The reason for me to study in Leiden was because I could, the opportunity was presented and it sounded like an adventure. It was also a good thing to have on my CV for future studies and job application. Since there was only one choice for the exchange in my third semester my choice was simple and the information was good and reoccurring. 

I flew with Norwegian airlines it was easy to book on their site and they had Wi-Fi on the airplane.

I was in Leiden about 2 weeks before the classes started and 1 week before the introduction week started. The introduction week was very fun, helped in getting to know other exchange students and learn useful things about the student life in Leiden. It also was very helpful in informing what we should do to avoid extra paperwork with registration. During the introduction week I received a Dutch SIM card for my phone, it's much cheaper than using your Swedish one, the reception gets better and you can use internet on your phone without being financially ruined.

It was only me and a friend of mine who went on the exchange to Leiden and on arrival we simply wandered around the airport until we found a help desk that could direct us to the train towards Leiden. Once we arrived to Leiden my friend got picked up by a girl living in his dorm while I got on a bus. In retrospect I can recommend speaking with someone in your dorm (if you live in one) to pick you up at the train station and direct you. Since I lacked this guidance I got lost and spent 40 minutes traveling with 50 kilos of luggage in the wrong direction.
When I finally arrived to my dorm I was greeted by a common room filled with Dutch speaking strangers. I introduced myself and immediately got a bear passed to me and everything was good. I felt like I had been there for a month already and that I was a part of the group.

I was told to go to town hall to sign up for a temporary town residence thing, but they required a copy of my birth certificate. I still filled in the forms but didn't provide my certificate, after 2 weeks I got a temporary Dutch social security number and there were no complications. 
My other friend who traveled down with me didn't sign at town hall but still got his grades, I therefore believe that the registration is only useful if you are arrive from outside the EU or if you want to open a bank account in Leiden.

It might be good to get a bank account since very few shops accept Visa or MasterCard, instead they have their own system with maestro cards. You can live there without problem without a card, I did. But then you need to constantly carry large amounts of cash on your person.

Thanks to the Erasmus scholarship money I received the economy was never a problem. I didn’t take a student loan and after the semester I had spent 8000 kr of my own savings above the student grant combined with the scholarship, with those money I also spent a weekend in Paris.

Everything but pizza is much cheaper in the Netherlands and especially their tasty bear. 
There is a student card you can buy through the school but there was no real reason to get it. The card gave you a small discount on parties organized by the LUMC, they were few and to break even you had to attend all of them.

The monthly rent for my student apartment was 3300 kr and it was cheap compared to what other students had to pay, up towards 4500 kr in the neighboring city.

Leiden housing is a Facebook group that could be very helpful in finding a place to live with, here people post apartments for rent. 
In a worst case scenario makes lots of friends as soon as possible so that you can crash on their couches if it takes you longer than expected to find housing.

The studies was very different from KI, the teaching method is heavily based around studying on your own with a small amount of lectures. This teaching method did not fit well with me, but students who usually spend lots of time studying at home willbe alright. 
A good study technique can carry you along way. If you are lacking in that aspect or if your technique is based around lectures like mine was you’re going to have a bad time. 
Because of the few lectures and usually the basic level they were on reading at home between the lectures and workgroups is very important.

To get the most out of the studies I recomend staying and studieing in one of LUMC:s many group rooms. It's quit but you can still talk and the wifi is reliable. 
Inside of the hospital there are benches but only in the hallways, there are lots of people walking by and the wifi reseption is terrible. 
The library is also an option but you can not converse in there and it often gets filld up quickliy.

Dutch is like a mix between German, English and Swedish it is easy to understand a few words and follow the simpler stories when reading the underlines on TV. The culture is so similar to Sweden I really couldn’t tell the difference, well if you ignore the pot smoking and the languish.

The lecturers were mostly competent english spekers, but some of them were so bad it made it close to impossible to follow the lecture. There were possibilities to take Dutch classes either with teachers at a university or with a Dutch students.

The studies was very different from KI, the teaching method is heavily based around studying on your own with a small amount of lectures. This teaching method did not fit well with me, but students who usually spend lots of time studying at home will be alright.

A good study technique can carry you along way. If you are lacking in that aspect or if your technique is based around lectures like mine was, you’re going to have a bad time. 
Because of the few lectures and usually the basic level they were on reading at home between the lectures and workgroups is very important.

To get the most out of the studies I recommend staying and studying in one of LUMC many group rooms. It's quit but you can still talk and the Wi-Fi is reliable. 
Inside of the hospital there are benches but only in the hallways, there are lots of people walking by and the Wi-Fi reception is terrible. 
The library is also an option but you cannot converse in there and it often gets filled up quickly.