Student Accommodation Review
By Sophia Eiselt
A double degree in a Bachelor of International Relations and Art History
2023 Semester 2, Exchange at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
I chose to reside in the Hatta building (operated by SSH) because it is one of the few buildings available on campus. This is very useful if you are the type of person who likes to wake up 5 minutes before class. It’s also ideal because the university gym and food hall are right across from the building. The room is very spacious and comes with a bed, cupboard, desk and chair which has been very useful. The windows are large and can be opened which is a highlight in the warmer months. However, it should be noted that the Erasmus University campus is located about an hour away from the city when walking. This has been a small inconvenience when going out with friends because the only public transport available for this route starts around 8am and stops at 11pm. For example, when I had to get to Amsterdam airport early, I had to ride my bike 20 minutes to the station with my bags. It’s not a deal breaker but something I wish I knew. Another small inconvenience is that the food on campus is relatively more expensive. Therefore when buying groceries, I usually choose to bike ride 10 minutes to the closest Aldi. Your experience will always be impacted by your 2 roommates. I luckily lived with very friendly girls from Hong Kong who were also on exchange. The building itself houses 500 students, so it’s not as easy to meet other like-minded exchange students. I found the laundry downstairs to be mostly empty when I wanted to use the washers/dryers, noting you must pay about 3 euro per wash (this seems standard across Europe). If you choose to live in Hatta, I recommend an apartment labelled A or K, as these are the corner apartments. For example, my apartment is 328K and I had no idea what this meant when I chose it, but it is located on the 4th floor on the corner. This means our kitchen has a window, which I found to be a huge bonus compared to other apartments (nice lighting and more air flow).
My friend Charlotte really enjoyed her stay in the Overhoningen building (operated by SSH). I will note that all SSH-managed apartments come empty in the kitchen, so it is up to you and your roommates to get things like pots, pans, cutlery, toaster and anything else you need. This does mean it takes a bit of time and money to get completely set up. The location of Overhoningen is a major highlight, conveniently nestled in-between the university campus and the city centre. The suburb is very cute and has a main street with shops/cafes and some restaurants. Her room was also spacious, and SSH provided the essential furnishings like a bed, desk, and wardrobe. She shared her apartment with 2 roommates who are also exchanges from different countries. They luckily got along really well and so it was a great way to meet new people right from the start. On the downside, the kitchen area is small, which limits their common space and limits their ability to have guests over. The accommodation leans more towards independent living, as there isn't a strong socializing culture within the building so keep this in mind. Nonetheless, I think it’s a really great option for living on exchange in Rotterdam and is definitely more affordable than some of the other options.
My friend Will lived at The Social Hub - A caveat that this is on the higher end of what you can pay for student accommodation. But, with that comes perks like free gym, free bike, access to a cinema, pool table, table tennis table and a 24/7 front desk to help you out with anything you need. The rooms themselves are well set up with a double bed (unlike SSH-managed apartments). Having your own bathroom is really nice and not very common amongst other student accommodation. You also get your room cleaned once a month. The social aspect here is much stronger than the others with events going on downstairs at the bar all the time. A con might be the kitchen, despite being well set up with bowls/glasses, is shared amongst 12 people so it can get a bit messy, my friend’s experience with this hasn’t been too bad but I can imagine potential problems arising here. However, sharing with 12 people also means you should be able to find people you like and it's nice having a common area to hang out as a group. Location is also ideal in between the city and campus. All in all, I would recommend this option if you’re happy to pay a little extra.