meghansavona

Hi,
I'll be studying abroad in Spain in Spring of 2020 for a semester; I think I've narrowed it down between Salamanca and Sevilla, but would love input on any other cities in Spain as well. I've looked at the other forums and have done some extensive research, but I figured I'd start a thread with my own personal interests/questions.

I am studying abroad to get a better grip on the Spanish language. I hope to come out of college with a Spanish minor or (hopefully) major. While this is a primary reason for studying abroad, I am equally as excited to be immersed in the culture. Here are a few things about me that may help when writing tips on which city may fit me better. I know that both are incredible, and hopefully I'll have a chance to visit both while studying abroad.

• I'm a young college student - at my university, one of my favorite things to do is just grab a coffee and sit in the sunshine in front of the library steps and watch people in between classes.
• I love to go out at night and have fun things to do with people my age. I don't want to be somewhere that doesn't feel "young."
• Being outdoors is a favorite thing of mine - whether it be hiking, people watching in a courtyard, etc., I really enjoy the outdoors.
• History is important to me - I look forward to experiencing cultural traditions, museums, etc.
• I'm from the beach (home and university) which is why I'm choosing not to go to San Sebastian or elsewhere coastal. I am interested in traveling outside of whatever city (and country) that I choose, so having access to easy/cheap transportation is also a consideration, although not a priority.
• The most important thing to me is being somewhere where I can feel like I can get to know the local customs. I know neither are small towns, but I don't want somewhere so touristy that I feel like I'm in the U.S. I definitely want to feel like I'm in Spain.
• Other than common sense, do you have any safety tips for either city? I'm not someone who scares easily, but I am a young girl so I have to think about that. Even though I love and adore the town that I live in, I would advise people not to go to certain places past a certain time.
• Is student housing centrally located in the town for both places? Is one city's university more diverse/accessible/interesting than the other?

Thank you in advance for all your tips!

danon

kja

Either could be (will be!) wonderful!
You might want to consider weather -- check weatherbase.com for some good climate data.

jpie

Very exciting for you! You can't go wrong with either city in my opinion. I think the first most obvious difference will just be the size of the town. Salamanca has around 150,000 people and when we were there (in the spring) it really felt like a young university town. Seville has almost 700,000 in population and while it definitely didn't feel "old", it didn't feel as much like a city where the university is necessarily so much at the heart of it. Another thing to consider might be that in Salamanca you would have pretty easy access to get to Madrid-less than 2 hours by train.

I was a Spanish minor many years ago and another thing that might sway me towards Salamanca is its location in Castilla y León. I have read that the clearest, easiest-to-understand dialect of Spanish is found there, although there is some logic to thinking that if you learn Spanish in Seville then it will be easier to understand some of the dialects.

I assume you are reading some of the blogs written by students currently studying in those cities-they are very useful and lots of time you connect directly with them to get their input. They will also probably be your best resource when it comes to specific questions about housing etc. That is what we did before we entered the Peace Corps and it was super useful.

signmeup

Both cities are great. Salamanca is smaller. Sevilla is larger. Sevilla is in Andalucia-- and closer to beaches-- I am sure you will have time on weekends to visit other places. I did my semester abroad in Madrid. We had a class where we traveled to cities and visited all over. I loved it. I have also worked in Spain and traveled as a tourist. If I had to do it over again-- I would pick Sevilla. Bigger city. Fills in all your requirements you list above. The Spanish in both places will be great to learn and a great immersion. Sevilla would be my first choice. Salamanca is a town with a lot of students but you want immersion in the culture and around-- I would go with Sevilla. So many great places to go visit-- Cordoba, Granada, the coast , Portugal, etc...
Even if you pick Sevilla-- go visit Salamanca.

Good Luck

OReilly64

I am so envious of you!



I have been to both (4 times Salamanca and twice to Seville).

A dream of mine is to study Spanish in Salamanca, an old University Town. I spent about 5 days on last year’s trip, and completely love it. I would definitely choose Salamanca over Seville for the student life-style.

