Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply to the Università per stranieri di Perugia next year and hope to get some opinions about Perugia. I've heard it's generally cheaper than other nearby cities like Rome, Florence and Siena. I've also gotten differing opinions as to whether it's generally safe.

Can anyone tell me how it is living there? What are the costs like, whether it's easy to get around on foot? (I read that it's a pretty mountainous/high altitude area). Also, what's pet care like?

Much appreciated if anyone can help!

Thanks in advance!

EDIT:

other questions I have are:
- spending on groceries
- safety
- studio apartment rates (possible to get a place below 500 euros?)
- english-speaking? (even just a little)
- any other relevant concerns

__________________
avatar by kelli

Ciao Kitten. Io sono andato all'Università di Perugia in 2007. Rented an apartment for a month for 450 euros and went
total immersion in the Italian language. Sure it's cheaper than those other big cities and a refreshing change from them also.

The historical part of Perugia e molto interessante. Si, it's a hill top town and you're usually either walking up or down those historica narrow streets.
If I could do it then you can too. Suppongo che tu sia molto piu giovane che io. The bottom modern part of the city is on flat ground. That's
right when you get off the train in Perugia.

You have to be careful around the train station in Perugia. But then again you have to be careful around most of the train stations in Italy.
If questionable characters aproache you just ignore them. They will try to get you envoled in some kind of scheme. A forgein couple man and
woman tried to rob me in broad day light on the bus in front of the train station while the bus was parked waiting to leave.

Don't fail to go to Perugia's huge park out by the football stadium. Would never have gone to it if it weren't for an Italian friend I found.
None of the other students knew about it.

Grazie mille, Villa, per la risposta!

450 euros seem pretty decent for an apartment - does that include utilities, or just rent? And since you went to the university, did you use this website to find your accommodation? Student Living Umbria Accommodation Is it a decent site?

Heh, I don't mind if it's on a hill, but I just want to know if it's easy to get around and if the transportation system is good. As much as possible, I don't want to drive, but will if I have to! I look forward to exploring all the beautiful historical sites of the place!

Wow you almost got robbed? I've heard that robbery is a problem in Italy. I will have to be careful. What about the police? Can you trust them to help you?

I will probably have to fly in from Rome. Is it easy to get from Rome to Perugia? I looked online and it seems there are buses going from Rome to Perugia.

Park by the football stadium? That's cool! I shall have to check it out when I get there. Do you think January is too cold to be coming to Perugia? I was thinking of either coming in January or March. Seems March would be a better time because it's not too cold?

__________________
avatar by kelli

[QUOTE=kitten;26629]Grazie mille, Villa, per la risposta!

Si, the 450 euros included utilities and everything. Had my own kitchen and cooked a lot of my own food.
Shopped in Italian. There is a big supermarket right across the street from the train station and little
markets all around the historical hill top.

Used that student Living for accommodations. They are very good. However I had lost contact with them by
internet and ended up in Perugia several days before classes started without a place to stay. There was a
lady going around asking if anybody needed a room to stay in and I stayed at her place for 20 euros a day.
It was a room with a bed and television and I shared a bathroom with 2 other people that I never even seen
the whole time I was there which was about 4 or 5 days before I got the apartment. There are plenty of
places to stay in so don't go to an expensive hotel.

Transportation is very good in Perugia as it is all over Italy. I flew into Rome and then took a very pleasant
train ride to Perugia. It was about 3 hours but it seemed much less. I met 3 really nice Italian girls and we
spoke Italian all the way to Perugia. So yes, it is very easy to get to Perugia from Rome.

Go in March. January in Perugia would be too cold.

From Perugia the town of Assisi is only about 25 minutes away by train.(Many places are easy to reach by train from Perugia.)
Assisi is of course the town of Frances of Assisi. Then you have Spoleto with along with Assisi is one of the
loveliest towns in Umbria. West of Spoleto you have another hill top town called Todi. From up above you have a lovely view
from the Piazza Garibaldi which is enhanced by the fragrance of a garden beneath. All those hill top towns have great views.

The town of Gubbio is where the TV program Don Matteo was filmed. Gubbio vies with Assisi
for the title of Umbria's most medieval town. There are anche Roman ruins in Gubbio. Took a pullman bus to Gubbio.
The other places I went by train.

You've got anche Lake Trasimeno which is the fourth largest lake in Italy. It's a short ride from Perugia and you can
walk to the lake from the train station. They have cool boat excursions and one of the islands of Lake Trasimeno has a
midevil castle. The Battle of Lake Trasimeno in 217 BC took place there by the lake. The Carthaginian genreral Hannibal,
lured the Romans into a masterful ambush in the muddy marsh. Some 16,000 Roman soldiers died while the crafty Hannibal
only lost 1,500 men. Today you can explore the battlefield, which includes over 100 mass graves found nearTuoro sul Trasimeno.

Then there is the town of Spello which has renowned frescoes by Pinturicchio, one of the main artists of the Umbrian school.

