chaotic with boxes stacked really high and kind of in the way.

Mini Mini Mini Mart: A small but well-stocked grocery store specializing in Indian foods, both the heat ‘n’ eat type and ingredients to cook from scratch.

Of course, some other, mostly smaller stores exist as well; they tend to be more specialized.

> Hygiene & cleaning products (e.g., shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, bathroom cleaner, dish detergent) can almost always be purchased at the grocery store, unless you are looking for specialty products.

Many of these stores have apps that you can use to see their weekly specials and sales. Often, you can use them to shop in advance and just pick up your groceries, though some stores charge for this. (Some are only available if your Google Play or Apple’s App Store accounts are set to the United States. It can be frustrating — why does Kroger care where you are, since you can only use the app if you are at a Kroger store anyway??)

**Another useful resource is the app called Flipp. It collects as many store ads — grocery and other stores — as the companies will allow and posts them on the app. You can then search all the ads in the app for a specific product to see if it is on sale and where, or browse the ads to see what is on sale so you can plan your meals accordingly.

Banking

You can open an account at a traditional bank such as Chase or Wells Fargo. They may ask you for a Social Security number (SSN); however, that is not required. Just tell them you do not have one, and that shouldn’t cause a problem. You will likely be unable to open a regular bank account until you have an address in the United States. The bank closest to campus is the Wells Fargo office in Century Square, diagonally across University Dr. from the Zachry Engineering Building.

Another option that might be very convenient is to use Adro. It is specifically designed for internationals coming to the US. You can set it up before you enter the US and update your local address and phone number after you arrive. It does not have a physical office, but it has a lot of flexibility and accessibility, of particular use for international visitors. For details, check out the Adro website.

Special Instructions for Exchange Visitors (J-1 non-students) Using Adro:

• Remember that, regardless of your status in other places, at Texas A&M, you will not be a student.
• When you start the Adro application, choose the category “visa holders.”
• You should then be able to upload your J-1 visa. Adro may contact you and request your DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility) in the event that they need more information.
• You probably won’t have a Texas A&M email address until after you arrive in College Station and complete the check-in process with ISSS. Don’t worry about it. They can check with me if they have any questions regarding your status.
• The “residential address” required does NOT need to be in the US. You will need to change it within 30 days after you arrive in the US.
• If you accidentally sign up as a student, you can contact customer support to request that they change a setting to allow you to upload your visa.

Cell phone service can be darn expensive here in the US. Most people have an annual contract for service, and they often pay $100 or even more per month. Others often use family plans with multiple phones.

You do not have to do that. However, you should be aware that most people here use text messaging as the primary written phone communication, NOT apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram. In the US, unlimited text messages are often (usually?) included in people’s phone plans — as are unlimited minutes for calls. So, people don’t bother with the messaging apps as much, unless they have contacts outside the country.

NEW!! We now have FREE SIM cards with one month of FREE service! You can pick one up when you arrive if you’d like to use it. You are not required to enter a credit card when you start using it, only if you choose to continue using the service after the free period ends. Check to see if your phone is compatible with this service: https://www.campussims.com/. (Unfortunately, the offer is only good for physical SIM cards; they have not yet been able to get the offer to work for eSIMs.)

Check out the providers below, and be sure to check their coverage maps for the places you will be living and working before you buy!

Here are some more economical options for phone service that are highly ranked in industry evaluations:

Mint Mobile: Using T-Mobile’s network, Mint has several pay-in-advance plans. The plans can be purchased in 3-month intervals, and the more months of service you purchase, the less expensive each month is. You can purchase the first 3 months of service on Amazon and avoid some of the fees; however, if you plan to purchase a whole year of service or even 6 months, check and compare: You might get a better deal buying directly from Mint’s website. Also, be sure to check that your phone is compatible with their service; you can check that on the website as well as on the map of coverage and signal strength.

Mint isn’t perfect, but in July of 2023, the New York Times rated it the best “budget pick” for cell service.

(Dr. Weber has been using Mint Mobile for well over 2 years and has had a very good experience.)

Cricket: AT&T’s budget prepaid service, Cricket, also rates pretty well. AT&T has the best coverage network, so if you are living outside of town or in a bad spot for other providers, this might be a good choice. Check out the options and details on Cricket’s website.

>Make sure your phone is UNLOCKED from your provider at home before you leave. (This doesn’t seem to be as big a problem in other countries as in the US, but just in case.)

> There are other cell providers and service plans, but they don’t appear to be any more cost-effective or offer more service plans at this time. But you probably want to look for updated information!

> If you need CDMA service, the network with the most extensive coverage is Verizon, a popular choice that works with several prepaid service providers: TracFon and Straight Talk, among others. (Most other cell phone service providers in the US use GSM.)

You can also take a look for yourself at some reviews of cell service providers:

– The New York Times Wirecutter article published in mid 2023 regarding cell phone service networks and plans

– Best Cell Phone Coverage 2023

– U.S. News & World Report’s Best Cell Phone Plans of 2023

Here are some links to come up with historical climate information about the area so that you can get an idea of what kind of weather you might have while you’re here. The last couple of years, the weather here seems to have gotten much more extreme — far colder spells in the winter, hotter and drier in the summer — as in many places across the globe. So, consider that when looking at the historical averages.

https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/united-states/college-station

https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/college-station/texas/united-states/ustx2165

https://www.weather.gov/hgx/cllclimate

(Remember: The US usually uses temperatures in Fahrenheit. So if these look ridiculously high, remember to convert them to Celsius.)