The biggest task concerning an Erasmus student on the first steps is finding accommodation!
Where should I live?
How much should i spend?
How can be close to my university?
Which is ideal fro an erasmus student?
Here are some tips for you.
Due to the high demand for renting rooms in shared student apartments, finding accommodation in Barcelona for an Erasmus student in recent years has become quite difficult.
We must also say that in recent years prices have risen considerably and the apartments located in the mere center have become almost prohibitive for an Erasmus.
However, if you search in the right places you can - sites, groups, apps that will be listed below - you can surely find student houses that are right for you. If your budget is not too excessive you will surely have to settle for being outside the center, perhaps 10 - 15 minutes by metro. But don't despair, the metro in Barcelona goes everywhere :)
Room or flat?
One of the biggest doubts is: do I rent an entire apartment, or a room in a shared flat?
The answer for an Erasmus student is obvious: the most convenient in terms of price and social integration is undoubtedly to look for a room in a shared flat.
Trustable sites where to find a room for rent
You can find a lot of sites and pages where flats and rooms are posted, sometimes are old ads, or untrusted ads, sometimes are not very clear.
This is the sites where you can find good rooms rentals ads:
Spotahome (discover how to get discount), Directly send an enquiry and pre - book online your room or flat.
Roomy App: easy check rooms fotos and directly chat with landlords
Idealista: is the biggest portal in Spain where you can find any kind of accommodations
Facebook groups: is where scams attack the most! Just don't trust strange profile with fake picture of girls or strange names. ENTER IN OUR: FACEBOOK GROUP
Tips for a good search
An important tip is certainly to always visit the apartment before renting.
Know the flatmates before everything, make sure that they fit with you before entering to an apartment.
This could be the first signal of a scam: be sure that the person that you talked with is the same that went to the appointment to show you the room
Make clear if the bills are included or not in the rent price
Don't trust who ask you money in advance
Avoid ads in Catalan
And above all, leave the deposit ( la fianza ) only in exchange for the keys.
Normally they ask 1/2 month of deposit and then the first month
If you want to see your deposit back at the end of the stay avoid paying the last month ;)
So here's where we recommend looking for your accommodation in Barcelona:
Scam allert
Internet is plenty of fake accounts who hook you with some rental proposal and then ask you money from remote and then disappear. Specially facebook.
If you get contact by some suspicious account that want to rent you some flat or room just avoid or ask us for advise.
To be 100% safe first of all ask to landlord to visit the apartment. Only after visiting the apartment and ensure that someone is living inside, ask for the keys and give the first month as deposit.
If you have any other question, or doubt or some new topic please ask us or leave a comment.
ErasmusBarcelonaOrgTeam
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