It’s a bit hard to deny the academic prowess of the University of Edinburgh (est. 1582), what with it being one of the major centers of the Enlightenment and having the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom (founder: Robert Louis Stevenson). (Slight) superficialities aside, the University of Edinburgh has been consistently ranked the best university in Scotland and among the best in the UK by the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. Moreover, it boasts over 67 sporting clubs, from Football (Soccer) to Korfball.  

Located throughout the historic, Medieval-and-Georgian-architecture-riddled city of Edinburgh, foreign students rave about accommodation in the network of university flats. While it can get a bit loud and messy—students share flats with up to 12 others—free internet and cleaning services are provided, and in a city as diverse as Edinburgh, international students are more likely to be spending most of their time at the nearby pub, rather than back at the flat. That said, don’t automatically assume other options are out of the question—finding accommodation in Edinburgh on your own that’s as cheap (or cheaper), cleaner, and a bit more on the calm side is completely possible.

[Primary image credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock; #2:iStockphoto/Thinkstock]