Erasmus Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands by Dom

Why did you choose to go to Amsterdam, Netherlands?

English speaking
Close to home/easy to travel too and from
Good transport to rest of Europe

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

12 months
Not enough, really got messed around by my university back home
Would advise saving before coming or arranging something with parents

What is the student lifestyle like in Amsterdam?

Lots of bars and plenty of activities for students
Depends where you live, my halls are very social but some of my friends halls are less so

Would you recommend the city and the University of Amsterdam to other students?

The city is great, vibrant and always has stuff going on
I've got the worst of the uni I think but they're incredibly unorganised especially with international students so it's down to you to find things out for yourself usually

What is the food like?

Mainly American fast food and pizza, still not sure what traditional Dutch food even is

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Amsterdam?

Other than the university essentially stealing £350 from me and then refusing to give me accommodation, it's free to find if you just google it

How much does it cost to live in Amsterdam?

About €800 a month including rent, bills, gym membership, food and transport plus insurance but that's a lot because my rent is so high

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

There's plenty of language courses, although anyone here, including the Dutch themselves will just say don't bother because everyone speaks English
You'll pick up bits of Dutch in everyday life though anyway just living here

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Amsterdam from your city?

Bike

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Amsterdam?

Round Leidseplein there's loads of bars and theres a couple of good clubs just a bit further up on Rembrandplein
Clubs are ridiculously expensive though and are often a much older crowd than back in England with very few students, it's just a different culture
You're better sticking to bars and house and flat parties in all honesty

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Amsterdam?

If you like McDonalds, KFC and Burger King then you're never more than about 5 seconds from one of them
There's a few fancier places on Leidseplein and in Dam square though

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

None really, the Heineken Experience is about as cultural as I've seen
There's museums but other than that most of the cities historic buildings have been converted for modern use

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Amsterdam in the future?

Be prepared to work hard because you get so much work and be prepared for the uni to let you down at every possible opportunity
But other than that it's great fun the other 90% of the time!