Should I take a year abroad?

4

Im in 2nd year studying Classics and I have gotten a place to study abroad in Amsterdam for a year. I didn't apply for Amsterdam but I appreciate how lucky I am! I have never been to Amsterdam and I am really struggling with whether or not to take the year abroad. Mostly I don't want to leave my friends and the arrangements I had for next year, but I dont know what to do! Can anyone offer any advice/guidance?

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

20

Original post

by Emccreadie

Im in 2nd year studying Classics and I have gotten a place to study abroad in Amsterdam for a year. I didn't apply for Amsterdam but I appreciate how lucky I am! I have never been to Amsterdam and I am really struggling with whether or not to take the year abroad. Mostly I don't want to leave my friends and the arrangements I had for next year, but I dont know what to do! Can anyone offer any advice/guidance?

What were your arrangements/ideas for next year?

Reply 2

Havermelkelite_

11

Original post

by Emccreadie

Im in 2nd year studying Classics and I have gotten a place to study abroad in Amsterdam for a year. I didn't apply for Amsterdam but I appreciate how lucky I am! I have never been to Amsterdam and I am really struggling with whether or not to take the year abroad. Mostly I don't want to leave my friends and the arrangements I had for next year, but I dont know what to do! Can anyone offer any advice/guidance?

Which uni in Amsterdam? The main two in the city are the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Free University (Vrije Universiteit) (VU). If your study program is at the UvA, you would be in the city centre campus, which has some very old buildings (e.g. Oudemanhuispoort, Lutheran Kerk, Oost-Indisch Huis). If you study classics then the university museum (Allard Pierson) is also more focussed on that time period. The new uni library is also very nice.

Depending on where you live in the UK, Ams is very accessible. From London you can get Eurostar "Snap" tickets (London St Pancras International - Amsterdam Centraal) for as little as £35 one-way, so you can visit home easily. It's more expensive for tickets booked more in advance but if you're ready to be flexible it can be a real bargain. If you're from the north, there are ferries from Hull and Newcastle to parts of Holland. And of course there are flights also.

One year abroad shouldn't be an issue for maintaining friendships at your home uni, & it's possible your friends would want you to show them around Ams, if anything!

Amsterdam is a great city and easy to get around. The very centre of the city (not the whole city centre though) is a bit overrun by the wrong kind of tourist, but usually they stick to a few streets/single neighbourhoods which are avoidable. Outside of that, there are some great museums, especially for Art (I personally think the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk, etc. are definitely on the same level as London museums). The buildings and canals are lovely and there are good transport connections if you want to visit places like The Hague (Den Haag), Leiden, Utrecht or Haarlem (also for the nearest beach and some lovely dune landscapes), as many people commute between these cities daily. You can definitely tell there's more GDP per capita to spend on infrastructure in the Netherlands compared to the UK or Belgium. If you are able to cycle, you could get a Swapfiets subscription or buy a cheap second hand bike from the student union (such as ASVA), as then it is even easier to get around. There are lots of international students / expats / immigrants in Amsterdam, and all the Dutch people speak very good English, so you can get around very easily without needing to speak Dutch.

I'd say Amsterdam is probably one of the less stressful places to do study abroad. I did my whole degree at the UvA, and whilst the first few months were definitely very intense as I was adjusting to living alone in another country, it was made much easier by the number of people around me in the same boat and also how everything has an English translation available.

Should I take a year abroad?

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