Erasmus Experience in Rotterdam, Netherlands by Agnė

What is the student lifestyle like in Rotterdam?

You study a lot, and party a lot. Exam sessions, many group assignments in one time, and therefore more new friends to spend your free time with afterwards!

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

Definitely: city is gorgeous, though it has seldom old buildings left due to bombing, especially at the dark. Modern campus, attractive lectures and eloquent professors. However, you have to be prepared to work hard.

What is the food like?

I would say that Dutch do not really stand for any "traditional" food except for Christmas cookies and well-known stroopwafels, and call weird fast food meat typical Dutch. That dissapointed me a bit, to be honest. It is mainly traditional European cuisine, with pizzerias, Asian and Italian restaurants and doner-kebabs on every corner.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Rotterdam?

I have used Housing Anywhere as I have heard that due to lack of living place there are a lot of frauds, and this website only transfers the money AFTER moving in.

I was really glad with that choice, as somebody even tried to trick me through that website by sending me a fake letter as if from the Housing Anywhere with request to transfer the money. How I knew it was fake? The owner was blocked after I week I first contacted him (he said he asked to stop as he had enough candidates), platform emphasized that the transfer has to be ON the platform, the "landlord" was from Sweden and the bank account - in Romania. Be very careful!

However, now, that I'm here, I will try to visit the places myself :)

How much does it cost to live in Rotterdam?

Generally, 400e to live in a shared apartment is an amazing price. Don't forget to ask if registration is allowed, because they have some weird laws to limit people living in one place, and that could mean you are made to paid 100e extra just to register at a City Hall under that address.
I live with my boyfriend, we live on the edge to nowhere, and pay 850e for both in a shared place, and people living in a campsite pay 550e/month. I would strongly suggest not going to the Student Hotel, that is way too pricey.

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

Unprofessional language courses once a week cost 50e per trimester, and is a great way to find friends. The language itself is written similar to German, I had courses at high school, so I can read quite a lot, yet pronunciation is truly unique... I have no clue how to learn that :D

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

I came from Lithuania by plane, direct flight to Amsterdam, and then was taken with a university bus. Now, when I am not a newbie anymore, I take trains to get to an airport. With OV-chipkart, you can travel everywhere in Netherlands, you just need to fill in tickets or money beforehand. There is really convenient Reisplanner app for that.