Accommodation in Groningen 2.0
You chose for a study programme in Groningen and you already have the permission for your programme?! If you can answer those questions with a ’yes’, you should start thinking about your new home in Groningen.
Finding an appropriate accommodation is not easy, especially in Groningen. Looking for accommodation in the peak season - August and September – can be a nightmare. We therefore advice all international students to try to arrange accommodation AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
There are two ways of living in Groningen:
Checklist for the newcomers
If you plan to study in Netherlands be sure you checked everything before your arrival.
Nuffic website provides a great checklist for this.
Here is the link: http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/how-to-prepare/checklist
Good luck!
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Flower market + farm animal invasion
Every spring, Groningen becomes the host of an enormous flower market for a day. The flower vendors take over a large part of the city centre and thousands of tourists from other towns and neighbouring Germany make their way. Be it for buying some flowers or just for a walk, it is fun to see the market.
One thing I surely did not understand was why on my way home I became a witness of Groningen being invaded by farm animals. Not really something you see every day!
Mind the bike!
We all know that Netherlands is the most bike friendly country in the world.
So, how many of you know the real “power” of bikes in Netherlands?
I just discovered some important tips and tricks regarding biking in this beautiful country. I thought it would be a pity not to share this with all of you, so here we go.
Netherlands has an amazing infrastructure. And I am not talking only about highways and airports.
Since the spring in here a bike trip sounds like a good idea for escaping the rush of the city.
On this website: http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/fietsrouteplanner you can plan your bike trip using the magic tool provided. You can actually travel across Netherlands using just bike paths.
http://www.bikemap.net is another website that provides bike routes that you can enjoy with your friends.
Here is a short movie about the bike paths and their use in Netherlands.
Grocery Shopping
There are of course several ways of doing grocery shopping in Groningen. In the following we will provide you with some tips on where to do your grocery shopping in general, and where you will find cheaper alternatives.
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Getting a job in Groningen
Since I first arrived in Groningen (19 months ago) I heard many stories about part-time jobs for students. Mostly of these stories were pretty extreme: “It is impossible to find a part-time job as a student” or “Oh… is very easy to get a job in Groningen. I found a job in just 2 days”.
Like in most of the cases, the truth is in the middle. It might be pretty hard to get a part-time job in Groningen, but it is not impossible. So, here are some tips and tricks:
1. Learn Dutch
The most important think probably is the language barrier. Although in Netherlands almost anyone can speak English, when it comes to a position in a company, suddenly you are asked to speak Dutch.
2. Be motivated!
Just staying in front of the computer google-ing “jobs in groningen” will not get you a job. Take advantage of one of the biggest asset of Groningen: over 100 bars/pubs/clubs. Most of the time one of them will look for a dishwasher, waiter, bodyguard, delivery etc. But, they are not going to come and offer you a job. You have to go in person and tell them a beautiful story and they might offer you a job.
3. Newspapers
If you really need some money, you might consider working for one of the newspapers delivery company. The salary is low (100-200 euros/month), but at least you will have an income. Here are some links of the companies who constantly looking for employees (use google chrome for automatic translation of the webpages):
http://www.worddagbladbezorger.nl/
http://www.santibri.nl/bezorgers.html
4. Facebook
There is a group on Facebook for job seekers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158770247529417/ but of course, because of the high number of students, jobs are not posted very often. You might consider keeping an eye on this group.
5. Study hard!!!
Getting good grades will also give you an advantage of having a job. Let me explain what I mean. If you plan to stay in Groningen for more than one year, having very good grades gives you the opportunity to get a job from the university. So, if you take an 8-9 or 10 at (for example) statistics, you can try to talk with your professor for a part-time job as a teaching assistant for next academic year.
P.S. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK MORE THAN 8-10 HOURS PER WEEK AS A STUDENT!
P.S.S the new rule that in order to get Dutch studyfinanciering; in the future students will need to work a minimum of 14 hours (used to be 8): More details here: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/03/eu_students_face_tougher_rules.php
Feel free to leave your comments in the section below. By doing this, we can improve this articles for the future students.
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