I have the opportunity to spend the next year of my university career in Spain. My two alternatives are Universidad de Zaragoza and Universidad de Valencia. What are you recomendations of which to choose? Is one university better than the other for economics? How are the cities in comparsion?...

Hi, I can only comment on Zaragoza, my daughter was there there last year at the University and got on very well. Accomodation is in good supply and there are plenty of places around the campus. The city itself is very pleasant and has lots of historical sites. Not many people speak English so I hope your Spanish is good. There are several Irish bars and a Scottish bar, where the students 'hang out'and also take up part-time bar work. Hope this helps a little. You can look up details of Zaragoza on its own web site.
Good Luck, Sue.

Go to Valencia!

I spent the past semester studying abroad in Valencia, and while I did not go to Zaragoza, I traveled extensively throughout Spain and I feel that Valencia is the best city for living. It is large but not overwhelming; it is a clean city with well-maintained streets and parks; it has strong cultural traditions but is a modern, growing city; it has amazing nightlife and shopping and a great futbol team; and of course there is the beach! And if thats not enough to convince you, perhaps you should consider visiting in March for Las Fallas!!

Good luck with your decision

I don't know which University is better, but quality of life is better in Valencia. Better weather, the beach at hand, a dynamic city with great nightlife

Zaragoza is charming too, but it is cooler and somewhat more boring if you don't have a group of friends.

Fernando

Hello,

I spent only a short time in Zaragoza and I absolutely loved it. Zaragoza is large enough to have everything, yet not so large as to overwelm you. And it is perfectly situated between Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao if you plan on doing some exploring. I am sure Valencia is a nice city, but for me Zaragoza is the way to go. If you go to Zaragoza be sure to order migas, yum yum

Sebastian,
These are the two basic pros and cons that I find:

Valencia, con: Both 'castellano' and 'valenciano' are spoken, which can lead to a little language confusion probably, at least at the beginning.
Pro: the beach!

Zaragoza, pro: (I was raised there ), pretty good usage of Castilian (without the 'leísmo' and 'leísmo' that is so common in Madrid, for instance)
Con: no beach

I have studied in Valencia and visited Zaragoza. I had a wonderful experience in VLC and highly recommend it. I don´t believe the issue with the two languages castellano & valenciano is a problem within the city of Valencia itself as the predominant of the two languages is castellano. In the smaller towns of the Valencian region is where you will really hear the Valenciano.

Apart from the beaches (and believe me, the best one is not the one closest to the city)... the nightlife is totally unbelieveable....the FALLAs leave you speechless...the city with its beautiful old buildings is amazing...

In short...VALENCIA VALENCIA!!!

I've never even set foot in Zaragoza but I spent five years in valencia so here's my "grano de arena" (is that right??). Vlc is a little bigger than Zgz but seems to me to have a number of advantages: the weather is better, there is a beach and the football is primera division. I've no reason to knock Zgz and I hope to get there one day, maybe for the Pilar fiesta or just to La Romareda before they knock it down but I'm sure you will have a great time if you opt for Valencia.

PS Valencian/Catalan is rarely heard in Valencia city and should not put off any student of castellano.