6 reasons to choose Salamanca as your Erasmus destination

Being a former Erasmus student, I know that how your experience turns out to be depends on many different factors. One of these factors are the recipient country and city that can be very decisive. Ever since I got here, I was convinced that the best way to live in Salamanca is probably to be an Erasmus student, because the city has so much to offer for all of those who are motivated and opened to actually discover its potentials. Therefore, in this post my unconcealed intention is to convince you to choose Salamanca as your Erasmus destination.

Reason #1: Salamanca is all about education…

I’m aware that Erasmus is much more than an academic experience, or being exact, we all know about a stereotype holding that Erasmus students don’t have to study anything. Well, based on my own Erasmus I can tell you that this is not exactly true and you can actually learn a lot during your stay at the chosen university – although I have to admit that of course it depends on the individuals themselves, if they want to use this experience as an opportunity to extend their knowledge. However, if you make the decision carefully, your Erasmus experience can help you direct you in your future plans and career, as it did in my case. But let’s assume that you don’t care much about the education part, you just want to make the most of your stay; meet new people, party a lot ect. Alright then, no one will stop you from doing that, but you can still cannot discard the fact that you are studying at one of the oldest university of the world! That must sound quite attractive, not to talk about how good it will look on your CV! Not only the universities are famous for their educational excellence, but the name of the city itself has been associated with education during the past centuries. I can assure you, this place is full of schools for the little and for the older equally, and there a bunch of libraries as well. So if you mind only a tiny bit at which university you will spend your Erasmus semester, don’t hesitate to apply to one of the universities in Salamanca!

Reason #2: Salamanca is a cheap city

Another factor Erasmus students have to take into consideration when choosing their destination is the living costs. Although the key point of the Erasmus programme is to help participants finance their semester abroad, yet many home universities distribute only a smaller amount of money, which is everything but not enough to make your ends meet. Therefore, it’s not a disadvantage to decide on living in a cheaper country and city during your Erasmus and avoiding a huge family crises. I can assure you, based on this criteria, Salamanca is a perfect place to be as an Erasmus student as it is considerably cheap compared to most Spanish cities. You can share flats with others for about 150-250€ per month, many including heating, water and internet as well. Then, thanks to the fact that Salamanca is a smaller town, you can save all the travelling costs you would be otherwise spending in a bigger city or in a capital. Most campuses and touristic locations can be easily approached on foot and there is no better feeling than strolling peacefully through the streets of an ancient and historical place on your way to your class in the morning. Regarding the shopping, I believe this depends mostly on the person, so if you are conscious about it, you can solve the food problem with less than 150€ per month.

Reason #3: Sometimes less is more: you don’t need to live in a capital in order to feel the whole world is yours

If I can give you an advice, choose a smaller town as the host of your Erasmus experience! On one hand because you can save much more money, on the other because one single accommodation is enough to fill your Erasmus experience with uncountable number of friends and memories. I even think that living in a smaller town with less inhabitants can contribute to create a friendlier environment, to make you feel like home, where everyone knows everyone, even the shop assistant from the local grocery store, who, at the moment of recognizing you, will change his or her strong accent and talk more slowly in order to help you understand the language. However, the real perfect situation is when you are a half-hour-long trip away from a bigger city! This way, you get all the financial advantages of living in a smaller town, but anytime when you feel like, you can hop on the bus or the train and enjoy everything that greater cities can offer. Regarding Salamanca, the closest city is Valladolid, the capital of the region of Castilla y León, but once in a while I would advise you to spend a crazy weekend in Madrid with your Erasmus friend.

Reason #4: Salamanca is a vibrant university city that is waiting with open doors for all the students who want to party

If earlier we were talking about the importance of Erasmus parties, here is another reason to choose Salamanca: you can find a club on every single corner of the city. They even have various party quarters. Entering the places is always free, but in return, they expect you to consume, which cannot be a problem, as your original goal was already getting as drunk that you have to take a taxi in order to find your way back home. But even if it wasn’t, you just cannot avoid running into those people on the streets whose job is to get as many people to the club they’re advertising as possible, and it’s just too difficult to say no all the time, so sooner or later you will end up dancing to a reggaeton song and forgetting about the fact that you actually hate this music style. And if this wasn’t enough, even the faculties organize their own fiestas: every faculty has their own week, when they gather together on the Plaza Mayor and have funny and entertaining challenges during the day, while unstoppable party time during the evening – often dressed in costumes.

Reason #5: Salamanca is the best place to learn Spanish

Salamanca is often referred to as the City for Learning Spanish. No matter if you are a complete beginner or you just wish to improve your skills, there are numerous academies at your disposal and an environment that is ready to welcome foreigners. Furthermore, the importance of the Spanish language plays a key role among the aspirations of the city, it is considered as a crucial part of their cultural heritage that needs to be preserved. Signs of the old spelling, for example, can be discovered on the walls throughout the city. Due to all these, a whole sector in Salamanca is built on the teaching of Spanish and continues to bring innovation over and over. In other words, there is no better place to master your Spanish than Salamanca!

Reason #6: Salamanca is simply beautiful

My sixth reason to convince you to spend your Erasmus stay in Salamanca is that it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen in my life. Not a wonder that is called by many 'La Ciudad Dorada', 'The Golden City', as thanks to its sandstone buildings, from the distance, it really seems like the city is dressed in a shiny gold colour. Additionally, walking among the old walls of the city, you just cannot avoid feeling the indescribable magic of the places that immediately stole the heart of the majority of its visitors.

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