Are all IELTS test centers created equal?

I have now taken IELTS in four different countries: Russia, the US, Uzbekistan, and one county in Europe that will remain undisclosed.

Sometimes I hear people discuss whether one test center is better than the other. In my experience, all test venues are more or less the same. A test center wouldn't get accredited if it didn't meet certain criteria.

Of course, some conditions differ and might matter. To me, what matters is lighting, room temperature, and chairs. (The chairs at the Institute of Irrigation test venue in Tashkent are engraved on my heart forever. 💜)

But these are subjective. And also subject to change over time.

One thing is crucial though. And I realized it only in my latest attempt in Europe, when I looked down at the keyboard in horror.

Some European keyboards are not QWERTY keyboards! Some letters and punctuation marks are on different keys! ❗️

This is really worth looking into.

Other than that, it's worth focusing on skills, not on external conditions.