Questions about Uppsala

Someone asked me some very good questions about Uppsala and the MSc in Computer Science, so I decided to share them here.

1. How are the living expenses in Uppsala in general?

Sweden can be a bit expensive. In my opinion, housing is not too expensive (I used to live in Madrid and Barcelona before moving here, so that's my reference point). You'll pay about 3000-3500 SEK/month including Internet. The major problem is that it is hard to find accommodation. Prices for other things are: about 20-25 SEK for a bottle of water or soda, same or cheaper for coffee/tea. You can get a (reasonably big) sandwich on campus for 45 SEK, or a caesar salad for 65 SEK. You can buy lunch (salad + main course + coffee + bread or fruit) for 70-80 for lunch. Another option could be a frozen meal for 20-30 SEK. Fruits on one of the campus restaurants are 1 piece 7 SEK (and of course cheaper in the supermarket). A pizza is about 70 SEK and frozen pizza 25-40 SEK. Alcohol is EXTREMELY expensive!

2. Is it easy to find jobs at the university in research? in general, is it easy to find a job anywhere?

Getting a job at the university is hard. Normally they hire students as TA or the sort once they know the student, so it probably won't happen during the first year and it is not as common as in other universities. It is also hard to get a part-time job without speaking Swedish (it is a lot easier to find a job once you graduate or an internship even if you don't speak the language). You can work at the student nations but the money is not great. It might be good for making friends, paying some meals and drinks but you won't support yourself with this kind of job. These student nations are great for having cheap food and cheap drinks as well as meeting many students. You can always consider studying Swedish before you come here and continue getting free lessons once you're here.

3. How good are the professors in Computer Science?

Professors are GREAT! They really care about preparing their material and explaining things. The atmosphere is very relaxed and informal. You're free to pick the courses you want, you have access to tons of papers and extra reading, and people are really open to comments and suggestions. I really enjoyed my time as a master student here. You can easily approach TAs and professors and they will happily answer your questions (well, maybe not if you ask for the solution to the assignment).

4. Which areas should I stay in? I don't mind using public transportation.

Like I said before, finding accommodation can be quite hard in Uppsala. You should rent whatever you find and once you're here you can try to move. Most people use bicycles. Buses are quite expensive (between 20-30 SEK depending on how you buy your ticket and about 500 SEK unlimited for a month). You can find used bicycles and everything is really close. If you're studying computer science, then you should live as close as possible to Polacksbacken. But again, 15-20 min by bike from most parts of the city anyway.

Enjoy your time in Uppsala!

Getting a cellphone in Sweden

Hej! :-)

This post might be interesting for just a small group of students out there, but I still it is worth writing. Some of you might be thinking about getting a new cellphone once you are in Sweden or maybe you just want to have a post paid plan so you don't have to worry about actually having credit/money on your phone when you really really need to make a call. Maybe you're just one of those who likes using a Black Berry... For all of you I must say that you'll have to wait... and then wait a bit more... It turns out that when you want to sign up for a contract with any phone company you need to have at least 6 months in Sweden (maybe 8... I think the employees really don't know and it's just an automated check). Anyway, it's not like you'll show them your plane ticket, it's more like they will ask for your personnummer and the system will say you can't sign a contract... Then my advice is for you to get your personnummer as soon as you can so you can start thinking about a contract next year. You'll probably get better prices and you can even get your dream phone a lot cheaper!

And one more things about cellphones! If you try to buy one with a contract, ask about unlocking the phone! Maybe this is super common now (it was not so common to me), but after some time with the company you can actually unlock you phone and use it in your own country after you leave.

Have a great week all of you!

Going to the movies in Uppsala

Well, as you might now by now I'm back in Uppsala! Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't like living in Shanghai (because it is an awesome city), but I did miss the peaceful atmosphere that you can find in Uppsala, and the snow!!!!!!

I want to start saying that Uppsala is covered with snow this time of the year and it is lovely. I find very relaxing the idea of walking on the streets breathing the cold air and looking at the trees and ceilings covered with snow. So, last night my boyfriend and I decided to go and watch Harry Potter 7 (which btw is a lot better that the previous one) and walk around a little bit. The walk was as I remembered it from last year. The cinema was nice, small and cozy as we watched the movie in the smallest room (about 60 seats). The thing that amused me the most was the price: 2 tickets, 2 sodas and a big ball of popcorns = 299 SEK. Yes, it might seem pretty normal to everyone, it was actually pretty normal for me, until I went to China and got used to the idea that it was a lot of money!

I hope that all of you get to come to Uppsala (if that is what you want of course) and enjoy walking around the river in the city center as much as I do :-)

The cost of living in Sweden

When thinking about studying in Sweden, a very common question is: how much money do I need? Well, I have to say that, at least from my experience, living here it’s quite expensive. Still, since I think this is a very personal opinion, I believe it would be better to share some numbers with you. I took some numbers from the website http://www.studyinsweden.se but mostly I’m putting my comments.

Food: SEK 2000. I believe this is possible, but in my opinion it will actually be more expensive. Having lunch at Rullan, an on-campus restaurant in MIC, costs around SEK 80 and a regular meal at Burger King costs SEK 60. Of course cooking your own food is cheaper, but still you’ll find that 1 litter of milk costs SEK 10.90, 1 box of All Bran cereal costs 31.90 and 1 litter of juice costs around SEK 10. In my opinion the cost of food is at least SEK 3000.

Accomodation: SEK 3200. One thing that’s really nice about Sweden is that you’ll find a nice place to live for very little money. You can pay in less than SEK 3000 for a 19m2 room in Flogsta, with your own bathroom and shared kitchen. All services are included (Internet, water and electricity) and you don’t have to pay for July and August. If you’re renting an unfurnished room, don’t forget to check IKEA.se to get a pretty good idea about furniture prices. Still, you can find used furniture for half the price!

Local travel: SEK 500. This number is actually the maximum amount you’ll have to pay. If you buy a bike, like most of the students and Uppsala inhabitants, you will only have to pay for it and forget about public transportation. If you want to use the buses you’ll have to pay SEK 30 to the driver for a ticket that lasts 90 minutes. If you buy the ticket using your mobile phone (text message) you’ll only have to pay SEK 20. You can also buy a rechargeable card. You’ll have to pay a SEK 90 deposit (that you get back when you return the card) and you’ll pay only SEK 16 for each trip. All those tickets include all the busses you take on a 90 minutes period. Finally, you can buy a monthly card that will cost you SEK 500 each month and you can use the buses as much as you want!

Student Union Fee: SEK 400 – 600 each semester. There is no way around it. You can pick the cheapest one if you want and you’ll still be able to visit all nations.

Cinema: SEK 110 – 130. You can find cheaper tickets during the weekdays using the student discount.

Books: SEK 500 – 1000. Buying used books it’s always cheaper and not all courses require you to buy a book.

Train trip from Arlanda Airport: SEK 130. The bus costs SEK 100 but the trip is a little bit longer.

Everything else depends on you. I would like to add that here alcoholic drinks are pretty expensive too. If you’re interested in some other expenses in particular just let me know about it!