Hey,
Next year, I plan to study abroad and I have to choose between England and Spain.
I both want to study and play hard. Can anybody give me some insights ? If I go to England, I can choose between Oxford and LSE, and in Spain, I will go to Madrid.
Well, I’m a bit biased (studied abroad in Valencia) but I think you should go to Spain. Total immersion is probably the single best experience you can have if you’re learning a foreign language, and it’s an experience that is much harder to obtain later in life, so you should take advantage of it while you have the chance.
Oh yeah, and if you want to “play hard” – Madrid is a good place for it. Trust me 
England if Sir Francis Drake is prepared.
Spain, for sure.
Better weather, a lot cheaper, better food, and a bigger change from what you get here. A good friend of mine studied abroad in England, and while she had a great time, the weather and the food really got her down.
Another Spain vote (also biased - I studied in Valladolid when I was in undergraduate, and am hoping my research will take me back to Spain soon).
What are you studying, by the way?
I would recommend Spain because of the generally relaxed atmosphere, better weather, better food, friendly people (I did love my few weeks in England…but damn, there’s only so many sausages and fries a person wants to eat…) In my rather limited experience, Spain is cheaper than England, and you get a decent amount of vacation time during the school year (Carnaval, Semana Santa), which is great for travel. I travelled all over Spain, and it was easy to get by on the cheap.
I am studying Economics, by the way.
Hah hah, Spain is the leading candidate at the moment. Can anyone provide me some insights about Spain. Night life ? Do student study hard ? Drinking age ? etc…
Anyone wants to give England some credits ?
Well I’ve never been to Spain,
But I kind of like the music
The ladies are insane there
They sure know how to use it
They don’t abuse it,
Never gonna lose it,
I can’t refuse it
Well I’ve never been to England
But I kind of like the Beatles…
Go to Spain, England sucks.
I vote for France but if you are restrained by the choices then I would vote for Spain. I hear it is a lovely country and very laid back. My wife gets frustrated every time she goes there though because everything is way to leasurely to conduct American style business very well.
The question about: “Madrid? Night life?” with question marks made me about pee myself. Boy, howdy, talk about night life. I have blank spaces in my memory of Madrid.
Studying? No idea. I have seen friends there study. Drinking age? 4 years and 6 months. Or 5 if with a parent. Or something like that. I think it’s also legal to own or to buy but not to sell da kine, however that works.
Oh, my, and chocolata for breakfast. And cold vermouth from the tap.
I spent a couple of semesters (one in college, another in grad school) in London and loved it. If you’re into finance and economics, being in The City and seeing a finance center (centre?) in action can be thrilling. LSE will look good on your resume. Oxford is a very historic college town and the atmosphere is academic but in a fun way. It will also look good on a resume.
Not all the food in England sucks. London has some wonderful restaurants. The Indian food is great. Warning: late night curry after a night of pubbing tastes wonderful and seems irresistable, but you and your flatmates will likely regret it the next day! Then again, you’re young and tough! The weather isn’t fantastic, but neither is it awful. It rains a lot, but that never bothered me. It didn’t get too hot or too cold.
I’ve been to Spain, but it was only on holiday for a week or two as a boring adult. I never had the student experience, so I can’t give you a good comparison.
Spain will give you the advantage of being immersed in another language. Then again, if your objective isn’t learning another language and you’d rather not deal with a language barrier, England won’t have one!
If you want the best academic opportunity, you’re absolutely nuts to think of turning down Oxford & LSE. If other things are a priority (including immersion in a language), then Madrid is a great option. It all depends what you want out of this.
Oh, and yeah, it’s simply not true that you can’t get good food in Britain. And I’ve had terrible food on occassions in Spain. So there.
England and visit Spain on long weekends!
(c’mon, it ain’t rocket science!)
LSE and Oxford are both excellent names to have on your resume. I can’t speak for Oxford, but London is absolutely fabulous, in almost every way imaginable. It’s also horrendously expensive, in almost every way imaginable, so if partying hard is on your agenda, budget well. Very well.
In England, plan on not seeing the sun for long intervals during much of the year. Also much rain. I don’t know how much of an issue that will be for you, but it got rather depressing for me after a while. Again, while I can’t speak for Oxford, in London you certainly won’t have any complaints about the food. Note that both universities in England will offer you an amazing multi-cultural experience, far more varied that what any university in Spain could offer.
And finally, a word of advice/warning: if you do end up choosing England, and plan on staying there for Christmas, be in London from the 24th through to the 27th. As I found out to my utter surprise, everything in the rest of the country shuts down during those days (or at least in Hatfield in 2000)!! The mall was shut, the cinemas were shut, the bloody supermarkets were shut (I didn’t know that - I had to eat baked beans and cookies for 6 straight meals!), the bus service to London was shut. Even the damn train station was shut because of flooding the previous week!
Spain is a lot cheaper, gets more sunlight, and the nightlife is waaay hotter! Having only holidayed in Spain - Barcelona, to be precise - for a week, I can only confirm that Spain is a lot cheaper, that it gets more sunlight, and that the nightlife in waaay hotter!
I’d reccommend England. And Barcelona is a 30 Pound flight away anyway (yay, RyanAir).
Spain is too hot. England’s temperature hardly ever ventures above freezing point. may or may not be true
I recommend England.
If you want nice weather, go to Spain. I’ve never done any studying (or to be honest, any partying) there, but it is a very laid back country and a great place to relax.
However, I do think you’d be a fool to turn Oxford down, if they’ve offered you a place. Apart from anything else, looking back in 20 years you can think “you know, I could’ve studied at Oxford” or “I could’ve partied in Madrid” - you can party in Madrid in 20 years’ time. You probably won’t get the opportunity to study in Oxford again.
It’s a beautiful town, there is some good nightlife (I won’t claim it’s the clubbing capital of the world, though) and the colleges organise functions. You can get to London cheaply and easily on a coach, too. The atmosphere really is something special - punting down the river, drinks in the quad etc. My days there were only 3 years ago but I really, really miss it. You don’t get it by visting for a weekend - you have to live there and be part of it.
Fly to Spain during the holidays 