10 Months in Eindhoven

Hello,

To say that Eindhoven is a big city would be a lie.... but it's not a bad place to live (a while), like everything it has it's good things and others not so good.

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1. Climate: horrible, not because of the rain, although it rains, during my Erasmus it didn't rain much, but because it is almost always cloudy and grey. And in winter it's really cold! But in the end you get used to it and you become resistant!
2. Shops: it has everything and during the week there are markets in different "neighborhoods".
3. People and Customs: well.... I think that Eindhoven is a peculiar city, if you go to other cities like Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague... the people are more cosmopolitan. The people in Eindhoven, although nice, are a little uptight, althought there's all sorts. The Dutch women are beautiful... but not too nice, except when you bring enough beers over. There are a lot of students and many international students from all over the world. The best parties are the Carnaval and Queen's Day, where the Dutch go crazy and the city is turned into a huge party.
4. Transport: I think it's the best, the city has a very good train station and an airport with lowcost companies like Ryanair and Wizzair. The people in the city use bicycles because it's fastest and most comfortable, and for a modest price there are a few guys who are absolutely "nice" that sell bikes in the station for between 5 and 20€ (they are stolen) with which you will get a fine if the police decide to stop you ( I had a stolen bike for one year and they never stopped me, once you have lights). The city also has a bus service.
5. Food: Dutch food is the worst, they traditional is fries with mayonaise and frikandellen. The supermarkets are the best for sure, you can find everything, a huge variety of brands and prices. My absolute favourites were AH and Lidl.
6. Prices: Accommodation is expensive, the food is an okay price, restaurants are expensive (excpet kebabs etc. ), partying is cheap and public transport is expensive.
7. Leisure and Free Time: The city doesn't have much, I think in one day you can see the most typical. Although, I recommend to go to some coffeeshop, there are several in the center, visit the center, the South Park and go party in the center, famous for having the street with the most pubs in Europe (well, 90% are the same). For me the best are Cafe Thomas and Boston. The orice of beer is really cheap on Thursdays. If you have more time there's the club and concert venue Effenar. The best thing is to check the oficial websites of the different places and to be there when it's roasting in the city. The best is in summer when there's a lot of festivals and concerts in the street (free).

+info: http://www.vvveindhoven.nl/en/

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