Which European city would you study in?

[backdrifter]

I know this is extremely subjective and people are people everywhere, but are there any opinions of which countries might tend to be the most open and hospitable out of: Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Czech Republic?

[City of Rain]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

I know this is extremely subjective and people are people everywhere, but are there any opinions of which countries might tend to be the most open and hospitable out of: Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Czech Republic?

Depends who you are.

My father has lived in Norway the last 15 years, but he´s originally from Russia, and he doesn´t look any norwegian at all.. Yet he says he´s never been exposed to racism over here, ever.. Atleast not on open street.

It´s probably the same in Sweden. heck, they are even more multicultural, so they´d probably be even more tolerant. The Netherlands is also extremenly multicultural.

but to be honest, i kind of have a feeling that i didn´t quite understand your question.

[effie g-tad]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I've worked in Austria and did take two classes at the time... met lots of wonderful people and some have become good friends...

I guess it really all depends... could have been once you get introduced by a couple of people the rest comes naturally?

One subject that I had to be very careful in what I said was US politics... Mind you, I would never bring up the subject, but once someone knows a person is from the "States"... politics is inevitable...

I'm not adverse to speaking my mind... but, I can't explain the how and why for everything America does...

I think you will enjoy time in any of the countries you mentioned as long as you have your finances in order... remember to appreciate people for who they are and most of all... remember you are a guest in their country

PS: Language Immersion might be very difficult in practice... especially in a University City... EVERYONE you meet will want to practice their English with you!!! It got to the point where I was saying everything in German and my friends where saying everything in English... correcting each other as we went along...

good post!

mingling with older folks would inevitably point you to innsbruck!

[CroatWebWanderer]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

I know this is extremely subjective and people are people everywhere, but are there any opinions of which countries might tend to be the most open and hospitable out of: Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Czech Republic?

I’ve been to all except Norway, Dutchies are the most hospitable IMO. Not that others are not, but I liked it in NL, cool, down to earth, non complicated, polite folks.

Than again, I was just visiting, not that I lived there longer period of time. As already mentioned NL is highly multicultural, and English is spoken everywhere, not sure that’s what you’re looking for. If I was you, it would be a choice between Prague and Lisbon. Both exceptionally beautiful and cheaper than other options, things for instance in Scandinavia can get ridiculously expensive.

[irman]

Originally Posted by City of Rain

dutch and scandinavian people are said to be almost on par with english people.

True because in those countries, English is a mandatory subject.
We were once on vacation in Sweden, and we saw a whole bunch of young kids coming out of a movie theater. All of them were speaking English, and we wondered if they were *not Swedish*, so we asked.
The answer:
"We study English and so we always speak as much English as we can everywhere".
In The Netherlands, you learn 4 languages (Dutch, English, German and French) if you continue at a higher education level than just primary school.
If you thus study further than just at the primary level, you studied foreign languages for at least 7 years.
Uhmmmm .... if you do not speak at least one foreign language after so many years, maybe you should repeat the last 4 years, no ?
It also is NOT an elective. It is mandatory.

After you finish your formal higher education, the fluency is in the order as stated above.

[Hasdrubal]

Oviedo hands down. Moderate climate, excellent food, unbeatable night life, affordable cost of living. If you like partying or just going to bars and pubs you'll love it.

No question why Spain is the first country of choice for Europeans studying abroad for a year (erasmus) and the second one for Americans (after the UK obviously)

[uanikolaev]

This one i would choose:
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Vienna, Austria
Oslo, Norway