Discovering the Netherlands

I was fortunate enough to complete my Erasmus in Groningen, a small university city in the north of the Netherlands.

Groningen is mainly a university city, full of international students, as well as exchange and full time students. This makes most of the city's population under the age of 30. In fact, the city has the lowest age average in Europe ( maybe I'm wrong, haha).

There are two universities, RUG (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) and Hanze (Hanze Hogeschool). According to the Dutch education system, RUG is more like a University, whereas Hanze is a technical college. In comparison to a higher degree centre, this means that if you are on Erasmus and you go to RUG, you will most likely have to study more than a student at Hanze.

The party scene in Groningen is great. In the centre, there are a lot of bars, the majority are free entry and don't have a closing time. If you want to go out on a Tuesday, you will have a great time for sure (although there won't be as many people as there would be on a Wednesday or Thursday).

With regard to prices, a week's worth of shopping in a supermarket is about €20-30. Going out to party can be quite expensive, but this depends on the individual and where you go. If you go for a few beers at Drie gezusters (the largest bar in Europe), it'll cost you €5 for a third of a beer, although, it's very good beer. A word of advice: on Sundays from 10pm, the bar De Toeter has many different types of beers on the menu for half price.

Prepare for the rain and cold. I say this not to put you off, but so as you can prepare and enjoy it. With a raincoat, Panama Jack boots, and a waterproof backpack (important if you take a laptop to class) you will have no problem.

In Groningen, and the Netherlands in general, everyone travels by bicycle, and bicycles have their own traffic rules, so make sure you learn them. In order to get a bicycle, you can rent one for one year for €200 in places such as Fietsverda Fietsen. This includes all types of repairs and theft, as long as it isn't left without a padlock. You can also buy bicycles second hand, there are many offers on the internet and in Facebook groups.

I stayed in a residence which I found through SSH, an organisation which has various residences in the city. You can also look for apartments through Facebook or other websites. The price of rent is between €300 -€400 per month.

There is a very good train system for travelling through the Netherlands, with trains passing regularly. Once you have a ticket, you can board the train when it suits you. On Facebook, there are groups for buying tickets between 10 people, so the ticket comes to €7 instead of €25, which is what a single ticket from Schiphol to Groningen would cost.

My experience in Groningen was fantastic because I could meet people from all over, both international and Dutch. A great destination.