The Erasmus impact study which was published by the European Commission in 2014, revealed that a lot of those participating in the popular European educational exchange programme meet their long-term partner while studying abroad – and that people who met during this magical time are more likely to have transnational relationships.

But does this fact also turn out to be true for friendships? Did all the magic fade away, after everyone got back to his/her familiar environment or is this special “study-year-abroad” bond meant to last forever? Find out why you are going to survive the after-university-welcome-to-real-life-shock with your Erasmus friends in the following, becoming BFF’s for real:

You were all in the same boat…
You all were living abroad for the first time in your life, not knowing anyone when arriving at the student’s dorm and sharing the same worries and expectations: Will my Erasmus money last until the end of the month? What if I don’t pass the exam? When will the Italians throw the next party? Yes, that unavoidably brings you closer together.

Birds of a feather flock together
You studied together, thus knowing the others’ strengths, weaknesses, interests and working style. In your adult life you are more likely to talk about things related to your professional career with your ex-fellow students, rather than someone of your friends who may be working in other areas and may not know you that well when it comes to your professional expertise.

Who you gonna call?
Secrets and post-university challenges can easily be shared with your Erasmus friends, due to the fact that in most cases neither your colleagues, nor your family or friends know that stranger you met a long, long time ago when studying abroad – and they will hardly ever bump into each other in the supermarket…

Forever young
Taking a trip back to the city you were studying back then, will somehow work like a time machine. However, be aware that “traveling back in time” may only work if you undergo this trip with one of your former fellow students…otherwise no one will ever understand why you have to go to this certain burger place at two o’clock in the morning (WARNING: Dear Post-Erasmus student, you are not used to eat fast-food in the middle of the night any longer and your metabolic processes slowed down in the last few years. Once on your lip…just sayin’)

Hey ho, let’s go
Good to know, that there is someone you can visit occasionally, every time you are in desperate need for a weekend trip 🙂