Julia's Erasmus Experience in Dublin, Ireland

Why did you choose to go to Dublin, Ireland?

The reason why I chose Dublin was because it’s an English-speaking destination and I was trying to escape from the huge amount of Spanish people who go to the UK for their Erasmus. (Correction: in Dublin, we are also the majority. )

How long does your grant last for? How much money do you receive as financial support?

In my case, I have spent one term at University College Dublin (UCD). My original idea was to stay for 5 months in accordance with the grant that Castille-León offered me (300€ a month given in one lump sum: 1500€).

However, for those who are staying on-campus at UCD, take into account the fact that you have to vacate your room by around the 23rd of December, which, in reality, means that your stay is only 4 months long.

But don't worry if you put down 5 months and then stay a little less, you will simply have to return a proportional part of the 1500€.

What is student life like in Dublin?

My answer to this question is based on my own personal experience as a student at UCD and as an on-campus resident, as I think that a Trinity student, or one from another university, could have a different idea/opinion of student life here.

If you are UCD students, you will find a thousand and one things to do on campus, which is almost like a little city in itself. The student residences organise activities every week, there are lots of sports clubs and societies that you can join, there is a gym and a swimming pool... to sum it all up, living on-campus at UCD gives you lots of opportunities to socialise and try new things.

However, although there are several cafeterias, there is only one bar on campus where you can go for a drink if you don't want to go into the city centre. Personally, I only went there during the first couple of weeks, as, from then on, we chose to just meet up in the student residences.

With regards to the student nightlife scene in Dublin city centre, you will find a variety of options for all tastes: reggaeton, rock, heavy, Irish music (or simply chart music) performed live... In general, the atmosphere is very international and welcoming, and is predominantly made up of international students. For this reason, everyone makes conversation with one another and the people are usually very friendly, although, like in all places, this is not always the case.

With regards to the price of beer... In the area in and around Temple Bar - the Irish bars, in other words - you will not find the price of a pint to be less than 5. 50€. For that reason, you will end up going to places like Diceys, where there is beer for usually 2-2. 50€, with a very similar atmosphere to Spanish nightclubs.

Would you recommend the city and University College Dublin to other students?

After having lived here for four months, I would not change my choice to have come here thanks to the people that I have met, the things that I have faced up to, and the opportunities that UCD has offered me; it's a really active, modern, and international university.

However, if I had to be objective, it seems like these are all things that you could find in pretty much any other destination you might choose.

For this reason, if you are in doubt about whether you should choose one of the other destinations, I recommend weighing the situation up properly for the following reasons:

Dublin is expensive, and is even more so if you are an Erasmus student, because you will want to really make the most of the experience: visiting Ireland, going out partying, going to Irish pubs...

The main problem associated with all of this is public transport: if you live on-campus at UCD, you will have to catch a bus to go practically everywhere, from going to supermarket to just going into the city centre to go shopping, for a drink, or to go out at night. If you don't have a travel card (Leapcard) for the bus, each journey will cost you 2. 70€, which you will have to pay in exact change (or over pay) because they don't give you change. If you pay with the Leapcard, you have two options: load it with money and have each journey cost you 2. 05€, or pay a flat tariff to be able to catch all the buses you want during that specific day (take advantage of a day you're planning to go on a night out and go shopping). (30 days = 111€ or for 5 days, 23€. )

The buses aren't the only expensive thing though; from 23:30 the buses services end, which means that you will have to get a taxi home, costing around 16€ to 20€ between 4 people).

I personally rejected the idea of getting a bike after a couple of weeks.

What is the food like in Ireland?

With regards to supermarkets:

The cheapest option is Lidl (my usual choice) and Aldi (I have only been there once). Aside from these, there is Spar (very expensive with little variety), Tesco (has lots of variety for average prices), and Centra, which is the on-campus shop (small, expensive for basic products, and relatively cheap for things like sandwiches and pizzas).

The food in general is very varied and it's easy to lead a healthy lifestyle. They usually put the nutritional values on display in all of the fast food restaurants, and I was surprised by the amount of "high in proteins", "low fat" etc. products that there are.

Was it difficult for you to find accommodation in Dublin?

After reading lots of blogs, like you guys are doing now, I chose to follow the people's advice and spend my first few weeks in a hostel/with a host family whilst looking for a flat in the meantime, as I hadn't applied for a room on campus and I didn't really want to live in a residence either.

