But there was that Sunday in May as well.

But honestly, the weather in Edinburgh is no more likely to be dreadful than Copenhagen or Maastrict or anywhere else -- during the period the OP will be there.

In winter -- sure -- the short days and weather <i>might</i> swing me away from Edinburgh and towards Florence. But the loooong and often lovely days in late Spring in Edinburgh . . .

Hetismij:

Thanks for the heads up. In my mind's eye I had Well a lot closer to Maastricht, but the map proved differently.
stu

<i>But honestly, the weather in Edinburgh is no more likely to be dreadful than Copenhagen or Maastrict or anywhere else</i>

Didn't mean to imply that Edinburgh would be worse than Copenhagen or Maastricht, but I would certainly put it behind Florence on the weather scale.

It depends on what type of weather you like. I prefer a winter to be cold (and Edinburgh is certainly no colder, nor has any more snow than most of the northern US - possibly not as cold/snowy) and spring mild to a warmer winter and a hellishly hot spring. (Yes, I much prefer a 50 degree spring to an 80 degree one.)

It depends on what type of weather you like. I prefer a winter to be cold (and Edinburgh is certainly no colder, nor has any more snow than most of the northern US - possibly not as cold/snowy) and spring mild to a warmer winter and a hellishly hot spring. (Yes, I much prefer a 50 degree spring to an 80 degree one.)

With a surname like Sijstermans I would have thought OP would feel at home in Maastricht - most Sijstermans come from Limburg.

It would be helpful to know why you picked those four options - from an academic standpoint, what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

I will voice a minority opinion and say that we never thought much of Maastricht compared to other places we visited in the Benelux region. I don't have the student perspective, of course.

My first choices would be Edinburgh or Copenhagen, followed by Florence, then Maastricht.

Zerlina, your comment re the American student subculture is exactly what we found last month in Florence. It felt overrun with shrill young people, particularly American girls. I would still choose it however, out of the four cities.

I have never been to Maastricht but of the cities you have mentioned, my first choice would be Florence. It is hard to comment on the academic program and the student life but the opportunities provided by Florence and by Italy as a whole are much more interesting to me. As for the language, my niece studied in Perugia and didn't know Italian when she got there. She picked the language up very quickly and was quite fluent when she returned.

With all this talk about weather, it might be useful to know when the Spring semester starts. If at the end of January, the OP will experience the chosen locality's full winter weather in early February.

Well, I have to say my personal experience with "subculture" was different. While I occasionally dined out in Florence with other classmates, or went to Casa Buonarotti or a church with one or two, we absolutely, categorically never went out drinking. We made an effort to be respectful of the fact we were "guests" in another country, and dressed and acted in an inconspicuous and conservative manner. I do realise, however, that the times may have changed. I wasn't close friends with most of my classmates but admired the way the ones I knew conducted themselves.

BC

Yes, exactly what do we mean by Spring here ? I see the University of Edinburgh's first semester next year is 10th January to 27th May, but I don't know which instituation you are looking at.

January, February & March will be horrible, April may have some pleasant days, May could be mainly pleasant (but not guaranteed).

Personally I prefer a summer where it gets above 19 degrees for more than the odd day, and where it's warm enough to sit outside at night. For each of the last two years we've sat on our balcony once, for about an hour each time, with jumpers on.

Just to comment -- Judith has not returned to this thread. Why don't we all call a halt until she can explain why she chose these four, and whether she speaks Italian at all, and whether she wants to integrate with the country's students or is content to be in a Yankee 'conclave' .. a few facts & opinions that are missing so far ...

sorry ... meant "enclave" not "conclave" ... did not mean to go all Papal ...