When you are finally there...

Sooo... You finally found your perfect destination? The next step would be to consider where actually you are going to live. Believe me it's not very easy.

First of all, prepare yourself for lots and lots of compromises. ( I know.....) No, stop here. Let's start again... it's not that hard to find a great place to live, but the way you do this depends only on you. The first days of your stay are going to be decisive on your entire Erasmus. There are several options to choose from.

e.g. ONE

Make a booking in the most common and the cheapest hostel in your choosen city. This proposition is only for people who aren't afraid to meet new, usually crazy and strange people though. Staying in a hostel will bring you the best possibility to meet your future flatmates and to set up flat searchings.

It would be a good idea to choose people who can at least communicate with you. Make a simple test starting a conversation in English and check if the potential room-mate knows how to introduce himself (it's not always obvious if he's for e.g. Spanish).

Once you have an acceptable flatmate, start looking together for a flat. Check the Internet, ask for help young guys smiling to you every day nearby your hostel ( yes, they smile as nicely to handsome boys as to attractive girls) and accept help from your tutor (even the worst one.. :P).

Conditions in the hostel for sure will help you decide to rent sth as soon as possible. Choose a flat close to both the bars/ clubs and the university (or else you may never get there), available for your wallet and try not to destroy it too much, unless you don't care about getting back your deposit.

e.g. TWO

Apply for a place in some dormitory...  (it's not necessary to stay there for always, even if it's written down somewhere; remember that you can always escape from there...)





e.g. THREE

As described in the last note (How to avoid....): find yourself a foreign lover (it would be best if your were a girl).

e.g. FOUR

You can also stay in a hotel for some weeks, waiting for a miracle and expecting a flat with royal conditions like in Rome or Paris. In that case (especially if you can't speak the local language) don't forget to find yourself someone to help you. Preferably someone driving his own car.


Anyway, open your mind for the new flat experience! Don't lose your great imagination (this little bugs in the kitchen are not cockroaches ^^) and forget about your cosy room in your country. It always could have been worse!