Experience in Gothenburg, Sweden by Kasper

What is it like to live in Gothenburg? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Gothenburg isn't a "big city", nor a small "big city", but it's a very big "small city" if you can see my point. It is interesting in the way it covers quite big land parts and contains many islands and very different landscapes and districts. Liseberg the amusement park is a big hit for many visitors and during the summers the football arenas have a lot of popular concerts from all kind of artists. I have been living in Gothenburg for 2 years now and as a student it is a very perfect city, it is small enough that you can learn how things work and get comfortable in many parts of the city and in the traffic, but big enough so you doesn't get bored. With around 50. 000 students studying here you have a lot of activities going on at all times and there are a lot of trips you can take to nearby beautiful and interesting locations containing both actual and historic monuments.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Gothenburg?

Depending on which faculty and university you are visiting there are very different kind of activities going on. For example both Chalmers (Chalmers University of Technology) and the Business faculty at Gothenburg University you have a lot of parties multiple times a week if you would like. Other faculties I don't know all too much about but I'm pretty sure they got a lot going on as well. Apart from this you have a rich nightlife in general and all universities are closely located to the hearth of the city. With over 50 thousand students you can find many people a like who have a lot of similar interests and with Sweden being a very futuristic society it will be quite easy finding these people online.

How much does it cost to live in Gothenburg?

Depends a lot I'd say. The hardest part is getting an apartment, which is way easier if you are an exchange student though. Gothenburgs common student unions prioritize exchange students and have a very friendly welcome committee to these students and also their housing agents provide a lot of apartments. Here the price is ranging from a minimum of 300 euros for a 12-18m² with shared kitchen up to 500 euros for 25-40m² 1-2 room flat. The farther away from the city hearth you can drop in prices quite quickly for bigger apartments but also for 1-2 room flats.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Gothenburg? Is there any advice you can give?

Contact people on Facebook on time, there is a multiple Facebook groups with over 10 thousands of people searching and renting apartments. But also be sure to look on both: , this website and , this one these site provide apartments for students and both prioritize exchange students if you just give them a call and ask for information and help. They will usually be able to help you out quite a bit!

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What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Well the Swedish food culture is quite international and while we have a few things we are known for, like Swedish meatballs and so on, we eat like a lot of Asian food, Italian, Spanish and Greek food. I'd say there also are a lot of vegetarians and well this number is growing quite a lot. But at the same time you have a lot of people who just love a big steak like myself.

What places would you recommend visiting in Gothenburg?

Liseberg, the amusement park, is a big hit for many people, and there are two seasons a year really. One in the summer, with normal attractions and so on, but also one around the winter and around Christmas, which is really lovely with a lot of lights, thousands and thousands of lights throughout the whole park, which makes it really cosy. Also I would recommend visiting Älvsborg fortress, historic fortress of high importance for Gothenburg historically. After this you have a few districts I would really recommend just visiting to walk around in, which is Haga, Masthugget, Linné and Majorna.

Is it good to eat out in Gothenburg? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

There are a lot of great places I love. Some of them are upcoming restaurants and those new restaurants satisfy the students as they have great quality/price. Tugg Burgers and Pinchos are a great burger place and a great place for tapas, then you have Yala Yala in Vasastan having Greek food. These are some of my favourite spots.

Is the nightlife good in Gothenburg? Where is good to go?

Yes, I would say it is. A very popular street with a lot of smaller clubs and pubs is Andra långgatan, here me and my friends usually go when we go out, all days a week, really.

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What advice would you give future students heading to Gothenburg?

Apart from what I have earlier mentioned I would like to emphasize the importance of looking on apartments from both studenbostader and boplat but also look for these Facebook groups, there are like 3-4 with all over 10. 000 people renting out and searching for accommodation in these groups. Don't let yourself be scammed though, no one will ask you to pay something before you have seen the apartment, Swedish people doesn't buy into that, so if they do you shouldn't trust it at all. Also I would really recommend quickly taking contact with people all around to broaden your circuits because people here is very interested in new people and different cultures, especially students.