Experience in Valencia, Spain by Mónica

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

Living in Valencia offers you many opportunities everyday. Due to its fantastic weather there are plenty of activities to do and enjoy outdoors. The city is not big but also small, and this makes it perfect for people who like to walk from place to place and enjoy the scroll. In the other hand, there are different ways of transport to choose in order to move faster around the city such as bus, underground or tram, besides a public service to rent bicycles.
I do recommend living in Valencia because it's the perfect combination between culture, gastronomy, weather and entertainment.

What is the student lifestyle like in Valencia?

Student lifestyle is cheap, with a very active and outgoing environment. There are many students and a lot of them are Erasmus, so it makes it easier to meet new people and arrange different plans.

How much does it cost to live in Valencia?

Valencia is not a very expensive city but as in every town you have to search to find the most suitable places. There are free cultural events such as visits to museums, low cost pubs, gyms or cinemas where you can watch a movie and pay for half the normal price.

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

Nowadays it is becoming a bit difficult to find a place to live because rental prices are rising and the good choices run out very fast. I recommend to visit the city in advance and walk around the area in which one would like to live because there are plenty of advertisements hung on the buildings' balconies.

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

In Valencia you can find every type of food such as indian, japanese, thai, italian, fussion style food, and of course a wide variety of mediterranean food. Valencia's speciality for sure are rice dishes like "paella" or "arroz a banda" (seafood rice). Appart from that it is very common to meet and eat some "tapas", it means small dishes to share in the center of the table. Regarding these "tapas" my favourite one is "patatas bravas".

What places would you recommend visiting in Valencia?

I recommend visiting the city center with the city hall square, the Bulls square, the historic quarter, walking along the river, La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, going to the beach and take a walk by the sea shore...

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

Eating out in Valencia is a very advisable exerience, because you can find a wide variety of styles. My favourite spots are in the city center, for example La Pappardela, a small italian restaurant next to La Plaza de la Reina; a greek restaurant called Dionisos in Ruzafa; Saona, a mediterranean restaurant with very good quality-to-price relation in Gran Via or Bastard, a restaurant in the university area where you can have delicious breakfasts or eat cakes.

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

There are lots of pubs and discos to choose from and people like to go out at nights to meet friends or new people. Besides that, there is a good cultural offer so if anyone is not a person who likes partying they can choose between theatre plays and events or cinema.

What advice would you give future students heading to Valencia?

Have fun, take as much opportunities as they can and visit the rest of the mediterranean side because there are lots of small charming villages with lovely beaches near Valencia.