Living and Studying in Utrecht, Netherlands

During my second year of university, I opted for optional semesters abroad, I studied in Germany and the Netherlands in two separate universities. The universities were drastically different from each other in their course structure, organisation, and teaching style. I went to these countries without knowing anyone prior, both times. Most of my other classmates from Kingston University (my host university) decided to stay in London and finish off their 2nd year of studying in London. This wasn't the option for me, I jumped on to this exchange opportunity with both hands, and with a small monthly European loan, I decided to study in Europe for a year.

In the Nederlands, I studied at Utrecht University in the city of Utrecht. The architecture was amazing in this city with both old and modern-looking buildings being positioned together. My student accommodation looked like it was part of the sky, with its white and blue mosaic tiles on the outside of the building. There was also lamb and sheep agriculture right next to the university campus. There were small fields that were separated by canals where the animals would graze. I would see baby lambs every day whilst on the way to my university lectures. I had never seen agriculture next to a university campus, I guess this was truly a sign of a "green" city.

Utrecht science park next to my university accommodation

I really enjoyed cycling around the city and to my lectures, libraries, and grocery shopping. Grocery shopping on a bike does take some practice to get used to! One thing that took me by surprise was the intricacy of Utrecht's city design and the impact this had on its residence.

My parents came to visit me for a weekend during my studies and they found it was actually quicker for me to cycle through the city back to my university campus than it was for them to drive by car. This got me really thinking and I began to really appreciate the cycle-friendly design of the whole city. I did some research on the city, and I would find out that the savings from reduced air pollution and healthcare costs in Utrecht alone were estimated to be worth about $300 million annually (1). The city is now embarking on an ambitious scheme to plant a green “no roofs unused” policy

This was not a surprise to me, being a young man cycling in the city, I would find myself being regularly overtaken by middle-aged Dutch cyclists.

Sources:

1) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-05/how-the-dutch-made-utrecht-a-bicycle-first-city