Studying abroad is a unique experience. You can get to know a foreign country and a completely different culture. However, it is important to plan your stay well. You should choose a place of study where you can learn content that fits perfectly with your study goals. It is also important to choose a country that interests you culturally and where you would like to live for a few months. Through the Erasmus exchange programme, you will find countless opportunities for this within Europe. One of the biggest problems during a stay abroad is finding a place to live. Especially in the big cities, it is not easy to find suitable accommodation. Moreover, the search is often very difficult from afar. Here we give you some tips on how to tackle this challenge.
The first place to go: the Counselling Centre for Foreign Students
In Germany, there is probably a counselling office for foreign students at every university. This is also common at most other European universities. As a rule, this should be your first point of contact. Here you can get a lot of important information - from how to study abroad to what to do in your free time. As a rule, the staff can also give you tips on finding a place to live. It is often possible, for example, to get a room in a student hall of residence. This has a number of advantages. Rooms in student halls of residence are not only particularly inexpensive. You also come into contact with many young people from all over the world. This makes it easy to settle into a new place. However, these rooms offer only moderate comfort. If you want nicer accommodation and a bit more privacy, you will have to look for a room or flat on the private housing market. This is also the case if there is no room left in the student hall of residence. The Counselling Centre for International Students can also be helpful here. The staff can give you lots of tips on where you can find a room in the city in question.
Searching locally - a difficult task
The classic way to find a room or flat is to search locally. The local newspapers often contain advertisements from private flat owners. There are also lots of notices at the university. If you are interested in accommodation, you can go and see it in person. It is also important to talk to the landlord in person. However, this type of accommodation search is very difficult, especially for international students, because they have to be on site. It is possible to travel before the start of your studies to look for a flat. However, this involves a lot of effort. Another alternative is to first stay in a hotel and then start looking for accommodation locally. However, this is quite expensive - especially considering that it can take longer to find a room. Therefore, it is not necessarily recommended for foreign students to look for accommodation in this way.
Searching via the internet
Probably the most practical alternative is to search for a flat or room for your semester abroad on the internet. This way, you can search from the comfort of your own home and without any additional costs. Extensive photos and sometimes videos give you a good idea of the accommodation. You can book your accommodation quickly and easily for the entire duration of your stay. In this way, you can be sure that a suitable flat or room will be available before you start studying abroad. However, you must make sure that you choose a suitable portal. Many providers specialise in holiday accommodation. If you book a longer stay here, it can be expensive. Other providers, on the other hand, offer ordinary rentals. These, too, are usually not suitable if you only want to spend one or two semesters at the university in question. Portals like myroom24.com, on the other hand, specialise in stays of medium duration. Here you can find suitable offers for a duration of several weeks or months.
Foreign students in Germany: the search for accommodation in the most important cities
There are not only many students from Germany who spend one or two semesters at a university in another country. Thousands of Erasmus students also come to Germany every year. They are also looking for suitable accommodation here. Therefore, we present some popular destinations for studying abroad and give you some tips for finding a flat.
Berlin
Berlin is the largest city in Germany and offers countless opportunities, especially for young people. The range of courses on offer here is also impressive. There are a total of 42 different universities here. The largest of these are the Humboldt University, the Free University and the Technical University. If you're spending your semester abroad in Berlin, make sure that the individual institutes are spread throughout the city. Humboldt University, for example, has a large campus in the Treptow-Köpenick district. However, some institutes are also located in Berlin Mitte. The Free University, on the other hand, is mainly located in Dahlem. To make sure that your trip to the university doesn't take too long, you should first find out exactly where your lectures will take place and then look for accommodation nearby.
Munich
Munich is also a popular destination for foreign students. The Ludwig Maximilian University is one of the largest universities in Germany. Its headquarters are located directly north of the city centre. On the one hand, this makes it difficult to find a room in the immediate vicinity. On the other hand, the relevant institutes are very easy to reach by public transport, so you can also rent a flat in another part of the city. However, there is also a large campus in Martinsried-Großhadern on the south-western outskirts of the city.
Hamburg
The individual institutes and faculties of the University of Hamburg are spread throughout the city. The main building is located near Dammtor station. Depending on the department, however, your lectures and seminars will take place at very different locations. Therefore, it is very important to find out where the lectures and seminars will be held and then plan your accommodation accordingly.
Frankfurt
Most of the departments at the University of Frankfurt are located on the Westend Campus. This is located northwest of the city centre in a fairly central location. Most of the natural sciences, on the other hand, are located in the Riedberg district. The Institute of Computer Science and parts of the cultural and linguistic sciences, on the other hand, are located on the Bockenheim campus. Therefore, there is also a fairly wide spread in Frankfurt, which you should definitely take into account when looking for accommodation.
Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart offers a wide range of opportunities, especially in the field of engineering. However, the natural sciences and humanities are also represented. In addition, there is also the University of Hohenheim, which is located somewhat outside the city in the district of Plieningen. While the University of Stuttgart is located very close to the city centre and is easily accessible by public transport, it is advisable for students of the University of Hohenheim to look for a flat in the south of the city in order to reach the university campus more easily.
Finding a flat is crucial to the success of studying abroad
Finding a flat is without a doubt one of the most difficult parts of studying abroad. However, with the right help, you're sure to find a room that suits you - whether you want to spend your semester abroad in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart or a completely different city. At myroom24.com, you'll discover a wide range of options.