{"id":129074,"date":"2021-08-10T11:35:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T09:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=129074"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:45","slug":"if-youre-the-kind-of-student-who-looks-beyond-the-staples-of-student-life-noord-is-the-perfect-place-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/08\/10\/if-youre-the-kind-of-student-who-looks-beyond-the-staples-of-student-life-noord-is-the-perfect-place-to-live\/","title":{"rendered":"‘If you look beyond the staples of student life, Noord is the perfect place to live’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rotterdam\u2019s Oude Noorden (\u2018old north\u2019) neighbourhood has seen its share of poverty over the years but has grown into a very lively part of town. Does this neighbourhood have anything to offer students? \u201cIf you\u2019re the kind of student who looks beyond the platitudes of student life, Noord is the perfect place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tosca, the restaurant where Dora and her flatmates like to go on special occasions.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Oude Noorden has become one of the most popular boroughs of Rotterdam, beloved by students as well as by \u2018regular\u2019 people. Back in the early noughties (remember how old you were at the time?), it was a run-down part of town, characterised by houses with boarded-up windows, lots of litter in the streets and drug dealers. But no sooner did the borough hit rock bottom than progress came knocking on its doors. First artists moved in, then coffee bars, then yuppies and students. Sixteen percent of all residents are now aged between 19 and 26.<\/p>\n

Considerate to the neighbours<\/h2>

\u201cIf you\u2019re the kind of student who looks beyond the platitudes of student life, Noord is the perfect place to live,\u201d says 19-year-old Dora van den Herik. \u201cIf you want to go to campus or attend a student party, you can cycle to Kralingen. When I\u2019m at home, I try to be considerate to my neighbours.\u201d After the summer holiday she will embark on the second year of her psychology degree at EUR. In March she moved into a renovated block of flats in Meidoornstraat, a street that runs parallel to Zaagmolenstraat, which is served by a rather loud tram. \u201cWhen I first arrived in Rotterdam, I really had to get used to the hustle and bustle. I\u2019m from a tiny village near Bergen op Zoom, where everyone knows each other and I never had to lock my bike. I suffered a culture shock during my first few weeks in Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that it\u2019s summer holiday, the streets are devoid of such hustle and bustle. The Noord residents all seem to have left the city, coronavirus or not. Now that the streets are not dominated by people, it\u2019s easier to see the built environment, which is a mix of narrow streets, green squares and renovated pre-war buildings. Zwaanshals, a shopping street, is home to vintage clothes shops, bistros, lifestyle shops and art galleries with squeaky clean shop windows. A bit further down the road, Zwart Janstraat, which may be the busiest section of the neighbourhood, boasts a more diverse and less fancy range of services. Small shops with hand-written signs advertising discounts on vegetables, cheap clothes shops and phone shops are reminders that this part of Rotterdam is a little rough around the edges.<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

Groengoed\u2019s urban vegetable plot, which is run by locals.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The empty streets tickle our imagination. What kinds of people would we normally come across here? According to the municipal government\u2019s website, Noord residents are a \u2018motley crew\u2019. Dora confirms that a wide range of people calls this neighbourhood home. \u201cAmazingly, everyone is friendly. People always greet each other.\u201d She shares her apartment with two flatmates. Their neighbours are a family with Moroccan roots and an elderly lady from Suriname. \u201cI soon felt at home. When I come home after work in the evening, my neighbour will offer me some food. And when she goes to the market, she\u2019ll sometimes buy me a bun as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picnic tables everywhere<\/h2>

There\u2019s a farmer\u2019s market in Noordplein every Saturday where a lot of the produce is organic and, most of all, healthy. \u201cIt\u2019s relatively expensive,\u201d admits 24-year-old Jana Elshof, who will embark on a pre-master programme in Educational Challenges in a Diverse Society after the summer holiday. She is holding a paper box filled with a mix of Middle Eastern vegetables, purchased from a stall that sells mezze<\/em>. The fact that the produce is expensive does not stop Jana, who lives in Zuid (the \u2018south side\u2019), from crossing the Erasmus Bridge every week to visit the farmer\u2019s market in Noord. The fact that she also attends a gym in the neighbourhood helps. \u201cFor students who are into healthy food and conscious eating, this market is a godsend. Because things are expensive, I have to be very conscious of the choices I make. When I go to a supermarket, I\u2019ll buy vegetables I can wash with water. When I go to the farmer\u2019s market, I\u2019ll buy a cabbage grown without the use of chemicals. Those aren\u2019t easily washed with water.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are picnic tables all over the place, and people use them to hang out together. A truck that sells coffee provides them with warm drinks on this rainy summer\u2019s day. Children are running around, and groups of students are catching up on the week\u2019s news. The longest queue can be found at a stall that sells cheese, which is hardly surprising, as the cheese is flavoursome, locally produced and possibly cheaper than many a piece of cheese sold by Albert Heijn. Win-win-win!<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t