Erasmus in Łódź, Poland - by Miguel V

What's it like living in Łódź? Would you recommend it?

To me, Łódź doesn't seem like the best city to move to permanently. You won't find the best architecture or most beautiful countryside here (though there's an enormous forest cum park near bus 58's end stop, named Łagiewniki Forest if I remember rightly). For an unforgettable Erasmus exchange year however, which is what you're considering, I think it's an awesome city. But why do I think this?

Well, first off, and as you will have read everywhere, because of the prices. Everything (apart from technology and clothes, which all has European prices), Łódź is very cheap. Public transport (half price for students), eating out, partying, activities (such as ice skating, laser tag, bowling... ) are super cheap, which gives it a huge plus on the leisure and free time scale.

Second, its geographical location is great. Łódź is in the centre of Poland, meaning that it's very cheap to visit other Polish cities popular with tourists (such as Krakow, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Zakopane... ) thanks to the 10km per hour train with its fifty percent discount for students (with a Polish student ID card which they'll give you when you arrive) and the PolskiBus with its super cheap journeys to other European cities such as Berlin, Prague and Vienna.

Third, its student atmosphere is fantastic. The Polish girls especially. I'll explain more about this later, hahah.

Fourth, in terms of academic work, we say here that it's pretty damn easy here to do well at the universities. Erasmus students get lots of help with their work, their presentations, their exams and with everything else. All you have to do is chat with the teachers, who are all very nice and understanding, and come to your own agreements.

There you have it, then. I would recommend going to Łódź or to any other Polish city on your Erasmus exchange: Wroclaw, Krakow, Katowice, Warsaw (though this last one is more expensive). I also recommend going on an 'eurotrip', including of course a spectacular tour of the Balkans (you'll be able to read about the one I went on soon in my Erasmusu blogs).

What's the student life like in Łódź?

It's brilliant. It's full to bursting with Erasmus students (mainly Spaniards and Turkish students, just to spoil it for you). In any case, you can get to know loads of cultures here, including Polish culture. You'll meet loads of nice people (above all if you go to the ESN events, which I recommend you do) and you'll definitely meet Polish guys and girls up for sharing their culture with you, and if you're lucky, a little more, haha.

On a serious note though, the atmosphere in Lumumby (the best campus at University Lodki) and at the TUL (Politekniki Lodki or something similar) is great. It's definitely better if you get lucky and land yourself some great roommates, which I'm sure you will.;) Even the medicine students who are located in Mazowieka (near to Lumumby) have their own mini-campus there, hahah. You see how it is.... party everywhere!

How expensive is living in Łódź?

At Lumumby, you'll spend around eighty euros a month on your room in a hall of residence (including clothes washing facilities, a gym, light, water and internet). It's worth pointing out that there are a lot of students using that internet, so it ends up working reaaaaally slowly and is limited to five hundred megabytes per day. You know the saying: if you snooze, you lose. If you go over your limit, you'll have to wait 'til the following day to use the internet again, so be careful when watching films and TV series online.

In terms of food, the most popular student supermarket (at least in Lumumby) is Biedronka. It's very cheap, but the quality of some of its products is... questionable! Hehe. You should definitely eat anything you buy from there within two days! Especially the hamburgers and sausages... watch out!

Eating out is fantastic in terms of the price quality ratio. You can afford to do it at least two or three times a week.

If you have quite a small Erasmus grant, so two hundred euros or so, you'll still manage perfectly for the whole year.

If on the contrary you're one of the lucky ones who has a grant of more than four hundred euros a month, you can use every weekend to travel, visit other cities in Poland, other countries in Europe and your ability to enjoy your exchange won't be limited at all (as mine wasn't). Every month, you'll spend money on travelling, eating out, and going out partying (though not in excessive amounts) - this could cost around 450 euros a month. I spent a month travelling around Europe and eating out all the time, staying in hostels and visiting over eleven countries, and I spent less than 1, 000 euros. If you pace yourself well financially, I can guarantee that you'll have a fantastic time, even with a small grant.

Did you find it hard to find somewhere to live in Łódź? Do you have any advice for flat-hunting?

My advice is to fill in the forms to get university accommodation, to be patient and not get discouraged. Generally, forms and bureaucratic processes progress slower than they do in Spain, so fill out your forms for the university carefully and before you come to Poland. If anyone's interest, I've explained the forms more in detail at this link:

http://erasmussinmaletas.com/erasmus-en-lodz-fase-pre-erasmus

On the other hand, a lot of people decide to rent a shared flat in Piotrkowska... and I wouldn't recommend this. You'll lose the student atmosphere which the halls of residence have and it's also much more expensive than renting rooms here. It's really only a good idea if you already know a lot of Erasmus people for hosting parties in your flat, if you've got a lot of money available and really like having personal space.

