I'm looking for suggestions where to live and study a PhD in Europe, in quite a specific setting which I'll sketch below. I got a background in international relations, philosophy, (bachelors) sustainable entrepreneurship and identity studies, (masters) with working experience in the Dutch government for the Common Agricultural Policy (the main agricultural policy of the EU).
I want to do research on human-nature relationships, specifically a PhD on relational values concerning farmers. My intention is to do this PhD at a Dutch University (I'm Dutch) and do anthropological/ethnographic field research in another country so I would be able to make a comparative study, perhaps being able to make a link between European identity, farmer identity, and the role of nature/environment in these identities (relational values). So I'm wondering *which universities in Europe host departments or research hubs known for this topic, and/or, just as important, have a very active research community on this topic?*
Now I'm looking for suggestions on places that:
\- Preferably are in Southern or Eastern Europe (I speak Dutch, English, Spanish and a bit of German so a country where they either speak good English or Spanish would be preferable)
\- Are a university town or at least a place that is student and left wing oriented and art oriented, in the sense that it is vibrant and accesible if you're interested in live music, taking part in storytelling, theatre, etc.
\- Is queer friendly and has queer opportunities
\- Are not massive cities that are very squared and car focused, but are rather ‘round’ in the sense of more old age European or have an more organic, meandering, feeling that is wired towards pedestrians and bikers. I lived in Dublin for a while and although I loved Ireland, the car based and very full infrastructure of Dublin mainly influenced my decision not to stay.
\- Are green or at least have neighborhoods (affordable) that one can live and are green, without constant huge car noise. You got far roads everywhere ofcourse but there's a difference between a single road and massive highways being the main lines in a city or big town.
\- Is close to nature, forests, hills, mountains, rivers, streams. I'm not very much a beach person nor do I like huge open spaces (as the nature in Norway can be like). I prefer green, even rainy areas with loads of moss, cute streams and forests where you can get away and truly be alone and gone from city noise.
For comparative purposes, and for those that might be familiar with the name, I'm kind of looking to live in a city like Utrecht, but then outside of the Netherlands, close to nature.
Giving this prompt to Chatgpt did not get me very far so I'm super keen to see what the community has to say!