🏠 Housing
What kind of place was it?
Airbnb
How much was the rent per month?
268 euros
Where was it located?
Ponts Jumeaux, around 20 minutes from the centre of town, and 40 minutes from my university
How can someone find this place?
It is a CROUS residence, so the CROUS website/application through your host university.
Would you recommend it?
I had a 9m2 ‘studio’, and it was very cheap at 268 euros a month. However you get what you paid for - the decor was outdated, many maintenance issues such as a friend I knew having a leaking bathroom, my extract fan broke. There was poor ventilation in the bathrooms. Certain buildings in the complex had bug problems and so had to be fumigated multiple times. However it was perfectly functional and I would stay there again, especially given the financial benefits. There’s a 24/7 reception, parking for students, you can get letters (but not parcels!) delivered there, a laundry service (although there was only 6 machines and 2 dryers for nearly 1000 students).
🍻 Social Life
What are some top bars, clubs, or events you recommend?
Best clubs include Cafe Oz, Limelight, Downtown Factory. Melting Pot Pub (Sundays) and The Classroom (Thursdays) have weekly pub quizzes, and are chilled British-themed pubs. Nice bars are in Saint-Cyprien. Place Saint Pierre is also a good place to get a drink; especially in the nice weather people with sit on the steps near the water with their own drinks
🎓 Uni life at Université de Toulouse - Jean Jaurès
Which classes do you recommend… or not?
Coming from the UK uni system i found the French system quite different. It’s a lot less interactive - for my courses at least, ‘seminars’ were mainly repetition of a lecture/very little talking from the students. I took histoire economique et sociale du XXe siècle which was very interesting, also initiation à l’histoire contemporaine. UT2J has an online platform where professors upload lecture slides and other resources which is very helpful.
Do you have some tips?
The campus is quite big, but far out from the centre. It was very easy to sign up and make my student card, and there is an international student office for any concerns/queries. I would say there’s not much of a uni social life compared to the UK - for example no students union building, few societies.
✈️ Travel
Best trips to do?
Toulouse is a little far away from other cities, but nevertheless lots of opportunities. Collioure is a lovely beach town 3hrs on the train, Carcassone is 1 hour away. Me and my friends took a 5 hour coach to Barcelona, and also San Sebastián. Paris is a 4.5hr train, i would recommend all these destinations. Also great opportunities for hiking with the Pyrenees being so close by.
🌆 Toulouse vibe
What do you absolutely need to know to live your best life in Toulouse?
I loved the city life! You can buy a Tisseo ‘carte pastel’ (i paid around 160 euros on a student tarif, for the whole year) which coverts travel on buses, metros, etc. There are two metro lines and if you live near a stop you can get pretty much everywhere, and very quickly. Main supermarkets are carrefour, Intermarché, Auchan - id recommend Auchan for being the cheapest.
💡 Other Tips
Non!
Talk to Lucy
Need advice? Got questions?