Just in Perugia itself there is plenty to see. Perugia was an Etruscan center. You do know about the Etruscans vero?

From Perugia I took the train to Florence two times. You can go far north from Perugia and far south by train in a day.
They have many bus guided tours to various places like San Marino and Venice from Perugia. They are not expensive.

And yes, you can go to Rome, spend the day and be back in Perugia the same day.

Once again, thank you so much Villa for your help!

450 euros including utilities... that sounds like a really good deal, especially if you had the whole place to yourself! I'm looking to find a cheap and good place (I don't want to share, unfortunately), so hopefully I'll get a similar deal. Did you start applying for housing very early on?

Do you think arriving a week before the term starts is a good idea? I was thinking of coming a week before April next year, since you said March is a better time for travelling. Can I still go to the university to get my permesso di soggiorno thing done? I heard you can apply for that through the university?

How much did you spend on groceries per week on average?

And thank you for all the recommendations on sites to visit! They sound absolutely lovely, and it's so nice to know that they're all nearby. I heard about the Etruscans, yes, but I guess I'll have to brush up on my knowledge of that, lol.

I know I'm going to Italy to learn Italian and all, but... do people speak at least a little bit of English there?

__________________
avatar by kelli

Hi !

I'm actually [U]in[U] Perugia as I write.

Yesterday was the last day of the August '09 class month at the Universita per Stranieri.

About safety: I never heard a word from any of my classmates (talking about women as well as men) that suggested anyone had the least hesitation about being anywhere in the City at any hour. Also, out very bright teachers, two women and a man, never hinted at anything we might need to know about safety.

I've been all over the world, often in places where I spent time looking over my shoulder. Never here.

Being in Perugia has been a wonderful experience. So good, in fact, that I'm spending two more weeks here after classes. I've got some things to catch up with on line and this is a good place to do it... I've rented a room at the Residenza Baldesca for E 630 a month. Since I registered very late, it was suggested that Student Living might put me far from school. I have a great single room but it's high in the building, looking out over tile roofs. Some of the rooms here are lower and a bit cave-like.

An intensive course, 27 hours of class a week, is pretty full-time. Especially since the school leaves all of Friday and Monday morning class-free so students can travel on weekends. (Some did with the U, others on their own.) That left four days of class, one of them eight hours (with lunch.) Even the youngest among us took a while to adjust to the grind.

Transport: Perugia is a perfectly walkable city. It's on a mountain but there are elevators and escalators to run pedestrians up and down the hill... the center of town is pretty-much car-free.

Hope this helps,

Bill M

^ Bill M, thanks so much for your reply! I'm glad to know Perugia is a generally safe city, that really helps.

630 euros is a bit costly for me, I'm hoping to get a place less than 500 euros. How much, may I ask, did you have to pay for groceries?

Btw, what are the classes at the university like?

__________________
avatar by kelli

Just watch out around the train station in Perugia. Not safe.

Arriving in Perugia early is a very good idea. I arrived a few
days early and got some things done. I had a scholarship that paid for the school and my apartment so I had to get the paper work done on that.

I started applying for housing ahead of time but never got anything done until I was in Perugia.

I had the address to this lady's house that's rents rooms that you can stay in while you're waiting for an apartment but don't know where it is now.
There are many such places like that around the city.

Not sure how much I spent on groceries. But it sure is a lot cheaper than eating out. I use to eat a lot of those middle eastern sandwiches though.
Le Mille e una Notte(A Thousand and one Nights) on Corso Garibaldi number 32 was where I went for those kebabs. I really like those. Many Middle
Easter people in Perugia and they all seem very nice.
There are a few good Chinese food places in Perugia anche.

There people who speak English in Perugia but you don't want to hang out with them. Your lower level students will mostly all speak English.
The beginning classes are taught mostly in Italian but with a lot of help and the teacher may speak English. My Italian teachers spoke no English but
then agian it was higher level Italian. We all spoke mostly Italian among ourselves and I made Italian friends which is what you need to do.

A proposito.(by the way) "Gimo!"(GEE-moh) means "Andiamo! in the Perugian dialect.

If a strange man is really bothering you, yell at him "Vaffanculo!" LOLROTF!!!

Stories tagged "Perugia Italy" The mother of a British student killed in Perugia, Italy in 2007 said Saturday that she ... PERUGIA, Italy, 6:58 a.m. Feb. 28· View Comments A woman's shoe print ...
www3.signonsandiego.com/tags/perugia-italy/ - Cached - Similar

LOL. Once again, thank you so much for your help, Villa! I'll be sure to stay away from train stations unless necessary and I do plan to eat in as much as possible (gotta save money).

That's strange that you didn't manage to get the housing sorted until you arrived. I was afraid of that. I thought things would be properly arranged through that Student Living site - I guess I just have to hope that things will turn out all right for me.

I heard you have to tip a lot when you're in restaurants. Is that true?

Are you still in Perugia?

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avatar by kelli