Erasmus Experience in Bucharest, Romania by Paloma

Why did you choose to go to Bucharest, Romania?

It was actually one of the few destinations that my course (Medicine) offered an English exchange, but it ended up being a perfect place to go for Erasmus, without a shadow of a doubt.

Source

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

It lasted 10 months and I got €1, 000 (the grant from the European Union lasted for 5 months).

What is the student lifestyle like in Bucharest?

It's perfect, there are lots of students and the party area gives you a bit of variety in meeting people. The city centre has a lot of local pubs that are all pretty much concentrated in one area, but you can also go to different neighbourhoods and find new places, to discover new atmospheres.

Would you recommend the city and the university of Bucharest to other students?

100%. It's really cheap, there's a different events to go to every day, the ESN there work very hard, which allows you to meet a lot of different people who are also on their Erasmus.

Source

What is the food like there?

I've always been picky with food, however I was pleasantly surprised by Bucharest: mamaliga, sharmale, papanasi, ciorbas in paine, everything is delicious!

Was it difficult to find accommodation in Bucharest?

I definitely found my apartment from Spain by chance. However, some friends of mine here didn't need more than a week to find a flat to rent.

How much does it cost to live in Bucharest?

The apartments cost around €200 not including bills, eating in very cheap, so is going out. I would say that, without being excessive but not being very money conscious, you can easily live of off €500 a month.

Source

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

I tried to go on a course at the university, but, in the end, it wasn't possible. The language is a Romance language, but with the added difficulty of a Russian influence. It's easy to learn the basic words and day to day expressions, but the grammar makes things a bit more complicated.

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

By plane, of course.

Source

Where would you recommend for a night out in Bucharest?

Lipscani is the neighbourhood with all of the pubs and bars: from Oktoberfest or El Grande Comandante to start drinking, to Club A or Kulturhaus to round off the night.

There are also clubs like Krystal, Bamboo or OneClub if you want to go a bit bigger.

And to eat in Bucharest? What are some of your favourite places to go?

Caru cu' bere without a doubt. It's a place that serves traditional Romanian food that has a good atmosphere, where the weekday menu costs 20 lei (€4, 50) for lunch, or even 12 lei if you're a student. In the evening they don't do this discount, but you can always cut back a little at dinner, because there's a nightly show!

There's also Andy's Pizza or Hanul-lui-Manuc are good places to enjoy traditional Romanian food.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

I would recommend going on a Free Tour walking tour, which are scheduled every day at 10:30 and 15:00 from the Piata Unirii. They're very interesting.

Source

Do you have any advice for students coming to Bucharest in the future?

Choosing Bucharest is the best decision that I've ever made in my life. I met a lot of people, people from other countries as well as from Spain, I discovered a lot of gastronomy, I travelled loads and I enjoyed the contrasting atmosphere, it has really enriched me so much as a person.

I hope that your stay here will be as enjoyable as mine was and don't be dissuaded because it's in Eastern Europe, it's even better!