Arezzo: nice and livable boring city

I spent ten months in Arezzo, from October 2015 to July 2016.

I will begin by the positives points: cost of life is mostly lower (accomodation, food), people are not stressed like in a big city, from Arezzo you can easily reach Florence (1H/1h30), Siena (1h), Roma (2H), Bologna (3H) and Milano (4H), food is good and very accessible.

So mainly the way of life is cool.

Source

But for an erasmus experience it is a bit too quiet. It is strange that between October and May there is approximatly nothing to do in Arezzo for young people. And the center at night is so dead despite of 100 000 inhabitants here! There is no way to have fun after lessons and you just have to go back home and spend a boring night alone. If you want to meet people and have fun you have to move to Florence or Siena where there is a lot of cultural activities and more students ready to go out.

The University of Arezzo depends on that of Siena, and it is very small! There are no more than 2000 students, so its more like high school. A lot of them don't live in Arezzo and live with their parents. So the famous student environment is microscopic and very very boring. There is no initiative to meet each other. Few Erasmus students. The locals are cool and nice but a bit shy with foreigners. You have to make the first step to have friends, and make them go out with you is harder lol.

So my main reproach is that for a year in Erasmus which is unique in your life, you have to live amazing experiences and meet a lot of people (that's my personal point of view) : Arezzo is not the place for that :(.

But anyway, you still at the center of one of the most beautiful parts of the world: Tuscany! So if you want to go there, don't go alone, to avoid the boringness of the city, and enjoy !