A car is indispensable in America.
Rental car
A friend and I rented a car from Hertz at the airport at the beginning. It was super easy, as there was a Hertz counter right at the airport. However, the prices for car rental vary greatly. Unfortunately, renting a car in California is not cheap. Especially for drivers under the age of 25, there is always a young driver fee, which can amount to around €250 per month https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/
Young driver fee & international driver's license
At Hertz, you can only rent a car from the age of 21. One question that kept coming up was whether you need an international driver's license in America, I didn't need one at Hertz and Turo.com and my German driver's license was recognized everywhere.
Private car rental
We rented our second car via the Turo.com website, where private individuals rent out their cars. Here, too, there is a high young driver fee and insurance is added on top. The two of us paid €1,620 for a month with Turo, including insurance and the young driver fee. A tip from me would definitely be to book the car early and for the entire period, as there is a 3-month discount. We paid €800 for the first 1.5 weeks with Hertz. https://turo.com/
Excursions
We made countless trips to San Diego, Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Malibu, Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. My recommendation is perhaps to share a car with several people, then you can share the car and fuel costs.
Other options for transportation
Apart from that, you can also use public transportation. Orange County has a very large bus network, which you can use more cheaply as a student. I have also heard of students cycling to the Westcliff campus. It's also good to know that Westcliff offers free parking in a parking garage for its students.
