If you had to choose one city in western Europe to live for a year, (taking into account language barriers, expenses, nightlife, culture and weather) which would you choose and why?

Athens, because my DH has already lived there for 6 mos. so he would already be able to get us around without too much worry. And because I have been there once and loved it, but Athens was the only city in Greece or the surrounding countries I got to visit, and that way I could explore all the islands and other cities in Greece, plus Turkey and possibly other parts of Asia!

Hi C,

From your eml address, I take it that you are planning a student year abroad.

I would advise my students to find the school that best advanced their degree programs.

However, very few of them listened.

Paris.

If a city, city, then Rome, I think.

If a little city, Chania.

Well - we don't know what language barriers are for you. Living in a acity for a yer requires a much greater knowledge of the language than being a tourist for a few days.

Separately, don;t you have to be admitted to an approved program to get a year's student visa? And wouldn;t that depend on you univeristy, which other schools it has ties in, and what you're studying?

And if you don;t speak the language how are you going to take classes? Or are you going just to learn the foreign language?

I would also reco Paris - but then I have a strong interest in French history - and can already get by in French on a basic level.

Perugia would be high on my list, not least of all because the language school (and the chocolate).

Antwerp because it's wonderful (and so is the chocolate) and it is so convenient to so many other places.

If somebody else were paying for everything, I might do London. If I had to foot the bill entirely myself, I'd definitely choose Berlin.

I would pick a city in Spain, but would have a hard time deciding between Barcelona and Seville. My daughter picked Siena for 6 month study abroad and was thrilled with her choice. It's a wonderful and difficult dilemna, but I'm sure whatever you decide will be a great experience for you.

Spain would indeed by a great choice, although personally I wouldn't pick Barcelona. Any universities in San Sebastian?

But part of what would draw me to Spain (apart from the great food) is that learning Spanish means you can then go talk to millions more people around the world. It's a very useful language to invest in.

I know this will come as a surprise, but Paris...

Vevey/Montreux... Switzerland because it in incredibly beautiful, i love the people and culture there, i have visited many times so know my way around... it always just gave me that "I could live here" feeling.

Other than that, definitely PARIS!

If I was young, Salamanca.
At my age I would pick Rome.

A big city - Paris or Rome as there would be plenty to keep you interested for a year. A small city - Florence (for the same reason).

Dublin. Big enough but not too big. No language barrier. Trinity. Tons of young people. Friendly, nice, approachable "older" people (for the most part, always the exceptions). Lively nightlife with great music, modern and traditional.

On the other hand, there are drugs, crime, etc., just like in any other city. But, if I were 20 or so, that is where I would be heading!

Prague, since I have already lived there.

Given your criteria, it would be Amsterdam. Paris is my favorite city on the planet, but of all of my favorite cities, I think A'dam has the best cumulative score from those categories.

If I thought I could tolerate the winters, then Munich. But I know me and I would need warmer weather.

Not my personal choice, but I can see how Amsterdam might win for "ease" of living there, less of a language barrier, culture and nightlife, etc.

The possible drawback to my city might possibly be the weather, but I could get thru it if it meant being able to live there for a year: Edinburgh. Once you get used to the accent (or more appropriately, once they got used to my accent), no trouble understanding. Stayed with a couple of students there for a few days, & atleast I enjoyed the nightlife & music. The people there, as well as thru-out Scotland, are some of the friendliest I have meet. & to actually be able to be part of the festival time as somebody living there, I would think could be quite an experience, as long as you could put up with the extra crowds. The proximity to get to places on the continent may not be as good as say Amsterdam, but you could still get there from Edinburgh, along with plenty of places to see in Great Britain.

Paris, hands down, for me anyway.

I've been an exchange student before, and believe me, with a little effort and total immersion, you'll be fluent in a year in whatever language you choose to study.

Jules

don't worry, you can get by with english just about anywhere. nice to learn another language as you are studying but english is the universal language of europe. don't worry about it. it's not hard to find schools that teach in english. for example INSEAD (one of the world's best business schools) in france only teaches in english.