You have probably already researched it, but have you considered Valladolid for the student experience? A family friend recommended it on my last trip. It is a smaller town, but very pretty and very much a university town, yet not at least touristy. Apparently, they claim to speak the very best Catalan Spanish.

The reason she insisted I visit Valladolid is because she studied there for a year, at 19, coming from England, and had barely a word of Spanish. She was studying in Valladolid university 2nd year Engineering IN Spanish, and a side of Spanish language!

So, I visited, and was very much impressed.

It is a student town, so therefore far cheaper than Salamanca, which has become a Tourist town, and has a completely different vibe and focus – more appropriate for a young person because of the lack of obvious tourism, and just a lot of young people hanging out.

On my long personal long trek to find a place in Spain to live in, Valladolid would be high on my agenda, based on one night there and my friend’s experience over her year.

It is more REAL Spain than tourist Spain.

She loved the people. They were so very kind to this poor English orphan girl, too white, too tall, too red-haired – she was an oddity, with little Spanish. She was ‘adopted’ into other student’s families, and they looked after her. Which meant she was forced to learn more Spanish, hang out with the Spanish, rather than hanging out with ex-pats from English speaking countries taking English courses in Salamanca or wherever.

20 years later – they are still her very best friends, and she goes to their weddings, christenings and funerals. She became part of their culture and, even better, part of their family.

Just a suggestion.



Best regards … Ger

OReilly64

Apologies:

I said:' the best Catalan'

I meant the best Castilian.



Regards … Ger

PalenQ

I am interested in traveling outside of whatever city (and country) that I choose, so having access to easy/cheap transportation is also a consideration, although not a priority.>

Salamanca is pretty isolated transportation-wise while Seville has easy trains or buses to neat places like Cordoba, Jerez-de-la-Frontera, Granada, Morocco and has bullet trains to Madrid (2 hr about) and direct buses thru Portugal's Algarve area and Lisbon.

Now, that said - knowing both cities fairly well I think Salamanca is much more a university town with lots of young folks - many Americans study in Salamanca, And Salamanca is much smaller - really neat at night and seems to fulfill your wishes for - like student pubs - Seville is much larger but also has a neat unique campus area.

Either city would be great - tough choice for sure.

kanadajin

This thread topic really grabbed my attention - I studied Spanish in Salamanca in 2003 and again in Sevilla in 2007, imagine what a coincidence !!! There is no bad choice here, just preferences. Sevilla is waaaaayyyy more touristy (and more expensive) than Salamanca. Even though the latter is the smaller of the two, I actually found it to be surprisingly quite cosmopolitan because of its well known and reputed university, which attracts students from many parts of the Spanish speaking world. (For instance, think of all the foreign students enlisted at Cambridge UK, or Harvard, MIT ...) I have made many close friends there, some of which are enduring to this day.

Based on my experience (very subjective) and reading your criteria, I would choose Salamanca for its younger vibe, more "off the beaten tourist track" and dynamic culture. It probably helps that my academic experience was also better there than in Sevilla, so do your research on the actual schools you are contemplating. Trips from Salamanca include Madrid of course (do not miss!!!), Segovia, Avila, Valladolid, Leon, etc ... No lack of places to go !

Good advice from the above posters as well. As I said, none of the two would be a mistake.

Christina

I haven't been to Salamanca but that was my reaction also, Seville is really full of tourists and much larger. I don't quite get the comment about a place that was too touristy would feel like the US. Lots of tourists in Europe are not American, I don't understand that comment at all.

Perhaps this college is different, but when I went to college, you weren't allowed to pick and choose any place you wanted, the university only had arrangements with specific places where you could go. Because I do really like Malaga but it does have beaches around there (and it's not a convenient for traveling otgher places by train), so probably not as good a choice. I think both Granada and Valencia are good cities for students, also, but neither is as central for travbel opporunities (and Valencia is a big tourist cruise port).