As I looked into the topic of hostels quite late, I had to stay with a host family that I found on the UCD website, which cost quite a bit, but, even still, it was cheap compared to everything else that I had previously searched for.

I only spent my first week there (I arrived on September 1st) meeting the few people that were around campus and talking with whoever I could about the topic of accommodation. During this period of time, I didn't meet a single student who was living in a flat, they were all living with host families or in a student residence. In addition to this, my host family insisted on how difficult it was to find what I was looking for.

In the end, I didn't go and see any flats that I had looked at online (of the 200 messages that I could send through housing websites, only 5 would respond to me, and just 2 of these instilled me with confidence), as the people who had been to visit flats told me that they were the worst that they had seen.

Faced with this difficult situation, I went to talk with the person in charge of the residences to see if they could put me in touch with any Irish student searching for a flatmate, to which they told me no, and that the best thing that I could do would be to stay in a residence. Apparently, they had rooms available, so they assigned me to one right then, so I suppose that I was quite lucky in the end.

During orientation week, I met quite a few Spanish people in the same situation as me, some who arrived having reserved a flat that then fell through, others who were staying with host families for the duration...

Finally, all of them went to request a room in the residence and they were each assigned one... I don't know if it has been some extraordinary turn of events this year, or if they have rooms available every year.

How much does it cost to live in Dublin?

The main expenses that you will have will be for transport, like I already told you (taxis and buses). In addition to this, you also have to add on how much each of you will spend on nightlife (in Lidl, each 500ml can of beer costs between 1€-2€).

With regards to food and housing expenses, I usually spend an average of 36€ a week, excluding meals out and coffees I've bought, etc.

In addition, washing at UCD costs 3. 50€ and drying, 1. 50€.

Honestly, I have been cutting my costs down (although they are still high), and even more so now that we are at the end of the term and we have less time to go out and travel. But, the month of September... I don't even want to know or even try to work out how much I spent. Obviously, being the first month, it's somewhat inevitable and normal when you have no idea of how to get around, where to buy things from, combined with the euphoria of meeting new people and going out and doing things together.

What is the language like? Did you attend any language classes at the university?

Sometimes it's difficult to understand the Irish accent, they admit it themselves, and even the Americans will admit they even they don't understand them from time to time. But don't worry about it, it gets easier and you won't even think about it after a short while. The professors are quite easy to understand, and with everyone being foreign anyway, it doesn't end up being that difficult.

I have personally not been to any language courses, but there are quite a few levels and languages that the faculty offer.

Which places would you recommend for nightlife in Dublin?

• Diceys
• Howl at the Moon
• Dtwo
• The Academy
• Temple Bar (Irish pub)
• The Quays (the live music is amazing)
• Mercantile (reggaeton)

I recommend that you download the apps, Vispy and Guestlist, in order to apply for entrance passes and not have to pay for entry in every place.

Generally, the nightclubs and bars close at around 3am. Places like Diceys don’t charge for entry until around 7-8pm, and after this, it will be 5€ until 10pm, and then 10€ after that time. Other places, like Mercantile, don’t charge at all for entry.

And cultural hotspots?

There are quite a few free museums, and during these past few months, there have been quite a few cultural events that you can visit, enabling you to get to know some really interesting areas of the city.

The Guinness Storehouse is a “compulsory” visit, but I honestly expected more considering how much it costs… you don’t see the factory itself, only videos and plastic structures. You essentially pay 18€ for a Guinness and for someone to serve it to you… Take the glass home with you and you will feel a bit less ripped off.

Any advice that you want to give to future students in Dublin?

If you are doubting whether you should go on an Erasmus exchange or not, do it, without a shadow of a doubt. At the end of the day, the destination is going to be the least of your concerns.

If I could go back and choose the destination of my Erasmus again knowing what I know now, I would choose Dublin again.

However, with the expenses that come with living in Dublin, I would have to really think hard about the decision to stay for another term... Besides, there is an incredible amount of Spaniards here, which means that going to the city centre is like walking through Madrid...

For that reason, I stress that the experience had during an Erasmus exchange will not really vary too much from one destination to another - choose the city that captures your attention the most. But, if you choose to study at UCD, your best bet is to stay close to the university, meaning you are away from life in the city centre, although, on the flip side, you will be surrounded by students all day every day - this is simply a different dynamic altogether.

To conclude, if you finally decide to come here, make the most of every single day, step out of your comfort zone, meet lots of different people, lose yourself in the city, travel, and do a little bit of everything. Don't just stick to what the other people in your friendship group do.