Comfy and cozy in my fancy window-bench bed at a hotel.
Where to live when you go abroad- from weekend trips to moving to the country, find the right type of housing for you!
One of the questions that may come to mind when thinking of living or traveling to another country is, where can I live? More specifically, what housing options exist?
Relocating and long-term stays
When I studied abroad in 2014, my U.S. university, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point arranged for dorms for us. They chatted with the local university in Marburg to get us some rooms in their local dorms. You may not have this luxury, so I have done some research for you to make this process easier.
Dorms are a wonderful option for someone just moving to Germany, because they are like singular apartments. You get a room and usually a sink, maybe even a bathroom all to yourself. Students taking language courses count as “enrolled students,” so they can live in these dorms as well as normal students. To find dorms near where you want to live, I suggest contacting the local Studentenwerk (student services) of the university of your destination. They often have Studentenwohnheime (Dorms) or Gästehäuser (furnished apartments) for you to check out. I have a German friend who lives in the dorms and it costs her around 330 Euros a month for a furnished dorm, which is not bad.
I personally took a different option, and chose to live in a furnished apartment that is not part of the university. Lucas, my boyfriend, and I did not want to deal with finding furniture for an apartment, and at the time, this was one of the few apartments we could find that allowed cats (many apartments are okay with pets, especially dogs, but we were not finding these at the time). We did our searching while out of the region, and were almost scammed.
Searching for apartments from private sellers can be dangerous. The person who almost scammed us posted lovely photos, the apartment was in a great location, and the price made it very affordable for a furnished apartment. However, something seemed out of place. The man started demanding the money too fast, so we checked into it a bit more, and realized it was a scam.
I recommend never transferring money until you see the apartment in person! If we ever did the whole process again, we would have gotten a hotel and then taken a walk around the neighborhoods and physically looked for apartments.
Since we did not think of that, and wanted to have a place to immediately move into, for our cats, especially, we decided to trust an Immoblilienverwaltung (property management company). We read their reviews and did checks to make sure that they were a real company.
As it was, we managed to find a company that found us a few places that allowed pets. We had two to choose from, and as this whole process was done by phone, we did not get to see the place before we decided to go for it, except for through photos. But we had developed trust in the company, and were not disappointed. We ended up paying 840 Euros a month for a furnished apartment, and now seeing that the university offers furnished apartments for around 750 Euros a month, I wonder if we should move. But there is no guarantee that the university allows pets. Plus, I really like the neighborhood we live in, and think paying the extra 90 Euros each month is worth it.
Travel and short-term stays
Perhaps you envision traveling instead of moving to another country. Europe has a really fantastic option for those who want to spare a couple of Euros. Jugendherberge, or hostels, are a great way to go for the thriftiest among them. These are multi-person dorm rooms, often with bunk beds, that are shared with others of the same sex. There is a locker for your personal items, and I am not sure if you need to bring a lock for this or not. This is not my favorite option, because I need a little more comfort than the idea that my roommates may come barging in at 1 am. But many people don’t mind this option, as it is quite cheap. Hostels usually range around 30 Euros a night and up. (I thought it was around 20 Euros a night and up, but my current research is not supporting that theory!)
There is also Air BnB, but I have never used this. This is an option where people will rent out rooms of their homes/apartments or the whole place for a designated time fram. Lots of people find this is a good option, but is also more likely to be marketed as a scam, unfortunately, so it is worth it to check out the reviews and authenticity of the person offering the place for rent. Air BnB can also be used for long-term stays, if you find the right offer.
There are still hotels, which are a good option. Hotels can range from 50-100+ Euros a night (right now, 1 Euro is worth about 1.11 USD), so this is about the same price as in the US. Options get more expensive when you want to stay closer to a more touristy or central location, and also if you want all the specials like breakfast. A fair warning to those used to air conditioning- Air conditioners are not very popular in Europe, as it used to only be hot for a few days or weeks a year. Air conditioners did not really pay off. Bigger supermarkets and restaurants do have this, but not usually smaller hotels or apartments. If you are traveling in the summer (June-August) and find you need air conditioning, be sure to see if this is an option at your hotel before booking!
There are some US hotel chains in Germany, like Best Western, Holiday Inn and Hilton. If you would like to stay somewhere with familiarity, you can usually find some type of US hotel chain in major cities. This gets more scarce the farther away you are from a major city.
As far as reliable German/European chains, I recommend Aloft, B&B Hotels, and Ibis. I have had positive experiences at these hotels and would recommend them again. My personal favorite is B&B Hotels, because I like the colors of the hotel, the comfort I feel, and the friendliness of the staff, as well as their options for breakfast. I have never been disappointed.
In short, there are many options to pick from when deciding where to call home when you move to or travel to another country. Make sure you choose an option you are comfortable with, and don’t sell yourself too short. Europe offers a lot of options to travel cheaply, but if you are uncomfortable, it won’t be worth it.
“OUR BATTERED SUITCASES WERE PILED ON THE SIDEWALK AGAIN; WE HAD LONGER WAYS TO GO. BUT NO MATTER, THE ROAD IS LIFE.” -JACK KEROUAC