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Expat life in Nijmegen: Sharmishta, United Kingdom

In the series "Expat Life in Nijmegen", expats talk about their lives in the Netherlands' oldest city. How did they end up here? What do they do in daily life here and what do they think of the city and its surroundings? 

Here's the story of Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee from The United Kingdom...

"I think relocating to Nijmegen can be called my biggest Brexit and Covid adventure. Because we were in the midst of the pandemic, my interview with the university was online, and I didn’t get to experience the city before accepting the offer. So, when I moved here in October 2020, I took a bit of a chance.

Before coming here, I had talked to many of my colleagues at the Nijmegen School of Management (NMS), and everybody spoke very highly of the city. But I still expected Nijmegen to be smaller and less vibrant – but, to my surprise, it’s been a really good nearly three years so far.

I am the Policy Director for Internationalization and Strategic Engagement at the NSM at Radboud University. I like to summarize my job as enhancing our global visibility, including trying to bring the world to Nijmegen and Nijmegen into the world. The NSM has a very multi- and transdisciplinary approach, which I think makes it different and distinctive.

At the same time, Nijmegen is such a beautiful and vibrant city – and the world should know about it. When I speak to students outside of Nijmegen about where they consider studying, they often mention the Randstad, Groningen, or Maastricht and don’t consider Nijmegen because they assume the city is a bit provincial – and it’s not!

When I talk to alumni, irrespective of where they live, they always say that Nijmegen has been the best time of their university life, so I feel we, the city and the university, have to promote ourselves more – in the Netherlands and abroad. I already work on connecting my home in England, Newcastle, and Nijmegen with each other.

Two of my favorite places in Nijmegen are the Bistro Bar Bankoh, close to the Waal, and the Bar GLITCH, which has really nice cocktails. But generally, I just love having a walk along the Waalkade and down my favorite street in the city, the Lange Hezelstraat, with all its little boutiques and the great view of the Stevenskerk.

One thing that I do miss in Nijmegen is Uber – and when I first moved here, I did have a bit of a hard time finding all the necessary information that I needed for settling in Nijmegen. But there has been a lot of improvement since then, so I’m glad that it’s easier for expats who are moving to the city now."

More expat stories - Life in Nijmegen

Studying & working in Nijmegen

Nijmegen has a lot to offer in terms of studying, working and business. The oldest city in The Netherlands is also one of the largest student cities in the country. The city presents itself as a leading global player in solving social issues and problems. With its significant position in the Health & High Tech sector, Nijmegen belongs to the international top when it comes to improving the quality of life, healthcare and the development of high-quality technology for various social applications.

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