Why you should study abroad in Milan

Why I fell in love with Milan and why you will too.

I applied to the Fisher's Student Exchange program with not many expectations. As I had visited Milan before with family, I fell in love with the city’s integration of modern and classic Italian. One minute you can be on Bocconi’s extremely sleek campus and the next you can be strolling down the narrow cobblestone streets, the bright buildings reflecting off the canals, gelato in-hand. While applying to this program I put lots of thought into what I wanted to get out of this experience. If you’re having trouble deciding, I suggest you read some of my reasons for why you should choose Milan.

1.Business Hub

Milan is not only the financial capital of Italy, but highly ranked in terms of influential business cities within Europe. As mentioned above, Milan is a mix of new and old. The bustling financial districts are home to some huge companies around Europe and is a great place to get your foot in the door if you’d like to work abroad some day.

2.Fashion Capital

Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world. That being said, you have the chance to witness the energy and buzz that surrounds Fashion Week and even take parts in events around the city. Not to mention, Milan is where brands like Prada, Giorgio Armani, Attico, Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino and Versace were born. That being said, there are so many stores, museums and events centered around these brands that are worth checking out. When walking around Milan, you can tell that fashion sense is heightened, especially around Bocconi’s campus. If fashion is something that interests you, Milan is the place to be! I’ve learned so much in and out of my classes about the industry.

3.Italian Food and Culture

Going without saying, Italian food is fantastic. Before heading to Italy I was pretty limited on my Italian food knowledge. I knew I liked spaghetti and pizza, so I figured I was set. Of course I’m now much more vexed in the world of Italian food and can name 20 different types of pasta on the spot. The accessibility to pizza, gelato and pasta is almost overwhelming at first but I quickly got used to having such great food around. It’s also interesting to learn about the different areas of Italy and what foods stem from the region. I got to try cannolis where they are from in Sicily, lasagna from Milan and many other fun treats. If you’re a coffee lover, Italy has no shortage. I quickly learned the ‘coffee customs’, as in Italy it can be considered bizarre to get a cappuccino after 11am and the infinite variations of an espresso shot. It has been so fun to navigate the food culture of Italy, I can’t think of a better country food-wise.

4.Easy Access to Inner-Country and Out of Country Travel

Since Italy is so interconnected by train, it’s incredibly easy to catch a 10€ train to a nearby city. Each city has so much to discover within itself and they can be easy day trips or weekend trips. Besides the major cities that everyone should visit (Rome, Florence, Venice) there is still so much of Italy to visit. While there we took day trips to Turin and Verona. Both beautiful cities, Verona is where Romeo and Juliet is based, so it was incredible to see Juliet’s balcony from the story. On a weekend trip we took to Sicily for a weekend and indulged in all the great food options it’s home to. Sicily felt almost like an entirely different country with its tropical atmosphere. All weekend we ate cannoli and laid on the beach, can it get any better? While traveling around Italy is quite easy, being in Milan also gives you options to many other close countries given its location. It’s quite easy to catch a flight or train to Switzerland, France or Austria on shorthand notice.

5.Esteemed University

Aside from many other reasons not mentioned, Milan is the best place to study of course for its University. Bocconi is so highly regarded all around Europe and you can tell why, when you begin their courses. Bocconi has an excellent staff of esteemed professors from all around the world. They are truly some of the best in their craft and they make learning so cohesive and impactful. I decided to take two Fashion related courses this semester and the fantastic curriculum mixed with the resources of being in one of the fashion capitals of the world have yielded the best learning experience I’ve ever had. I can’t stress how great the school is, even when you mention to Italians that you go to Bocconi, you can see the sense of respect there is for the school.