What's the best city to study abroad? - Page 6

I've heard Prague, Barcelona, and Sydney. The last is kind of lazy, though.

some dodgy-ass English though

Just go to Spain already. Preferably near the sea. Take regular classes with the locals and you'll have fun. Whatever you do pick a place whre you speak the language so either english (go see the Aussies) or spanish (get out of america so go see the spaniards).

Lille, France. It is the nexus of Europe. You can go anywhere in a short amount of time from there (London 2hrs, Paris under 1hr, Brussels 30 mins, Amsterdam 5hrs). It is an awesome "small" big city.

Yeah Paris is my favorite city, but if you want to expose and immerse yourself in a new language/culture, you should go here. The people are really nice and there is a great mix of cultures there. There are a lot of great bars, you can walk absolutely everywhere, and when I was there, it was pretty cheap. I had an apartment for about 250 euros a month. And if you're not digging the vibe too much, you're just a short hop away from Paris and London, decidedly more "American."

As for the schools there, I went to the IEP- Lille, which I guess is somewhat highly regarded (I think after IEP-Paris (a really nice school), ENA, that tech school, and possibly the Sorbonne, which is overrated according to my friends). It's in a old textiles factory and pretty ghetto compared to American standards.

It does get cold in the winter though. REALLY cold.

Also, anywhere in costal Spain is awesome. I've only visited as a tourist, but it made me never want to leave. I am in love with Spanish women.

Depends on what you want to study. I have a friend who just returned from Florence to study art. Another one in Grasse, France to studying the art of perfumery.

I skipped the first 5 pages, but your decision depends if you want to learn a useful third language or just one for fun. Since you're already fluent in Spanish, skip Spain. I studied abroad in Valencia, which was great (not touristy, perfect weather year-round and beautiful, but you already speak Spanish). If you want to be in Spain, I would totally recommend Valencia. Right south of Barcelona, but far less touristy and much cheaper. They have Las Fallas, the America's Cup and 100 times less gypsy pickpockets and hash dealers than Barcelona. Europe is expensive. If you want cheap and Spanish, do Buenos Aires or Santiago. Prague, eh, it's gotten rather touristy and become a pretty typical study abroad destination for fratty Americans and Brits in need of a stag or hen party. If you want a cheap Eastern European place go to Budapest or head to Slovakia, Croatia, or maybe Russia... If I could study abroad again I would go to somewhere in South America or Southeast Asia. Both are loaded with gorgeous girls, great weather, and awesome food. Spanish food, for the most part, is boring and sucks. If you're going to study abroad in China, try a smaller city. Hong Kong is London, but with more Chinese people and Cantonese language. Shanghai is a bit more Chinese, but with a useless local dialect. I'd go to Beijing where the language is a bit more standardized.

it all depends on what you are studying.

Finally, someone mentioned Sydney. I studied one semester there last year and it was really fantastic. I can't recommend that highly enough. I had so much fun there that I'd go back there in a heartbeat... Although in the OPs case, it is not really a another language or anything like that, so i could understand that he's looking for something else. Speaking Spanish, Barcelona would probably be great choice. And to the one, that was asking about Germany: Well what is there to say? Tution fees are more or less non-existent (~500 EUR/semester), life is rather cheap (at least if you don't have to change USD for EUR) in Germany. I guess, spending a semester in Berlin could be fun. Although you might also consider one of the smaller cities with big unis like Heidelberg or Muenster (thats where i study)... The city is basically a huge campus, there are tons of studients (one in five in the city), tons of chicks around.. But generally, there are not many courses that are held in English, so that might be an issue.

I was going to apply for several programs, but LSAT and law school stuff ended up making me miss deadlines. So, I only ended up with one, since it was easy to apply for (it's my own school's program)- University of Nottingham in England. I got an acceptance letter this past week so I have to let them know in a few weeks. Just wondering, anyone have any experience or know much about it? I'm torn; there are more exciting places, but it could still be a lot of fun.

I spent a semester in Rome and loved it. I think Paris would be a good choice, and I haven't seen anybody mention Munich yet, or anywhere else in Germany for that matter. I enjoyed Munich, and it's a good transportation base if you want to get around Europe. I think there are two things to consider: culture and transportation. You probably don't want to be in a lovely small city from which it is very difficult to travel around. And by culture I don't mean nightlife.

If you want to learn Italian: Siena followed by Florence. No Rome or Milan.

+3

It's been a while but I stayed at the Intercontinental and the Peninsula in HK. Also went to some great places.

I couldn't possibly have done it in London, cost wise. Also, everyone, and I mean all educated people speak very good English in HK. Unless you are specifically studying Chinese, I think all college level classes would be in English.

HK is also a good starting point for travel. Macao, the China mainland, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most of SE Asia and the South Pacific Islands would be accessible.

Of course London is a great starting point to anywhere in Europe. It all depends on what you want and what your goals and future plans are. If I were an undergrad theses days, it seems a familiarity and an Asian experience would be the way to go.

Edit - wasn't aware this was necro'd.

I'd recommend Seoul (unless the language has to be super "important")! 

- Good universities (SKY) with loads of classes in english (at least by asian standards)

- The fact that Korea was so recently developed makes it a very interesting place, and very few westerners go there (except some english teachers)
- Since it's not a country that western people ever think about the exchange students are usually very interesting and well traveled people that just wanted to do something different. 

- Alcohol is cheap so socializing over drinks is easy. Clubs were good while I was there but may have gone downhill since ... I'd recommend the ones in Gangnam rather than Hongdae. 
- Cheap (and you'll get a dorm room unlike some other countries)!

 

I really didn't like Shanghai and Fudan. The area around the uni is pretty shitty and depending on what you're studying I wouldn't count on getting a very good education. Far away from anything fun (but at least taxi's are cheap). Nightlife is all about Top 40 and rich chinese guys trying to show off (Hasn't even Shelter started playing top 40 now?). The western people I met down town that are working in Pudong are pretty much the worst people I've ever met. Seems like they're actually trying their best to live up to the bratty stock broker stereotype, no matter what profession their in. Local people also flash their cash way too much ... Pollution is also unbearable at times. Not the right place for me. 

 

Hong Kong is pretty good to study in if you can get into HKU! You'd be literally 10 min by bus away from Central. You could live on the cheap if you stay in the dorms. Local food is like 2-3 usd. Nightlife is happening, but there's only Top 40 atm. Don't know if that bothers you. Easy to get out and meet girls at least and drinks are cheap (can buy alcohol at 7-11). Exchange students are from all over the world, but tend to study business related stuff. 

 

Negatives is that there's not much culture. No old buildings or anything like that. You don't get the whole mainland package where you're actually forced to take part in a very different culture. It's sort of China/Asia light (I guess this could also be positive if you haven't lived in asia before). Nature here is also pretty boring compared to my home country. But there's nice and accessible beaches and the ocean is warm (almost) year round.