Types of housing
On campus, you’ll find relatively large student houses. Some house as many as 16 people, though there are also plenty of student houses with five or six people. There’s always someone home to chat, cook or watch a series with! At the same time, the campus also offers studios where you can live on your own. Student houses in the city centre are usually a bit smaller, with around five housemates on average. You will also find more apartments, studios, and other types of housing alongside the typical student houses.
And the costs? They are actually quite similar. Rent usually depends more on the size, facilities, and condition of your room than on the location itself, although the large student houses on campus are known for their affordability.
Facilities and travel time
If you live in the city centre, you’ll be right in the middle of shops, restaurants, terraces, cafés and student associations, which is why most association houses are located in the city centre. Fancy a spontaneous drink at the Oude Markt or need to quickly grab some groceries? No problem at all!
The campus has a slightly different vibe. Everything there is focused on students. Sports associations are practically just around the corner, the Vestingbar is open six days a week for a drink or a party, and the Waaier is dangerously close if you don’t feel like cooking. The campus also has a hairdresser, physiotherapist, gym, and a small Spar supermarket. However, for cheaper groceries and a larger offer, I’d recommend the Lidl or Albert Heijn slightly further away 😉.
On campus, you can roll out of bed five minutes before class and still make it to your lecture on time. That said, the campus is also only about 15 minutes away from the city centre by bike or public transport.
Peace and liveliness
During the day, the city is often nice and busy. The terraces are full, people are out shopping, and there’s always something going on. At the weekend, there are always parties in the pubs and bars, and during summer you regularly hear lively music from one event or another. Surprisingly, it’s often quite quiet on weekday evenings. Well, apart from the church bells giving a mini concert every 15 minutes... The campus is always lively too, with students heading to lectures, playing sports or chilling outside. You’ll find parties at the Vestingbar, or in the student houses themselves.
Neighbours
In the city centre, there’s a good chance that most of the people living around you will be fellow students or young people. Do you live just outside the city centre? Then your neighbours are more likely to be families or older people. They won’t throw huge house parties very often, and they’ll probably expect you not to blast your speakers at full volume every night. It’s always a good idea to keep a decent relationship with your neighbours; then they’ll probably be fine with you throwing a party every now and then! And who knows, they may help fix your bike tyre or lend you a screwdriver when needed.
On campus, you are always surrounded by other students, of course. Throwing a house party or randomly organising a shopping trolley race is, therefore, not a problem, although you can expect your neighbours to do the same 😉.
Uni life versus private life
Precisely because you’re always surrounded by fellow students on campus, you really are part of a community. There are always fellow students to play sports, study or eat with. Student houses are also often close and sometimes even organise big house parties together. At the same time, this university bubble also means that your student life and study life can become very mixed together. “Going home for a bit” between lectures (read: the rest of the afternoon) is, of course, very tempting. If you live in the city centre, your uni and private lives are, literally and figuratively, more separate from each other. When you’re at uni, you’re really there to study, and the temptation to go home in between is usually a bit smaller.
Nature
To be honest, sometimes you just need a break from all the parties and people. Luckily, both the campus and the city offer places where you can escape for a while. The campus itself is all green. You can just walk straight into the woods for a stroll or a run. If you live in the city centre, parks such as the Volkspark are perfect for walking, having a picnic, or simply sitting in the sun.
So, as you can see, living in the city or on campus is slightly different, but both are great in their own way. And wherever you decide to live, there certainly won’t be a shortage of fun, student life, and great fellow students to hang out with!
