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Study Abroad Advice (Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremen)

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by lostlifeguard, Jun 22, 2014.

  1. lostlifeguard

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    Hey, I'm starting to plan studying abroad, and I'm just looking for some advice/opinions from people who have traveled to some of these cities, or who live there. Right now, my top choices are Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Bremen. My school has programs established in all of these cities.
    I used to be looking all over, and was really interested in Capetown for a while, but eventually decided I wanted to be in Europe so I could travel all around while studying abroad. I'm an engineering major, so I can't really take any major classes while abroad, so I'll be working mostly on distribution credit. As a result, academics are not a huge factor. I'm more looking for a great city. Any opinions on which of these might be best?
    I've been to Stockholm before, and LOVED it, but we don't have a program there. If any of these cities are like Stockholm though, I'll probably love them too.

    Side note: I speak English and am ok with French
     
  2. Aussie792

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    My assumption is that you're going to study an English-language course, so that shouldn't be a big problem. It's dependent on quite a few factors; Berlin and Amsterdam can be quite expensive to live in a good, central area, or otherwise you might be on the outskirts where it might take a while to get to the school. Copenhagen is really small for its importance, and it's not hard to get around. Would you get on-campus accommodation?

    It really depends on what you're looking for. Check facilities; which university/city has the best equipment and technology, and probably most importantly for you, how are the English-language resources for your area? Fortunately, a lot of academic stuff is in English in the Nordic countries and Germany. And even if you can manage academically, it might be hard in other ways; socialisation will occur mostly in the local language, and you will have to put in an effort to learn the language. 90% of Dutch people speak English, while 86% of Danes do, and only 56% of Germans speak it, or at least the last time I saw statistics. That's something you might want to consider.

    It depends what you want. Berlin is very interesting (funny dialect, though), but if you want a city like Stockholm, Copenhagen fits a lot of the same criteria, though Danish and Swedish society are obviously a little different.
     
  3. awesomeness

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    I live in Denmark, so I definitely have experience when it comes to Copenhagen.

    Since you loved Stockholm, then you'll probably love Copenhagen as well. Swedish and Danish culture/society are pretty much the same. It's extremely gay friendly and open minded, and an overall great city to live in.

    Berlin is much bigger though and you'll have a lot more places to see and visit, if that's what you're looking for.
     
  4. lostlifeguard

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    Yea, I'm not too worried about the classes since they'll all be taught in English (made sure of that). I guess it matters a lot where I'm located, but that'll probably be near campus. The thing I really loved about Stockholm was that IMO at least, the town itself just seemed really nice, clean, and vibrant. Since I'm in college, and this will likely be my easiest semester, I'd like to be in a city that has a lot of different things. I want to experience night life, explore, and see the city, and not run out of things to do.