Experience in Orihuela, Spain by Carla

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

Orihuela isn't really a city. Its a large town. It's a very traditional Spanish place so you would not meet many other foreigners here. In terms of learning Spanish that may be good. However, because it is a small enough community, most people have a circle of friends made from a very young age so I personally believe it would be difficult to intergrate into a group. Saying that, the younger people seem to be really chatty and friendly but I'm not too sure about making any long term friendships. The older population have a tendency to look at you a lot on the street if they recognise you are a foreigner. In terms of entertainment, there isn't much to do in Orihuela. There a small shopping centre called Ociopia which is fairly good. It has a pharmacy, H and M, Mango, Bershka, Burgerking etc. There is also a cinema. There is a gym called Urban fitness which is 20 euro per month which allows u to attend any classes you want. It wouldn't be the best gym ever but if u want a fully decked out gym you will pay a lot more to go to another one. Even though there isn't much to do, the train station is very central, at the top of the long street- The gloriette.It is only a short 20 minute journey to the beautiful city of Murcia and roughly an hour to the fabulous city of Alicante. The trains run very frequently. Every 30/40 minutes to roughly every hour in the evening.

What is the student lifestyle like in Orihuela?

There is a small institute set up by the university of Alicante I believe. It is mostly for economics and politics students. It is very small to be honest so there isn't a student vibe about the place at all.

How much does it cost to live in Orihuela?

Cost of living is fairly standard. I didn't notice a huge difference in comparison to being at home. There are 2 Mercadonas.There is a large Lidl also. I personally am not a fan of mercadona. I did like Lidl as it is probably the cheapest and has more food that is like home. My favorite shop would be Dia. It is the exact same as a regular supermarket you would find at home. It hosts a whole variety of food. I haven't shopped here much though so I'm not too sure about it's prices. It would be slightly more pricey than Lidl however.

What places would you recommend visiting in Orihuela?

The old town part of orihuela is lovely. I would recommend taking a walk down there. But not on your own! Its a little bit rougher then the new part so you would need to watch out. Closer to the base of the mountians there are houses deciratedin murals.These were crested during the Franco times. Some are outstanding so if you appreciate art like I do then I would recommend going up to see them!I would recommend visiting Miguel Hernandez's original home. (Famous poet from there.) There are a number of churches and cathedrals also. The area is surrounded my mountains and there is a seminario over looking the whole town. It is about a 15 minute walk up the path of the mountain. It is open at certain times to view.

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

The nightlife isn't great. We usually went to a late night bar called Mandala. Only reggaeton music was played here, then around 4am we would go to the local nightclub- Moon discoteca. Both places were tiny and you need to go in with an open mind in relation to age range. There was no seats in Moon at all. Unless you booked the VIP area haha. It was 5 euro entrance and then you got a free drink which was good. A bar for the younger croud was called Succo. I personally didn't like this because its so small that it gets really full and a lot of people stay outside anyways. Also, the music seems to be heavy enough rock so that made me want to bash my head off a wall after a while lol

What advice would you give future students heading to Orihuela?

If you are studying in Murcia, I would recommend staying there to be honest. Orihuela is a nice, quiet and safe place but its not a place for students really. I was only here on work placement.