Poll: Where Should I Go to Study Abroad

[Smiley Face]

Also if you want a really different culture don't bother with Canada since the US and Canada share nearly the same culture. Some other Canadians will disagree with me but really at the end of the say we all know it is true sure we may have some different values but things are not that different.

No no, that's pretty much true - in turn of cultural influences we have much the same stuff, we just don't have Republicans, guns, and aren't hyper-patriots - and if you're going to University, that's particularly true in the good options of either Toronto or Vancouver. That said, for Montreal, not so much. But obviously not as much as a lot of the other options.

 

[bleys2487]

Go to Germany. You won't regret it.

Australia, if Germany falls through.

Trust me.

 

[CommanderL]

Dont come to australia we dont want ya mate I am kidding but be wary of the rampant low shirts and girls wearing very lil clothing and guys to also if you see a bogan do not make eye contact do not make eye contact

 

[dogenzakaminion]

Germany! I'm assuming you're from the states and trust me you will love it. It's got the prices of the States paired with much better food. The system there (schooling, housing, any bureaucratic stuff) works great and is very friendly toward foreigners, and the people are all very welcoming and friendly. Go to a bigger city like Berlin, Hamburg or Munich if you want, but don't be afraid of "smaller" places like Leipzig, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Köln and Frankfurt.

As a foreigner who studied there for 3 years and is going back to study there after the summer, you will not regret it.

Seriously...Germany...PM me if you want more info or convincing

 

[AnarchistFish]

(there was also a brochure on Mexico, but I'd rather not die)

Do people really believe this places are still complete hell holes?


Anyway, I would personally pick Canada but since you're from the US that's probably too close to home.
Most places in Europe are all interesting their own ways, especially the likes of Scandinavia, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc.
I'm a bit bored of the UK so I don't really know how someone else would find it.
I might be a bit biased towards France too, but honestly, French people can be hard work, especially if you're not proficient in the language (and it is one of the harder romance languages to learn). A gorgeous country though.
German is also tricky but the population may be more forgiving and it is a pretty gorgeous country, in the countryside at least. The cities seem boring.
The UK may be too similar to the US if you're really looking for somewhere completely separate from home; the culture here is roughly a mix of European and American and US culture is extremely influential here.
No idea about Australia.

Not sure which I'd go for honestly. It's really down to individual preferences.

 

[Trivun]

I'm just curious about what people have to say.
I recently started looking into going to Japan, but the requirements (most the language one) are pretty steep and no local school offers college-level Japanese. So, I also grabbed a ton of literature on other countries I could go to if I can't go to Japan.

My mom's trying to talk me into England or France, so she could "visit" but really just go on vacation.
My Spanish is decent so Spain seems interesting (there was also a brochure on Mexico, but I'd rather not die)
Germany's my runner-up after Japan, because it does seem the most different from the US.
I like to imagine being asked how things are, while I'm in Australia and just responding: "It's really hot and spiders!"
Then something similar with Canada, but it being cold and with mooses.

There was literature on a lot more place, like China, Tiawan, South Korea, and Isreal.

And if it helps, I'm an Econ major looking for a complete change as far away from home as possible.
I should also add that I have at least two years before I can qualify, so I have time to meet language requirements.

Before you seriously consider Japan ask yourself why it is you want to go there. If it's because of the whole anime/gaming thing then don't bother, it'd be a waste of time. If it's for the culture, the different lifestyle, the new horizons, the job opportunities and whatever, then go right ahead if that's what you want to do . Have a look at this article actually, written by a guy who comes from the USA (I believe) but has been working and living in Japan for a good while now:

http://www.cracked.com/article_20118_5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-living-in-japan.html

Otherwise, I should really recommend the UK, but that's because being British myself I am naturally biased. Really, it's up to you - do some research on each country, what it's really like living, studying and working in each, then when you have a full idea decide which one you'd prefer to go to. Whatever happens, good luck, and I hope you manage to find somewhere awesome to go

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

None of those mutants the Australians get.

Bullshit, I've seen bogans in New Zealand.

We keep them segregated in west Auckland and Hamilton.

That doesn't explain Porirua... but does anything explain Porirua?

 

[Dragoon]

Come to Scotland and more specifically Edinburgh, we have lots of unis to choose from and it's one of the best cities in the world. Plus no need to learn a new language then also foreign students are fairly common here so it's a good place to study.

 

[Guffe]

Unless you're going to study to become a cop DON'T come to Finland
Our educational system is very good but for spare time? yeah, rather not try that unless you want to become an alcoholic...

I'd go to England for the Snooker and Football!!!
Germany is nice many of my friends say so why not? Bundesliga is also good football

But yeah, I'd want to go to Japan too, not study but just go there for a few weeks...
So either England or Germany since those have the best Football

If you go for the weather then choose Spain

 

[triggrhappy94]

(there was also a brochure on Mexico, but I'd rather not die)

Do people really believe this places are still complete hell holes?

They are having a huge problem with the cartels now, and corrupt police harrass white people all the time.
I did some travelling in Central America last summer and everyone, including our guide in El Salvador, told us to stay away from Mexico.

Snip

Yeah I think I've seen that article before. I'll look at it again.

I want to thank everyone who's posted thus far and anyone who posts this. All the posts have been either thought-provocking or funny or both. And I'm reconsidering some of my previous decissions.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Snip

Vault, you should just come here. We have a clock tower, great rivers, and world class vineyards. You're not allowed to drink however, unless you're 21. Also the most dangerous animal here are the deer. Not to mention a poorly funded educational system.

 

[Yopaz]

i vote china
if you can manage to speak english, spanish and chinese you could get a job basically anywhere

Getting a degree in economy + speaking Chinese + knowing some about the culture there = superpowers.

