Leon de los Aldama is the industrial engine of Guanajuato state, famous for leather and footwear and increasingly for its car plants and universities. It is not a tourist showpiece, but it is affordable, welcoming and superbly placed in the Bajio, with the colonial jewels Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende barely an hour away. Students get real Mexican daily life at a low cost.

• Mexico's leather and footwear capital, where the Zona Piel is a shoppers' paradise
• In the heart of the Bajio, minutes from Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende
• Affordable and unpretentious, with growing universities and industry

Leon's social life revolves around the Zona Piel and Centro for shopping and eating, the Forum Cultural for concerts and galleries, and the giant Feria de Leon each January, one of Mexico's biggest state fairs. It is a family-oriented city rather than a party capital, so students gravitate to cantinas, cafe-bars and campus events. Ask around and you will find the scene.

• Time the January Feria de Leon for concerts, rides and charreadas
• Catch culture at the Forum Cultural Guanajuato complex
• Cantinas and the bars around the Centro are the go-to for a night out

Leon is one of the cheaper cities on this list, so around 450 to 750 euros (roughly 8,500 to 14,000 pesos) a month covers a shared flat, food and transport. Street food like guacamayas costs next to nothing, rents undercut Guadalajara and Monterrey, and the Optibus card keeps transport cheap. It is an easy place to live well on a modest grant.

• A guacamaya (a chicharron torta) costs 20 to 35 pesos (about 1 to 1.70 euros)
• Shared-flat rooms are cheaper than in Guadalajara or Monterrey
• Load an Optibus Pagobus card for cheap BRT and bus rides

Students usually share flats or rent rooms near their campus, around the Universidad de Guanajuato's Leon campus, the Tec de Monterrey, or Ibero Leon. Facebook groups and Inmuebles24 are the main tools, and central colonias and Jardines del Moral are popular. As demand is lower than in bigger cities, you can often negotiate.

• Search the Cuartos y Departamentos Leon Facebook groups and Inmuebles24
• Live near your campus, whether Ibero, Tec or UG Leon, to cut commutes
• Ask the Studcasa Leon group which colonias are safe and well connected

Leon's pride is the Optibus integrated bus-rapid-transit network, where the articulated orugas run along dedicated corridors, paid with the Pagobus card and feeding into local routes. It is one of Mexico's better mid-size systems, and Uber and DiDi cover the rest cheaply. The city is spread out, so a transport card is essential.

• Use the Optibus BRT orugas with a rechargeable Pagobus card
• Uber and DiDi are cheap for trips the BRT does not cover
• The city sprawls, so plan around the main transport corridors

The Universidad de Guanajuato's Leon campus covers health sciences and engineering, while private options include the Tec de Monterrey campus Leon, the Universidad Iberoamericana Leon (Ibero) and De La Salle Bajio. Teaching is mainly in Spanish, so decent Spanish helps, though some private programmes offer English-taught courses and exchange support.

• Universidad de Guanajuato Leon focuses on health sciences and engineering
• Tec de Monterrey and Ibero Leon offer exchange support and some English courses

What you need depends on your nationality and how long you're staying, so treat this as a starting point and confirm with the Mexican consulate for your country. Many nationalities, including most Europeans, can enter visa-free as tourists for up to 180 days, which covers a single semester. For a full academic year or formal enrolment, you'll usually apply for a temporary resident student visa at a consulate before you travel.

Start early, since consulate appointments and document legalisation take time.

• Short exchange under 180 days, often visa-free entry for many nationalities
• Full year or formal enrolment, temporary resident student visa from a consulate
• Bring your university acceptance letter and proof of funds to the appointment
• Requirements vary by nationality; always confirm with your Mexican consulate

Leon's street-food icon is the guacamaya, a bolillo roll stuffed with chicharron and pico de gallo and doused in salsa. Bajio cooking also brings caldo de oso, cueritos, gorditas and enchiladas mineras. The Feria de Leon is a food festival in itself, and the leather markets make for a very Leon kind of afternoon browse.

• Grab a guacamaya with plenty of salsa from a street cart
• Try caldo de oso and cueritos, Leon street-food staples
• Shop for leather in the Zona Piel and at the Plaza del Zapato

The Centro Historico around the cathedral and the arches is walkable and lively, while the Zona Piel is the leather district for shopping. Jardines del Moral and Campestre are the upmarket residential areas, Andres Quintana Roo is central and convenient, and the outer colonias offer the cheapest rooms. Choose by campus and transport corridor.

• Centro Historico: walkable, historic and central
• Jardines del Moral or Campestre: upmarket, leafy and safe
• Zona Piel: the leather district, great for shopping

Leon's Bajio location is its trump card. Guanajuato city, a UNESCO warren of colourful alleys and tunnels, is just 40 minutes away, San Miguel de Allende about 90 minutes, and Dolores Hidalgo, home to independence history and wild ice-cream flavours, another 90. Queretaro and Aguascalientes are around two hours for bigger weekends.

• Guanajuato city (UNESCO): about 40 minutes by bus
• San Miguel de Allende: roughly 1.5 hours
• Dolores Hidalgo for history and unusual ice cream: about 1.5 hours

Leon rewards a bit of Spanish, as English is less common than in tourist cities, so a language exchange or class pays off fast. Use Uber or DiDi at night, carry cash for markets and street food, and take advantage of the cheap, frequent buses to Guanajuato for weekend escapes. Book Feria accommodation early if you are here in January.

• Brush up your Spanish, as English is less widely spoken here
• Use Uber or DiDi after dark and keep pesos for markets
• Ask the Studcasa Leon group about weekend buses to Guanajuato and San Miguel