Getting to Know Your Study Abroad City

When I arrived in Dublin for my internship abroad two weeks ago, I was beyond overwhelmed. I had never lived in a big city before, coming from a mid-sized town in the Midwest, and suddenly, I had to figure out how to live in the center of a capitol city—both alone and in a foreign country. It seemed like too big of a task to handle. My first day here, I shut myself in my room and refused to come out. The thought of trying to familiarize myself with an entire city was too scary, and it seemed easier to avoid venturing out unless I absolutely had to.

Now, though, I’ve gone from someone too terrified to navigate Dublin to someone who can hop on the Luas light rail or set out in any direction without needing a GPS. Whenever I have free time, I can’t stay locked up in my room; I go sightseeing, I go shopping, or I just find a pretty side street to wander down. The version of me from two weeks ago would be jaw-dropped at how fast I’ve transformed into a functioning city girl. It hasn’t been an easy process, becoming familiar with Dublin and learning my way around, but now, I feel like I have a good grip on what it has in store. Here are some of the steps I took to get to know Dublin that I think anyone studying abroad can benefit from early on in their program.

Figure out where the “essentials” are in your neighborhood

The best place to start in any city is your own neighborhood. Even if you have classes or an internship in other parts of the city, your neighborhood is where you’ll start and end each day. Take some time once you arrive to find the grocery stores, bus stops/train stations, pharmacies, and hospitals near your housing. Not only will this help you begin navigating your city on a much more manageable level, but it will also prepare you for any issues that arise, like not having food in the fridge or running out of a medication you need. Plus, take a look at what other restaurants, cafes, stores, and attractions are nearby. While these might not be as essential as a grocery store or a hospital, these can be great places to start exploring once you feel up to it.

Visit the top tourist attractions

They’re popular for a reason! They might be crowded with tourists or on the pricier side, but seeing popular places in your city can help you connect with its history and culture. These can include museums, historical/heritage sites, parks, restaurants, shopping districts, entertainment, and more. If you don’t know what these places are, a quick search on Google or social media will give you plenty of spots worth looking into.

Within my first week in Dublin, I visited Trinity College, Croke Park, the Temple Bar district, St. Stephen’s Green, Grafton Street, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Getting some sightseeing out of the way early into my program is actually what helped me learn the layout of Dublin the fastest, along with giving me great historical and cultural insight into Irish life.

Go off the beaten path and explore

Even if you choose to visit the top tourist attractions in your city, you’re not a tourist. As a study abroad student, you’re immersing yourself into a different culture on a much deeper level than an average visitor would. Try to get to know your city from the perspective of a local. The best way to do this is to simply wander—take a stroll or hop on a bus somewhere new, and see what you stumble across. I’ve found some of my favorite shops and cafes in Dublin from this method, places I might have never found if I only stuck to the most popular districts or what people on TikTok recommended. You’ll discover sides to your city you never knew existed!

Ask the locals

Taking advice from my Irish instructors and internship coworkers has been a game changer for getting to know Dublin. As useful as Google searches, social media, and wandering can be when familiarizing yourself with your city, the best recommendations are going to come from the people who have lived there for ten, twenty, thirty years. Not only will you get excellent sightseeing and shopping recommendations from these people, but they’re also your greatest resource for practical advice, like where to go to get the cheapest groceries, which neighborhoods or streets to avoid, and which popular tourist attractions have good alternatives. 

For example, on my second day here, I was in desperate need of a fan for my bedroom. Instead of roaming around Dublin trying to find fans in stores I knew nothing about, I asked one of the IES Abroad staff working with my program where I could find one. She immediately rattled of three different places nearby that had them and told me which ones would be the cheapest, too! It’s instances like this that saved me so much time and energy as I was settling into Dublin.