How to get a bicycle

If you are going to live for a while in The Netherlands, the bicycle is going to be essential for you to go anywhere. It doesn't matter how much it rains or how cold it is, the bus or the cab will be your last choice. Thereby, here we show you the most economic ways you can get a bike:

• Second hand shops: it is not too recommendable to purchase a new bike if you are an Erasmus student. Besides, bikes thefts are quite common and the better your bike is the more likely it is to disappear. Therefore, there are many second hand shops where prices can vary from 70€ to 160€ aproximately. This kind of shops usually buy students' bikes for a low price, then fix them and sell them again. If you keep the bill ticket, you may return it to the shop when you are leaving The Netherlands, you will earn more selling it to another student though. This is the shop in which I bought my bike in Nijmegen: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wheels-tweewielers-nijmegen
• Bikes for sale by other students: at the end of every semester students who finish their stay at The Netherlands generally sell their bikes to other students. Prices are very economic, from 40€ to 90€ aproximately. You can find advertisements in international students Facebook groups and in the entrances of student residences. This is definitely the cheapest way to get a bicycle, although you will assume the risk of buying a stolen bike. 

IMPORTANT: don't purchase the cheapest lock, it is worth spending some money on it. And make sure you ALWAYS lock your bike, even if you only have to buy some bread.