My Year Abroad in Groningen, Netherlands

Hi, my name is Georgina. I am a 3rd-year Philosophy student, and I spent a year abroad in Groningen in the Netherlands! Although Groningen wasn’t my first choice when applying to do a year abroad, I really had a brilliant time, and I couldn’t have wished for anything better. Unlike larger cities like Amsterdam, Groningen is quieter, offering a more traditional Dutch city to experience. With students making up 25% of its residents, this created an atmosphere that felt welcoming and energetic. 

Academically, studying at the University of Groningen was far more difficult than I initially expected. I was accustomed to essay-based assessment at Southampton, whereas my courses in Groningen relied more heavily on exams. The year was broken down into 4 blocks with 3 courses each per block. This required me to adjust my study habits and time management as I hadn’t done an exam since A-Levels. However, resits here are much more common than in Southampton; I needed a 5.5 (55%) to pass instead of 40%. This also meant that my Knowledge was spread across different areas of Philosophy, and I had the opportunity to study areas that I had never done before. All of these modules helped me to ultimately decide on the area I wanted to go in for my dissertation and will hopefully prepare me for my final year in Southampton. The term times are also a lot longer; with only having 2 weeks off for Christmas and only the bank holidays off for easter, it made university seem a lot more intense. 

Groningen is very unique in the fact of its international character. Although Dutch culture is definitely prevalent within society, walking around Groningen, I heard a variety of languages including German, French, and Spanish! Although the city may seem small, there is always something to do and experience. Including bank holidays like King’s Day or Liberation Day! At the start of my year abroad, I opted to do ESN week, which I would recommend to anyone deciding to study in Groningen. ESN week is for international students, where you are put in groups and guided around the city and complete activities. Although these are mainly involved drinking, like a pub crawl or club nights, they also offer Dutch language lessons or movie nights to get involved in. This way it becomes very easy to meet like-minded people and make friends with other international students. Luckily, the philosophy department also had a welcome meeting at the start of the year, which allowed me to meet all my fellow course mates, as well as join STUFF, which is a philosophy association. Universities in Groningen do not have societies like in Southampton, they are instead known as associations, including the frats, which you learn to avoid! Later in the year I also went to Amicus events, which offer club nights also for international students. I would also recommend joining ACLO, which is run by the university offering a variety of sport classes and facilities to take part in. Or USVA, which is run by university students, this is for more for the arts classes, including pottery or acting classes, however, these can be quite expensive. 

Living abroad for the first time definitely presented some challenges. I initially wanted to live somewhere more exotic; however, I was grateful that the Netherlands is as close as it is, unfortunately due to sick family members, I had to travel home quite a bit, which I was ultimately grateful for. The nightlife in Groningen is definitely better than Southampton, with there being no paid entry for clubs and no legal closing hour; night time in Groningen felt energetic. There is a place for everyone, with pubs like the various Irish pubs or the three sisters, which is one of the biggest pubs in Europe. Also offering a more bar scheme being Café de Zolders or Warhol to a club scene, such as RGB or Palace. A tradition of ours was always going to Snack Hoek after a night out, which is a fast-food in a wall, my favourites being a Bami and an Eierbal (a classic Groningen dish). Another noticeable difference was obviously the coffee shops, selling legal cannabis, which was definitely a culture shock that I had to adjust to, but was also a must for living in the Netherlands! 

I stayed in the accommodation called ‘The Social Hub ‘, and although this was expensive, it ran as a hotel while also being rented for students, so this was a great way to make friends with other students! It was also very close to the city centre, with it being walking distance to anywhere I needed to be, whether that be the local park, Norrderplantsoen or where I had most of my lectures in the Academy building or the Philosophy department being just a 10-minute walk. However, this also meant that there was no real reason for me to get a bike; however, I eventually made this transition towards the end. If you want to truly experience Dutch culture, owning a bike is a necessity. I would recommend the Social Hub however, I would have preferred somewhere cheaper, like SSH housing or to be in a house, the housing market in Groningen is a real issue, so I recommend you start as early as you can. 

During my year abroad, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to various countries, including Hungary, Czechia, and France, due to the Netherlands having easy access and flights to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam as well as visiting Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Netherlands. Although you can purchase a Flixbus to Amsterdam for cheap, I would also recommend getting an OV-discount on trains. This allows for more accessibility and ease, as the trains are far more frequent than the buses into Amsterdam. 

Overall, Groningen definitely exceeded my expectations and changed my perception of myself. I developed greater confidence, independence, and self-awareness. Although there were definitely moments that felt challenging, I believed that this ultimately contributed strongly to my personal growth, as I’m sure it will be for you! I would definitely recommend taking a year abroad in the city, and I would just say to just enjoy every moment and take every opportunity you can get!