Erasmus Experience in Montpellier, France by Emilija

Why did you choose to go to Montpellier, France?

Well, I didn't give it a lot of thought actually. I got the information in the French Cultural Center in my hometown that Montpellier was a good city to study since it's a students' city and that the University in Montpellier is one of the best for psychology in France, so I applied.

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

Since my home country (Serbia) isn't a member of the European Union, I haven't been able to apply for a scholarship, which was quite a deception.

I do, however, receive CAF (aide au logement). Normally it's around 170E (if you're living alone), but since I have a roomie, mine is 90E

Source

TIP: If you're living with your boyfriend/girlfriend, you should mention that while applying for CAF, it gets bigger that way!

What is the student lifestyle like in Montpellier?

Montpellier is a real student's city - a lot of young people and therefore, a lot of bars, clubs, discos, etc.

A great thing is that people (not only students) who are less than 26 years old can get all kinds of discounts (for ex. an annual bus/tramway ticket costs around 450E).

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

I definitely would. Of course, there are things here that I don't like, but it's a great city to study and live in.

Source

What is the food like?

I don't go so much to restaurants (students' poverty, but those couple times I went I was never deceived. There are many restaurants with all kinds of cuisine (French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, etc) so there's really a big variety of places where you can eat.

Most of the time I buy food in the markets and cook in my apartment, or I go to the university cafeteria where you can have a whole meal (meal, salad, desert) for a little bit more than 3E and it's quite satisfying.

After all, as for traditional food, all depends on your own taste and the food you were used to while living in your country.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Montpellier?

It was kinda complicated to find the accommodation (even though there are a lot of offers, this is a city with a lot of students and they're all in search for accommodation, especially in September), so it's complicated to find something that will satisfy all your criteria (for ex. not so expensive, but not small either, close to the university and/or city center, with furniture or not, etc. )

So the best way (if you have no other option) would be to come here, spend day and night on the internet searching for good offers, and then go visit all the apartments you've found, so eventually, you will find something that suits you.

But be prepared, it was an odyssey for both me and lots of people I know!

How much does it cost to live in Montpellier?

It depends on the months. You always spend the most at the beginning, because you still don't know the prices, where to buy food, etc. but once you get used to living here and start understanding how things work, you manage to save bigger amounts of money.

Source

I spend around 200E for food and random stuff for the apartment, 15E for internet (sharing with my roommate), 30E for telephone, 60E tobacco...

It all depends on you, it really is hard to say how much people spend per month because it varies each month.

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

I know people who didn't speak any French when they came, so they took a language course at my University (Paul Valery)

I didn't take those classes since I already had a good knowledge of French, but even with 10 years of taking classes, I still had problems at the beginning.

It's one thing when you learn a language at school, but completely another when you actually live in a country where all the people speak that language.

I find that people on the south speak rather quickly and that they have a specific way of talking which is not so easy to understand at the beginning.

But once you get used to it, all the language barriers disappear, so all you need to work on is talking to as many people as possible at the beginning to get used to the language, that way you can improve your language skills and it gets better.

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

I always take a bus that goes directly from my hometown (Belgrade) to Montpellier. The ticket for students costs around 180e (both ways) but the trip is horrible and exhausting - 25 hours.

So starting from January, I will be going home and back to Montpellier by plane.

I've found some cheap flights on Ryanair, so it's not a big difference in price.

Source

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

There is a good site that recommends all kinds of events and parties in Montpellier, but I can't remember the name.

As for bars, I prefer Fizz (in the city center), but if you're up to hardcore partying, try visiting Milk, La Cote, Villa Rouge, etc... They're all one next to each other, and there is a bus called Amigo that takes you there directly and a comeback is also organized at around 3, 4, 5 AM...

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

I enjoyed the food in Bistrot d'Alco, Dolce Italia... Others I can't remember the name

And of course, the famous Kebab with 100 pounds of meat and as much cheese! Yummy

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

I've visited more sites a little outside of Montpellier and in other nearby cities. It all depends on what you like. Trip advisor recommends really good places to see, so check the site and decide what you'd like visiting the most

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

Prepare yourself for TONS of paperwork and all kinds of things you need to do - opening a bank account, phones, internet, CAF, OFII, etc.

It's really exhausting and stressing, in the beginning, you think you'll never finish all those things, but once you get things done you realize it's not at all that hard and it gives you a great experience in dealing with "adult" things.

Montpellier's really a great city to study and live in, so if you're an adventurist and would like to try something new and gain great experience, you should definitely come to Montpellier!