So basically you just studied/worked on projects for a year, lived very cheaply in a shared flat, cooked your own food? Worth it do you think?

For that kind of money, I would rather go to a different country as well. Like Thailand. Find a nice place in a city with a co-working space. If you'd be ok eating asian food, life can be very cheap (1,5 USD a meal depending on where you buy the food). A nice apartment + gym + swimming pool can be rented pretty cheap as well, maybe starting around 300 USD a month and more expensive depending on the size of the apartment.

I'm not the traveling kind of guy. Also I have many close people here where I live.

Pretty much, yes.

Gave me new perspectives on life. Went into self-employment after that year. Also I invested much time in my peronal life, stopped doing monogamy and had much time for my two partners.