Maider's experience in Utrecht, The Netherlands

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

Once you've been allocated an Erasmus place, you automatically receive a Sepie grant, although the amount you receive depends on your destination. There are three possible amounts you can receive: 200, 250 or 300€, depending on the standard of living of the country you go to.

You're given €250 a month throughout your entire stay if your destination is in Holland. Or at least you were in 2019. But if you were given a scholarship by the Basque govenement the year before your Erasmus year, that amount increases by €150 a month.

Additionally, you can choose to apply for a grant from the Basque Government for your Erasmus year, which is an extra 80 euros a month. However, they don't give this to everyone.

When you receive this financial help, you're given 70% of the amount when you've arrived at the destination and sent off the arrival certificate. You'll receive the remaining 30% when you return home and send the attendance certificate.

There are other grants available as well. But they're given out by private organisations (KutxaBank, British Council... ) and they usually have different requirements.

What's student life like in Utrecht?

It's a university city. So everything is catered towards students. Parties, discounts, English translations... Also, nearly everyone lives in student halls and everyone gets on well here.

And with regard to the campus, it's a whole other world. The universities are really good and the classes here aren't the typical classes where you have a lecturer rambling on to more than 50 students.

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

Yes. The city is like a miniature version of Amsterdam, without so much tourism. It's gorgeous and has a lovely ambience 24 hours a day, seven days week (Yes, everything's open on sundays here!) As well as being a student city, it's a whole new way of life.

The universities are very different from what we're used to. Although the modules you study will be quite demanding, there are a lot fewer teaching hours. (I only had class 3 days a week, which is very common). In addition, the projects are usually hands-on. You work with companies or real cases; the attention you're given by lecturers is very personalised (I've had classes of 15 students that had two teachers). They don't find it hard to be innovative, everything is much more practical than theoretical.

What's the food like?

The most expensive food in the supermarkets in the fresh stuff (fruit, veg, fish... ) Fish is definitely the hardest thing to find, especially at a good price. Salmon is the most common.

As for the bars, the "menu of the day" don't exist. The eating schedule is different here. Lunch is lighter and more expensive in comparison to Spain, and dinner is served from 6pm.

Obviously you can't expect to eat the same things as you do in your own country, because everywhere has its own, different customs. But generally, the food isn't bad, and there are places where the food is good value for money. (Except when it comes to fish).

Was it hard to find accommodation in Utrecht?

As it's a student city, there are a lot of student halls available, and there's a website where you can find out about all the options (https://www.sshxl.nl). People usually choose their accommodation based on how many people they want to live with, or how close they want to be to a certain part of the city. Once you decide book a room, you're away. So keep an eye out, because usually only the most expensive options are left after the rush for accommodation.

How much does it cost to live in Utrecht?

To get around the city, and the country in general, by public transport, you need to have the OV-chipkart. If you don't, you need to pay by credit card (they don't take cash) and the journey ends up being quite a bit more expensive. Even so, to give you an idea, a train trip from Utrecht to the region of Holland costs around €20 for a round trip. A return from the city centre to the suburbs is €3.

As for free time, medium/large Jupiler beers (the most common ones) are about €12.

A standard monthly shop at the supermarket can be between 50 and 100 euros depending on what you buy. The more fresh food you get (fruit, vegetables, fresh cheese, fish... ), the more expensive it will be.

But almost everything is discounted if you have a student card, including transport and some bars and shops.

How's the language? Did you go to any language classes?

While Dutch is the official language, everyone here speaks English, so there's no problem communicating. Although generally the people that work in the city, especially those that work in shops and supermarkets, will speak to you in Dutch even if you answer them in English. But they don't usually have any problems translating if necessary. Otherwise, at airports, stations... everything is translated or understandable.

What's the cheapest way to get to Utrecht from your city?

In my case, from Bilbao, the cheapest way was by bus. And then, depending on what offers are available, the next cheapest is by plane and then by car.

However, the bus is roughly a 23 hour trip, and you can't take too much luggage. Although you can get a ticket for about 40€, depending on the dates.

The price of plane tickets vary greatly depending on the offers that are on, and depending on these, sometimes you can take a suitcase and other times you can only take hand luggage. The standard price is usually around 100 or 150 euros.

Finally, travelling by car is the safest option if you want to take all the luggage you want, travel stress-free, and even have a car when you reach your destination. But the duration of the trip including tolls is about 16h and costs over 200€.

What places would you recommend for a night out in Utrecht?

There are several popular places to go out in. Tivoli, which is the biggest and has free entry (they only charge for the use of lockers or wardrobes) but it has a repetoire of foreign music. Then there is the Woolloomooloo, which you have to pay to get in to, and change cash for Tokens to pay for things at the bar. It's smaller in comparison but still big and the music is more varied. And finally Poem, which you also have to pay to get in to. It's even smaller, but it a has good atmosphere.

If you don't fancy any of these, the alternative is to go out to the pubs and bars in the centre of town, they also have a good atmosphere too.