Written By: Eric Tiettmeyer, Publisher

Is it safe to travel and study abroad? As an example, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles is a great example. It has over 20,000 students and the most international students in the world. Yet it is located near South Central LA, a historically rough neighborhood with lots of crime. But students enroll at USC more than ever.
Why? Because they learn where to go in the area and when not to go to certain areas.
And that is how you need to approach being abroad. Bad things happen abroad. But as long as you are familiar with your surroundings, and don't put yourself in harm's way, you will probably be fine.
The Global Peace Index has a list of all the countries in the world, in order of safest to most dangerous. Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, Japan, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Finland, and Switzerland topped the list as safest.
Thailand, a backpacker's paradise, placed more on the dangerous side at 126 and World Cup Soccer host South Africa at 127.
So what does this all mean? Well, it just proves that the world is actually a very safe place, and you shouldn't let the media scare you into thinking you shouldn't leave the U.S. - because, really, you are already living in a dangerous country!
INSURANCE
Insurance is a great idea if you study abroad, especially for an extended time. Most universities overseas offer medical insurance to their students at a discounted rate. The UK has socialized medicine so your medical care, if needed is free there!
While insurance is good for medical reasons, it also helps for trip cancellation, emergency evacuation, and renter's collision. Travel Guard (www.travelguard.com/
travelinsurance/student/asp), HTH Insurance (www.hthtravelinsurance.com), and AETNA Student Health (www.aetnastudenthealth.com) are some of the larger provider of insurance for students.