Erasmus Experience in Leiden, Netherlands by Daniele

Why did you choose to go to Leiden, Netherlands?

Because I was told that there is an excellent university, for the chance of being in the north and because of the chance of staying far away from my home for an entire academical year.

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

I was initially appointed for 9 months of scholarship, and I extended it to an extra 3 months. My scholarship was about 230 euros per month, needless to say it was completely useless for living in the Netherlands (it was about half of my rent), and I had to work on my own and ask for some money in order to survive. Not living, surviving.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Leiden?

The university offers a lot of services and help and my experience was pretty good in general, for doing exams it's perfect.

Unfortunately, in my field it was pretty awful because there were no people specialized in my sector that could care about me.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Leiden to other students?

If you are a Dutch student and you are very careful about your thesis, yeah.

What is the food like?

Netherlands has no culinary tradition and the cost of the raw cooking materials is pretty high, so I'd say horrible.

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Leiden?

A lot of personal money and time. It is very hard to find an accommodation in Leiden for several reasons and the average quality of the room is very poor.

How much does it cost to live in Leiden?

If you live in a frugal way, around 500 to 600 euros per month, if you want to go outside Leiden (really recommended) and have some hobbies, it will rise up to 1000-1500, so I'd say 1000 euros per month are enough to enjoy it.

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

You just need to know English in order to live in Netherlands, Dutch is a very hard language and very hard to learn. The university offers some Dutch courses for PhD, but no option for any other students.

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

By plane.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Leiden?

If you love jazz De Twee Spieghels, if you love to smoke and drink I'd definitely say Sam Sam.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Leiden?

No.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Nothing about a nice hill at the center of the town. The city is pretty nice on overall, nothing much compared to all other Dutch cities, though.

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Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Leiden in the future?

• Find a room before starting the academic year.
• Be patient with Dutch people, they are the worst kind of humanity you will find (with a lot of exceptions, of course)
• Never trust anyone.
• Go to Amsterdam for the weekend.
• Never take any assignments too seriously.

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