Introduction & my student room

Hi!

My name is Katelijne, I am 20 years old. I was born in Indonesia, but I live in Belgium. I study tourism and recreation management. Currently, I am for one semester in Valencia, Spain. My interests are music, languages and travelling!

Prior to Erasmus

All administrative processes regarding Erasmus did not go very smoothly for me. I needed a full semester to find a university that offers an English study program that is in line with my study and there were many other problems, but I will not go into this too much. I just want to advise everyone to go for it and not give up. I had almost given up and I know that I would regret it so much if I did give up. Going to Erasmus for me is the pinnacle of my studies (so far). It is a unique opportunity that you might never get again. If you decide not to go, be 200% sure that you will not regret it.

Finding student room

I had a lot of stress when looking for a room as I did not know until the middle of January that I would go to study in Valencia a couple weeks later. I thought that all good rooms would already be gone and that expensive, small or old rooms would remain. This was absolutely not true because I still had lots of choices! I chose a flat that is shared with three Spanish students. The living room, dining room and kitchen is shared with them, but that is no problem as the rooms are fairly spacious. There are two bathrooms, so I share my bathroom with one of the girls. This also does not cause any problems, because the bathroom is quite large. We have two washbasins and a large mirror. My room is very simple. I have everything I need; cupboard, bed, bedside table, desk and a chair. and I still have enough room to move. The view from my bedroom is beautiful!

A big advantage of the apartment is that it is only five minutes walking from the metro, tram and bus stop. We do not live in the old city centre, but it was easy to reach by metro!

How much is does it cost?

The prices in Valencia are very affordable, especially in comparison with Madrid and Barcelona. For around € 250 per month (including costs for electricity, internet) you can already find a very good room! You can also find a room between €100-€200, but those are slightly smaller. If you want a very modern flat with a private bathroom, you should expect to pay at least €350. Keep in mind that modern rooms are not always better! For example, my room is less modern than that of a friend, but everything in my room is bigger and the room is more spacious. Choices are depending on your preference!

Spaniards or Erasmus housemates?

You will also have to make a choice with whom you want to live. Would you like to live with other Erasmus students? Or rather with Spaniards? As you already know, I live with Spanish people and from the beginning, I was already certain that I would rather not live with Erasmus students. The reason for this was because I wanted to learn the language. Thanks to my roommates, I am able to do that quite well. They are very helpful and assist me in any way with great pleasure. I am not only talking about my housemates, but also fellow students who help me with my Spanish course. I found my flat on; https://www.idealista.com/

There are many sites with student rooms for Erasmus students.

The only thing I want to add to this blog post is: do not stress too much about Erasmus; go with the flow. This will certainly be one of the best experiences in your student career!

Photos

On the photos, you can see some rooms in our apartment, the view from my room and the view from the roof of the building. Enjoy!

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Photo gallery