Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Independently - My choice

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why? The experience was beneficial - it taught me what to look for, how to look for it and to be open minded about flat shares and choices. Also moved in with other students so had instant friends network!

Personal comments:
I chose to find my accomodation from britain, as I thought this was the most economical option - the other being to go over to spain, stay in a hostal and find somewhere like that - however I didnt know the degree of availablity of student accomodation - which was plentiful - had i known this i would have travelled first and looked when I arrived. By doing it online i was unable to meet the landlord, judge the state of the property or compare it fairly - as a result I paid too much and was not totally satisfied. However the location was fantastic and alot can be said for the accessibility to the city itself and the proximity to public transport

Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement

Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment

Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal comments:
Cisne bar - an amazing tapas bar - go for the cisne tapeo Do go to the shopping centres - plaza mar 2, San vicente etc - they are so much more convenient than the shopping street and air conditioned/ heated throughout The cinema - excellent for testing your language skills there are 2 castles in the city, one is the most obvious - and has to be climbed as a matter of principal.....the other is not so obvious - just a few walls - but behind these there is quite a significant sports and leisure development that is worth a look!

Course recommendations:
if you can do a first year option do introduction to marketing with felipe ruiz moreno - an excellent lecturer - quite young and quite fit!! Very helpful!

Personal comments:
If you can at the beginning of the course go and see the lecturer about doing a 'paper' that can count towards your end result - this alleviates some of the pressure of the final exam!

Language of instruction: Spanish

Main source of funding:
Personal savings

Other sources of funding:
An ERASMUS grant
Loan

Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits:
Food is much cheaper in spain - cost of living is way below that of Britain. Most calls I made were international - made with a Eurodirect phonecard - but spent quite alot this way, also I normally text friends but it was expensive to do this internationally! Also I wouldn't normally travel that much at home - in spain i took advantage of my position and the accessibility to the country! Therefore this expenditure was irregular to normal living costs!

Travel: was more expensive than at home.

Overall, Telephone, Housing: was the same price as at home.

Food, Nightlife: was less expensive than at home.

I wish I had known...
just the accomodation really - you dont need to find something before you get over there as there is loads of availablilty!

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.