Finding accommodation as a student, especially if you are moving to a faraway location, can be quite challenging. Common difficulties that students in the US face include high costs, deceiving listings, and finding compatible roommates.
Here are some ways to overcome housing challenges for those of you who are about to move for your studies.
1. Apply for college housing
If you want to live the most stereotypical college experience, consider applying for the university dormitories. While the quality of on-campus residences can vary significantly, they all have a key thing in common – they’re close to academic buildings, libraries, and dining halls. Depending on the price, you could be living in small rooms with shared bathrooms or in apartment-style suites.
To find a dorm, you should go to your college’s housing page, where you will most likely find all the information you need about dorm options, amenities, costs, and the application process. If you would rather share the room with someone similar in interests and habits, check out if your college offers roommate-matching questionnaires.
2. Opt for an off-campus option
The main advantage of off-campus apartments is a huge variety of options that you have available. For example, you will have more to choose from in terms of accommodation type, location, and cost. Better yet, you will be able to decide whether you want to share the house with others or not.
You can start searching for a house by looking through online listings and determining a reasonable budget, perhaps capping rent at about 30% of your monthly income while taking into account other costs such as security deposits and utilities. It is highly recommended to start your search early, as housing demand in college towns is often higher than the offer.
Sometimes listers don’t disclose all the relevant information about a property. To make sure you avoid losing time with misleading listings, consider reverse searching the address as an aid to your property search. For example, you can go to Nuwber, enter an address, and find useful information about the owners, the neighborhood, and the house itself.
3. Use Craigslist
People use Craigslist for all sorts of stuff, including listing housing options. Whether you are looking for room rentals, shared housing opportunities, or anything else real-estate-related, Craigslist has it.
One advantage of the platform is that it allows you to directly negotiate with current tenants or landlords, which, depending on your negotiation skills, may mean better deals.
That being said, be aware that Craigslist is also a place where you might encounter scams, which means you should always check the legitimacy of listings and not send any money before you are absolutely sure you know what you are paying for.
4. Turn to a roommate matching service
If you would rather share your house with others to save money and/or socialize, don’t underestimate the power of roommate matching services. Popular examples include Roomsurf and Roomster, which use algorithms to match individuals based on criteria such as habits, interests, schedules, and budget. In theory, these matching algorithms should significantly reduce the chances of ending up with an incompatible roommate.
If you are new in town, don’t have any friends with you, and don’t want to go to a college dorm, roommate matching services might be exactly what you want. That being said, keep in mind that, just as on dating apps, people may not be honest about themselves or their intentions.
5. Talk to a local real estate agent
Perhaps not a popular option among college students is using an agent to find a home. While not the cheapest option on the table, working with a real estate agent means you won’t have to spend much time searching for a house. The extent to which using such services is worth it will depend on your available budget and the degree to which you are overwhelmed by the available housing options (or lack of them).
Besides saving time, a real estate agent will help you understand things such as lease agreements and negotiating terms, which can be very useful for those who have never lived by themselves. That being said, it’s probably best to use this option only if none of the above works or is compatible with your interests.
6. Try student Co-ops
Student Co-operatives, better known as Co-ops, can be a viable option for those looking to participate in community-oriented activities. More specifically, those who participate in co-ops are expected to share responsibilities and participate in the management of their community. Under this arrangement, you will typically have your own room and share common spaces such as the kitchen and the bathroom.
An interesting aspect of co-op housing is that, unlike traditional dorms, students are fully responsible for the management of the properties, having to make decisions about house rules, financing, and so on.
While this option tends to be less expensive compared to others due to the role of shared responsibility in reducing costs, it requires a constant commitment that not everyone is willing or able to give.
Bottom line: Finding housing as a student is easier than it seems
Moving to a new location, especially if you have never lived on your own, can be overwhelming. With so many housing options available for students, many find it difficult to locate the one that is right for them, especially when costs are an important consideration.
Fortunately, this task is far less challenging than a few decades ago thanks to the Internet. Most colleges have a decent infrastructure in place to guide students and, better yet, there are plenty of online tools that you can use to find a place.
Regardless of the option you choose, it is best practice to avoid time pressure and plan in advance. The earlier you start, the more likely you are to find a home that will meet your expectations.
