Experience in Utrecht, Netherlands by Floris

Source

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

Utrecht is a very nice city to live in, and I would certainly recommend living there! How one experiences this city depends very much on where you come from and what your reference is. In the following I will compare Utrecht to other places in the Netherlands.

The nice city centre, with the old buildings, canals and parks is about 30 minutes walking in diameter, say roughly 3 km. This means that although it is very nice to visit, you do not see a lot of tourists spending a full week here (the bigger cities are probably better suited for this). The city is very much a student's place, with over 50. 000 students on a population of roughly 350. 000. This expresses itself in a vibrant nightlife that is active pretty much every day of the week, except for exam periods.

What is the student lifestyle like in Utrecht?

Utrecht is all about students. Going out as a student here is easy and fun, with a large amount of bars and clubs to choose from, mostly situated on the Nobelstraat, Neude and Janskerkhof (amongst other places). There are a lot of sororities and student associations, a lot of which accept new people once or twice during the year. Though unlike some other Dutch cities, going out without being a member somewhere is still very enjoyable!

How much does it cost to live in Utrecht?

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Utrecht? Is there any advice you can give?

As an enormous (almost 10. 000) amount of students start studying in Utrecht every year, finding an accommodation can be troublesome. However, since there are a lot of companies and privates renting out rooms, it should be possible to find something in the end no matter what. Selection talks are standard in student houses.

Typical student places include Ina Boudier Bakkerlaan ('IBB') and van Lieflandlaan ('VLL').

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

There are a lot of foreign cuisine restaurants (Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, American, Italian, Burgundian, etc) in Utrecht, so one should not get bored easily. Dutch cuisine, however, is mostly known for its soberness and is not something that people come to the Netherlands or Utrecht for.

I can recommend looking up the video on Dutch cuisine on youtube by the 'guide to the Dutch'.

What places would you recommend visiting in Utrecht?

Source

Is it good to eat out in Utrecht? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

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

What advice would you give future students heading to Utrecht?

Hire your own boat on the canal and do a booze cruise, BBQ in one of the parks if the weather is nice, go swim in the Maarsseveense Plassen close by!