28 Sep 10 TIPS TO SURVIVE YOUR FIRST WEEK IN GRANADA

#1 Check your rental agreement

Granada is a city predominantly of students and there is always a great demand for apartment rentals. This is why we may be tempted to rent apartments in high-pressure situations.

In Granada, to reserve an apartment legally, you must prepare and sign a rental contract, which includes:

• The information of the owner of the apartment
• The duration of the rental
• The deposit that must be deposited
• What the rent includes: Electricity, water, Internet, heating and/or other agreed services.

In recent years, a series of frauds have been occurring regarding the rental of apartments for students, since many rent the apartment through portals that are not real estate agencies and when they arrive at their destination, they find themselves without an apartment and with the advance money lost.

2 Hassle with transportation?

Granada has various transportation services, although each one has its own operation.

• The Metropolitano (Metro): Perfect for crossing the city from one end to the other. If you are going to study at the Science/Fuentenueva Campus, it will be very good for you, since it has a stop inside the campus itself. It is also a very good option if you work on the PTS Campus. The price for each trip with the Flexible Card is €0.82
• Urban Bus: It has different lines that run throughout Granada. If your faculty is located on the Cartuja Campus, your buses are: U1, U2 and U3. The price of a single ticket is €1.40. With the Credibus card, you have different rates.
• Taxi: Both the use of buses and the metro are more than enough to get anywhere in Granada, but if you are in a hurry to get to a specific place, the taxi can be your best ally.

3 Meet people

There are many ways to meet people. We leave you some ways below:

• Traveling: We Love Spain organizes trips throughout Andalusia, Southern Portugal and Morocco. They specialize in trips for young people who are willing to have a good time and meet people.
• Becoming a member of a student group like ESN (Erasmus Student Network): They are a platform of students who help other Erasmus students adapt to their new city. In Granada, they carry out numerous activities, trips, parties, meetings…
• Carrying out language exchanges: Among them, Tic Talk stands out, they hold weekly meetings in different bars and pubs in Granada in which people from different countries meet.
• Plus, one of our favorite coffee shops also offers language exchange every Friday. Don’t hesitate to try your linguistic experience every Friday: La Qarmita

4 Useful applications

To make your experience outside your country more bearable, we recommend the following applications

• Food at home:
  Just Eat: https://www.just-eat.es/
  Deliveroo: https://deliveroo.es/es/
  • Transport
  Moovit: https://moovitapp.com/
  Pidetaxi: https://pidetaxi.es/
  • Languages
  Duolingo: https://es.duolingo.com/
  Wordreference: https://www.wordreference.com/
  RAE Dictionary: https://www.wordreference.com/

5 No time to cook?

There are establishments and restaurants in Granada that have the option of on-site pick-up of food ready to eat at home or wherever you prefer.

Our favorites are:

• Bouket: https://bouket.es/
• The Thinkers: https://lospensadores.es/

6 Don’t be mistaken for a tourist

Granada is known for being a University city, but it is also one of the cities with the most tourism in Spain. You will find all kinds of bars, restaurants, shows and other services focused exclusively on tourists and, therefore, without the essence of the city itself.

We recommend that you explore the city, ask the citizens and your classmates what places to go.

On our social networks we constantly publish our recommended sites and they always have their Granada soul.

Our friends from #WeLoveSpain have shared a post that you cannot miss so that you are not mistaken for a tourist:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/5-beautiful-spots-in-granada-even-locals-dont-know-about

7 Always carry cash

More and more sites offer card payment, however, many of them have a minimum purchase to be able to pay by card.

In addition, there are also some establishments that do not have this payment option, so uncomfortable situations can arise if you do not have cash to pay.

For these reasons, we recommend that you always carry some cash and that money is not an impediment to enjoying your life in Granada.

8 Get started in the world of tapas

Once you land in Granada, you will discover that, in every place where you order a drink, you will then be served a small plate of food: TAPA.

Tapas are something very characteristic of Granada and are offered free of charge to all bar customers. Through tapas you can taste the gastronomy of the bar in question.

A very typical plan for a Saturday or Sunday in the city is to go for tapas in different bars. The best tapas areas in Granada are:

• Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
• Realejo
• Bullring

Start as soon as possible in the world of tapas.

9 Discover THURSDAYS

Have you ever thought that the week seems too long while in class?

Once you are in Granada, you will notice that university weekends start on Thursdays. There is no better plan than leaving school, going for tapas, continuing with a few drinks at Pedro Antonio and ending up at a nightclub in the center.

10 Enjoy the city

It’s your ERASMUS, enjoy it to the fullest by meeting people, practicing the language, going out to party, trying new things.

Take the opportunity to visit other cities, start a new hobby, share your experience.

Live the year of your life!