What's Polish food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Polish food is really nice, but make sure you try it homemade by actual Polish people. The substitutes from Biedronka have got nothing on the original dishes cooked at home. We were lucky and went to eat with the family of a Polish friend of ours one day, and everything was just amazing. In terms of traditional dishes, there's Zürek soup (containing meat, egg and pierogi, which are like large ravioli filled with spicy meat, potatoes, cheese, spinach or something other things depending on the area). You can also order these fried and with sauce, which is how I like them best. There's also the famous zapiekanka, a kind of breaded pizza. You can buy these in kiosks around the city, and there's lots of them in Krakow.

For more detailed information about Polish food and traditional Polish dishes, I wrote an article explaining this in more depth which you can read if you follow this link:

http://erasmussinmaletas.com/comida-en-polonia-ii

What places do you recommend visiting in Łódź?

The Jewish cemetery, the cinema museum, the factories (better with a guide, we went with one of our professors who did trips every weekend and it was really cool), the greenhouses... the most typical things to see are the Manufaktura shopping centre and the road running through Piotrkowska. For those of you who like arts, there are expositions on every now and then in the museum to the left to the door of Manufaktura. I also recommend going to see the Philharmonic or to the theatre.

For nature loves, there's an area I mentioned before called Łagiewniki Forest at the last stop on bus 58's route (not 100% sure about this as I can't fully remember, hehe) which is really cool. We saw a wooden church and went on a guided tour there with the professor I mentioned above.

In summary, you can still discover Poland's history even in an industrial city such as Łódź. Here's a link taking you to a page listing the upcoming cultural events and festivals in the city:

http://erasmussinmaletas.com/19-erasmus-en-lodz-eventos

The most popular tourist spot in Poland is in Krakow (where Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps are). You can appreciate the destruction wreaked by the Second World War in any Polish city however, especially in Warsaw.

What about eating out in Łódź? What are your favourite places?

In the first part of this article (http://erasmussinmaletas.com/3-erasmus-en-lodz-comida-en-polonia) I spoke about the most famous place of your Erasmus exchange in Łódź, haha. Manekin, a crepe bar where you can order all kinds of different crepes and also choose the sauce on top. The atmosphere is great and the place is great value for money. Only go if you've got time to wait however, as it's unusual that you'll get your crepe before forty minutes after you orderer haha. Esplanada is also great, with great scallops, though it's a little more expensive here. There's also one in Piotrwkowska.

Within the campus, there's Magic (cheap and of acceptable quality, but with free table football and always full of Erasmus or Polish Lumumby students). I don't recommend the pizzas in Saxofon... only pay for one if it's an emergency. And let's not forget about Hell's Kitchen! The restaurant (recently refurbished) is twenty metres away from the entrance to Dom X. It's the typical place to go to watch a football game or just to have a few chilled drinks or use decent wifi (since the one in the residences is crap... ).

What are the best places for partying in Łódź?

The clubs on Piotrkowska. There are loads. For pre-drinks (drinking listening to good music and often live concerts) I'd recommend Lizard King at 62 Piotrkowska.

There are loads of others, but Erasmus students always go to the same ones... Biblioteka or Pikjalnia for pre-drinks, and then on to Futurysta, Czekolada, Kookoo, Medyk, Spinka, Foo Foo, Lordi's or Gossip. I recommend going out and exploring Łódź accompanied by someone who's actually from there. There are some really cool local bars, with concerts and different stuff on to what's typical in bars. Here are the must-sees:

http://erasmussinmaletas.com/7-erasmus-en-lodz-fiesta-en-lodz-ii-la-ruta

Apart from these, explore according to your own tastes and styles!

Do you have any advice for future students coming to Łódź?

The same advice that I always have for future Erasmus students. Don't just stick with a group of Spaniards, because by doing that you won't be making the most of your experience.

Keep an open mind and make the most of all opportunities to mix with new cultures and to understand new ways of thinking. Improve at the language and do lots of travelling, as much as you possibly can. It's an unique opportunity to explore Europe. First off, it's a year without responsibilities and with lots of free time - practically a year of holidaying which you'll never forget your whole life long. Second, due to the cheap travelling prices in Poland, you'll never be able to do the same thing when you go back to Spain. So, be brave and break out from the crowd! Try everything!

Enjoy Polish cuisine, go out partying, play sports, take part in cultural activities, get to know the city, travel and learn lots. In this way, you'll make sure your Erasmus year is an unforgettable one in your life.