Where to live while in Spain? Apartment, Host Family, Residence Pro's and Con's

OK, you know you are coming to Spain, and you know that you are accepted into a program, but the looming question now is, "Where am I going to live?"

Of course, this element of your life abroad is fundamental, and is not something to walk into blindly.

Usually, students have the option to live with a host family, in a student residence, or in a shared student apartment while they are studying. There are pro's and con's to each. Below, you will find some explanations about each, as there may be differences from what you find to be true about these living conditions in your home country and what is the case here. We hope that this information serves you in choosing the best option.

Shared student apartment: Usually the shared student apartment means that you have your own room in an apartment or flat with two to four other housemates. In the majority of cases in Spain, the kitchen, bath, and living areas are shared between flatmates. The flats are usually fully furnished, and you rent the furniture along with the flat.

Pro's to living in a shared student apartment:

• Freedom to come and go as you please
• You can invite friends to your apartment, if your other flatmates are not in objection to that
• It is more economical (maybe)
• In some cases there is a cleaning service to come and clean the apartment

Con's to living in a shared student apartment:

• You have to be in charge of preparing all of your own meals, doing your laundry, etc.
• In some cases you have to put down a large deposit in order to hold your room
• Apartments in Madrid are often smaller than the norm and in general, no A/C, no internet connection
• You need to be careful about where you are living, not so much for reasons of safety, but for reasons of noise, convenience, proximity to the school, etc.
• In some cases you may have to sign a contract, and in this case, you must understand the terms and conditions of the contract comprehensively, and this is another somewhat stressful factor
• Landlords in Spain are not known to be the most prompt about fixing things that break, or being attentive and responsive. On the other hand, some landlords take the liberty of entering into the leased apartments whenever they like without prior warning.

If you think that this is the option for you, you may want to check out this website: www.loquo.com. Here people post rooms and apartments for rent all around Spain.

Host families: Living in a host family in Spain is something that many students find to be surprisingly enjoyable. Others never do really find the charm in it. Of course, you can never predict what kind of chemistry you will have with a group of complete strangers, and sometimes, it's a perfect fit, and other times it is just not successful. A few things to keep in mind about Spanish host families:

• Most of the host families that universities use are repeat host families that have been hosting students for a long time, and are very well versed in the ways of college students in general.
• In Spain, host families can be whole families, with two and three children, or they can be couples or in many cases, they are widows with older children who have the space and time to host students, prepare meals, etc.
• In Spain, most of the host families where the universities and language schools place students are families who would fall into the "middle class" socio-economic range, according to Spanish standards. In general they do count on the income that hosting a student provides.
• Families typically provide two or three meals per day, and count on students to take those meals at the same time each day
• Families usually launder (and iron) all clothing for the students
• You must adapt to the host family, and not expect the host family to adapt to you
• You can expect to have lots of freedom, you can come and go when you please (within certain perimeters)

Pro's to living with a host family

• Get to know Spanish people, foods, customs
• Practice your Spanish constantly
• You know you will always have homecooked food to eat and clean clothes
• An opportunity to develop long lasting relationship with a Spanish person
• Offers a certain stability
• Most of the time, you will be living relatively close to the school where you are studying
• Comfortable accommodations
  

Con's to living with a host family

• You live, to a certain degree, according to someone else's schedule and habits
• You will be limited in terms of inviting friends over to your house
• You can only receive calls at the host family's home
• Usually the host family is not keen on allowing you to prepare food (Spanish host mothers are reknowned for being possessive of their kitchens)
• Families sometimes have internet connections, but in general this is not the case

Residences

The residences in Spain are usually not directly associated with the universities. In many cases the residences are run by religious entitities, but this does not mean that religious practice is strictly enforced, or that students are obligated to participate in any activity that is not of their choosing. The residences can be large or small, with many amenities or few. However, more often than not the residences offer three meals per day (except Sundays in many cases), and there are almost always common spaces, study halls, TV rooms, internet connections, telephone, etc.

Pro's to living in a residence:

• Opportunity to meet students who are studying at other universities
• In most cases, there are many amenities such as wifi connection, study halls, common areas, gym, swimming pool...
• Usually the residences are quite close to the university
• Laundry service provided
• Social activities planned through the residence

Con's

• Not as much privacy
• Usually it's the most expensive option
• As a foreign student, you will in all likelihood be the exception, and it may be a bit of a challenge to find your "niche"

So, this is a long blog.. sorry about that! Comments are welcome from those of you who have had experiences already!