Erasmus Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands by Jules

Why did you choose to go to Amsterdam, Netherlands?

If I chose Amsterdam, it is mostly because it wasn't that far from my country (France) and because some of my friend wanted to go there aswell.
I was very interested by Dutch culture aswell and wanted to visit this city for the first time.

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

My internship was 4 months long, and I received 1600e (400/months) in order to help me to fund this experience.
The money comes from an organism in my country called "Aquimob".

What is the student lifestyle like in Amsterdam?

Very similar to other Europe capitals that I've visited. So most likely students are nice, the only thing that differs from every other places I've been to during my travels is the "open minded" mentality of the dutch students, they're very well educated and also have strong knowledge of english which is really great.
You just have to found the right placed to go out if you want to find some dutch students, because of course, this city is really touristic and you'll mostly encounter people from everywhere in the world, which is really interesting aswell.

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

Of course I would, to be honest Amsterdam is a really enjoyable city if you don't mind the weather. I've never been to an university here, but the quality of life is incredibly good.

What is the food like?

Like everywhere in Europe you can find anything, anywhere. Sadly i'm not into Dutch gastronomy so I can't speak you for hours.
The only diffrent thing is in the supermarket, as a French student I'm used to find a lot more differents things in there but here the only supermarket that I went to were pretty small and couldn't let you eat everything you want.
Meat is also pretty expensive so you've to be carefull about that, but I guess it's the same in every capitals.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Amsterdam?

Yeah, to be honest it was quite hard to find an apartment here because of different things :
- I arrived in Amsterdam in January, which is a bit late if you wish to share a room with local students.
- Prices are incredibly high, pretty much the same than in Paris.
- Dutch people don't trust that much students about the renting fees so they'll be a bit scared at first to rent you something, You just have to show them that you're a nice person and that they won't have any trouble with you. And of course proofs that you'll be able to pay for the renting without any doubt.
- I was looking for a 4 months rental duration which is really hard to find of course because people here mostly will to rent their apartment for a 6 months/1 year duration.

As an advice I'd like to recommend you to search for something in the north of Amsterdam, it'll be cheaper and there are free ferries every 5 minutes going from central station to the north of Amsterdam and it's not a big deal.
As a second advice I'd recommend you to buy a bike + a strong lock.

How much does it cost to live in Amsterdam?

To be honest it's a pretty expensive city especially because of the tourists so you'll have to find the good deals if you don't have that much money.
Some neighbourhoods are way cheaper than the city center if you want to drink a beer or eat in a nice restaurant for exemple like "De Pijp".

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

Dutch is a really hard language and after 4 months I'm only able to understand few words because I didn't try to learn it.

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

From Bordeaux in France, it was taking the plane, I booked my flight in advance and only paid 40€.

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

It depends on what you want to do :

if you want to drink a nice beer with friends of you I'd recommend :
- Bierfabriek
- Beer temple
- Waterkant
- Cafe P96
- Brouwerij 't IJ

If you want to go the nightclubs and you're listening to techno music or house, which is almost a religion in this country you can go to :
- The Shelter (Awesome club and best techno artists in the world are performing here)
- De school
- Thuishaven (festival area, where almost every sunday you've got famous artists playing techno/house from 14:00 to 23:00)

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

Pretty much anywhere in De Pijp and in the Jordaan which are my favourite neighbourhoods in Amsterdam.

If you want to enjoy a nice brunch, go to the "Piq niq" and ask then for the tomato soup ;)

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

There are a lot of museums and expositions in Amsterdam :
- Rikjsmuseum
- Stedelijk
- Van gogh
- Anne Frank house (book your tickets in advance to avoid the queue)

And just have a look at the different expositions and you'll find some other places that I can't name at the moment.

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

Buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike, buy a bike.

To be honest, you really need it because public transports are really expensive (2.90€/ride/person.
If you're two people or more, don't be afraid of taking an Uber to go somewhere if you don't have any bikes it's almost the same price than the public transports because the city is really small.

IGNORE STREET DEALERS! Common sense but it's very dangerous especially here because you're in the middle of the golden triangle of drugs in Europe. Be smart.

Don't forget to bring some nice waterproof clothes aswell, a nice coat and a good pair of gloves if you're coming here during the winter. The wind is pretty strong and cold.

And that's it... I guess.

All the informations you had here are from a 20 years old French student working in a bike rental company at the moment in order to complete his second semester in a business school.