🇳🇱
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Canals, bikes and one of Europe's most international cities.
🇧🇪
Brussels
Belgium
Multilingual capital of Europe with great rail connections.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
€1,300–1,700 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇧🇪 Brussels
€1,000–1,300 / month
Best for
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
- Students who want a deeply international experience
- Those interested in top-tier universities
- People who plan to travel across Europe constantly
Best for
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Students interested in EU politics or international careers
- Those who plan to travel widely across Europe
- People who enjoy multilingual environments
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Very Expensive
Cost of Living
Expensive
Very High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Very Active
Student Life
Active
Very Tight
Housing
Manageable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
- Extremely international and English-friendly
- World-class universities
- Iconic, beautiful city to live in
Student insights
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
Student voice — 🇳🇱 Amsterdam
“Amsterdam is magical — just lock in housing months early.”
Student voice — 🇧🇪 Brussels
“Brussels is amazing if you care about EU careers.”
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
Pros
- Extremely international and English-friendly
- World-class universities
- Iconic, beautiful city to live in
- Excellent flight and rail connections
- Wide cultural and nightlife offer
Cons
- Notoriously difficult housing market
- Very high cost of living
- Grey, rainy climate much of the year
- Tourist saturation in central areas
- Expectations often exceed the day-to-day reality
🇧🇪 Brussels
Pros
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
- Wide cultural offer
- Multilingual environment
Cons
- Grey, rainy climate
- Fragmented student community across neighbourhoods
- Cost of living relatively high
- Less iconic atmosphere than Ghent or Bruges
- Bureaucracy across language regions
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.