It's hard to manage, but it gives you a massive advantage when it comes to applying for jobs.

 

[Fatboy_41]

You've also got the West Coast Eagles and the Cockburn Dockers. Or, the Cock Docs. Both are reasons to avoid Western Australia.

If you're coming to Oz, come to Melbourne. Greatest city in the country. Great place to base yourself and explore from here in any free time that you have.

If you choose anywhere apart from Australia, choose Ireland.

Cockburn dockers???

pretty sure its Fremantle..unless they moved

They have moved. They're still called the Fremantle Dockers, but they're based in Cockburn now (pronounced Co-Burn, but Cockburn is too funny to look past)

 

[AnarchistFish]

(there was also a brochure on Mexico, but I'd rather not die)

Do people really believe this places are still complete hell holes?

They are having a huge problem with the cartels now, and corrupt police harrass white people all the time.
I did some travelling in Central America last summer and everyone, including our guide in El Salvador, told us to stay away from Mexico.

Not everywhere in Mexico is infested with the cartels. Sure, if you go up into the northern desert and Chihuahua you're asking for trouble but there's a strong tourism industry in many other areas.

 

[Hagi]

Personally Germany would probably be your best bet as an English Speaker since German is pretty close to English. That and Germany is a pretty interesting country in general.

German is only really close to English in it's history in that they're both West Germanic languages.

If you can't speak German then no amount of knowledge of the English language is going to help you understand someone speaking in that language.

 

[AnarchistFish]

(there was also a brochure on Mexico, but I'd rather not die)

Do people really believe this places are still complete hell holes?

They are having a huge problem with the cartels now, and corrupt police harrass white people all the time.
I did some travelling in Central America last summer and everyone, including our guide in El Salvador, told us to stay away from Mexico.

Also, El Salvador has the 2nd highest homicide rate in the world. Over 3.5 times as high as Mexico's

 

[Yarrow]

I voted 'other' for the U.K. - since that includes but is not limited to England. Having lived in both England and Wales I'd recommend Edinburgh. I've only visited Edinburgh once for the Beltane fire festival but it left an impression.

 

[Supertegwyn]

EDIT: God damnit I got ninja'd.

Which is in itself quite an accomplishment since there were nearly three hours between the ninja and yourself...


OT: In case you would consider the Netherlands as an option, all Masters degrees are (supposed to be) taught in English here (in practice this isn't always the case, so try to check before signing up). On the other hand if you want to learn a new language stay away, at the first sign of non-perfect Dutch most people will switch to English immediately giving you no chance to learn out language.

I'm the kind of person who will read all posts from the top to the bottom, and then jump on any faults I see without continuing further. Therefore the moment I saw him say that, I quoted him. I then resumed my reading, and noticed that someone else had already corrected him.

 

[JLML]

I'm going to say come to Sweden! Because I'd be unpatriotic if I didn't =P

Although our universities aren't too shabby - haven't gone myself so can't really give a educated (ha!) opinion. And English is like a second language here, haha. I do believe a lot of courses are even given in English, and/or have a lot of English text books.

Going to agree and elaborate on this. Now, I haven't personally gone and gotten a higher education (multiple reasons, mostly having failed my upper secondary too hard because of multiple reasons (mostly because of the retarded system, but don't worry about that, the system for the universities is much better)) but I know several who have recently gone to, or are currently getting an education at some university here in Sweden. (Also, patriots unite! You're not from Skåne, are you? <.<)

Spoiler: Spoiler for size.

So here we go: Yeah, studying in Sweden works perfectly fine without speaking the language, most courses are available in English. Especially at the big ones (like Chalmers, Lund, Uppsala, UMU and so on).

Depending on your interests there may even be opportunities to establish connections and work on exiting projects.

Some of the educations offered more or less guarantees a job within a year after you've graduated (my half-sister studied economy at UMU a few years back, every single person who took that education got a job within 3 months after having finished the education (even my half-sister, who still technically hasn't graduated <.<)).

Also, ignore that thing about not being too shabby. Some universities here (key word being 'some', and it's also limited to specific educations) are considered amongst the best in their fields.

/recruitmentagency

Ahem. That was a bit longer than I intended. . . well, that's what you get for checking out universities and educations for yourself when you can't get in anyway. Ah well, maybe it'll be of more use to you, or anyone else that reads it.

 

[trollnystan]

Going to agree and elaborate on this. Now, I haven't personally gone and gotten a higher education (multiple reasons, mostly having failed my upper secondary too hard because of multiple reasons (mostly because of the retarded system, but don't worry about that, the system for the universities is much better)) but I know several who have recently gone to, or are currently getting an education at some university here in Sweden. (Also, patriots unite! You're not from Skåne, are you? <.<)

Spoiler: Spoiler for size.

So here we go: Yeah, studying in Sweden works perfectly fine without speaking the language, most courses are available in English. Especially at the big ones (like Chalmers, Lund, Uppsala, UMU and so on).

Depending on your interests there may even be opportunities to establish connections and work on exiting projects.

Some of the educations offered more or less guarantees a job within a year after you've graduated (my half-sister studied economy at UMU a few years back, every single person who took that education got a job within 3 months after having finished the education (even my half-sister, who still technically hasn't graduated <.<)).

Also, ignore that thing about not being too shabby. Some universities here (key word being 'some', and it's also limited to specific educations) are considered amongst the best in their fields.

/recruitmentagency

Ahem. That was a bit longer than I intended. . . well, that's what you get for checking out universities and educations for yourself when you can't get in anyway. Ah well, maybe it'll be of more use to you, or anyone else that reads it.

Skåning? ME?? I'm upplänning thank you very much! ;P

Good on ye for explaining more thoroughly. I know very little about university despite being born and raised in a university town. -_-;