Rotterdam is the Netherlands’ second city and home to Europe’s largest port. Rebuilt almost entirely after being flattened in the Second World War, it has a skyline that looks more like a scale model of the future than a typical Dutch town, a young, international population, and a strong university. Rents here are rising but still sit below Amsterdam’s.

Universities and major institutes

Erasmus University Rotterdam (incl. Rotterdam School of Management)
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
Codarts (arts) and Willem de Kooning Academy

Cost of living

A room in Rotterdam typically runs €550 to €900 a month, cheaper than Amsterdam or Utrecht but climbing every year. Beyond rent, factor in Dutch health insurance if you take on paid work, groceries (Albert Heijn and Jumbo sit at a different price point to the budget chains Lidl and Aldi), and a transport pass if you cannot rely on a bike alone. All told, monthly costs outside rent might land somewhere around €500 to €800. Rotterdam’s housing market is tighter than the rents alone suggest: the university can only offer rooms to a fraction of incoming international students, so start applying the moment you have an offer letter, and treat any room that seems too easy to secure with some suspicion.

Getting around

Cycling is the default here too, helped by wide, flat cycle lanes and a metro system that fills the gaps a bike cannot cover, particularly for reaching the Erasmus campus in Kralingen. A second-hand bike is a sensible first purchase, generally available for somewhere around €80 to €150 depending on condition, and a solid lock is not optional in a port city with plenty of foot traffic. The OV-chipkaart, or a contactless card or phone tapped through OV-pay, works across Rotterdam’s trams, buses, and metro as well as NS trains onward, putting Delft, The Hague, and Amsterdam within roughly half an hour to an hour. As elsewhere in the Netherlands, the subsidised student travel product is aimed at those studying under Dutch funding arrangements, so international students should generally plan on paying standard fares.

Weather and lifestyle

Being a port city on flat, low-lying land, Rotterdam catches plenty of wind off the water, and rain rolling in from the coast is regular through autumn and winter, so layer up and invest in proper rain gear rather than an umbrella. Summer brings the terraces to life, particularly around the Markthal and the Maas waterfront, and Rotterdam marks King’s Day on 27 April with its own take on the holiday, usually calmer than Amsterdam’s but still a proper street party.

Working while you study

The same national rule applies: non-EU students can work up to 16 hours a week in term time, or full-time over summer, provided the employer has arranged a TWV work permit. Rotterdam’s port, logistics, and shipping industries offer some student work, though most entry-level roles there still expect basic Dutch. Without the language, hospitality, retail, and warehouse work near the centre and port are the more realistic options, alongside occasional internships at English-speaking firms linked to Erasmus’s business school.

Neighbourhoods for students

Kralingen: near Erasmus University, leafy with a lake.
Cool / Centrum: central and modern.
Delfshaven: historic and characterful.
Noord: increasingly popular and more affordable.

Studying in Rotterdam