If you live abroad and you are considering studying at Bocconi, Cattolica, Politecnico or another of the universities in the Milan area, then you need to relocate!
So let’s see what are the most common options to find a place to stay and also the associated costs. Well yes, the costs associated to living and renting in Milan can be frightening!
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University residences
University residences are often a solution that combines practicality and affordability. Each university has associated facilities that offer accommodation in single and double rooms. The buildings are often very close to the university, but sometimes may be less close to branch campuses.
Usually common areas, especially kitchens and living rooms, are shared with many other students, with all the complications that can result (!). There are also university residences that offer actual mini-apartments (studios) in which all facilities are present. The latter, however, are far more expensive and not at a “subsidized rate.”
Let us now enter the economic issue. University residences often offer housing at two types of rates: a “full” rate and a “subsidized” rate. The subsidized rate is awarded to students but with low income, and the award is usually made through scholarships. The “subsidized rate” often depends on how low the family income is.
There are also multi-campus university residences and merit colleges, i.e., accommodating students from different universities: see, for example, https://www.campluscollege.it/
Below are the reference links for Bocconi, Cattolica, Politecnico di Milano.
A room in apartment
A common solution is to find a room (or a bed) in a student/guest apartment. There are two possibilities here:
- Find an apartment with multiple rooms, already rented by students (not necessarily known/known), with a free bed
- Renting an apartment with multiple rooms to be rented with other/already known students
Here we focus on the former case, as the latter is very similar to looking for a studio apartment.
In the former case, you cannot rely on the most common rental sites but need to search through secondary channels, in particular:
● Room rental sites, such as Roomgo
● Social groups (facebook, telegram, reddit) dedicated to college students and room rentals for college students. Here is an example
Two things to keep in mind when renting rooms are (1) beware of scams and fraudulent requests for money, perhaps even if only to visit the apartment, and (2) proactively contact those who place ads.
The cost of a room or of a bed can start from €350 (for a bed in a double room) and from €500 for a single room, depending on location and context (e.g., utilities included or not included).
This solution is usually a good way to keep costs down and take advantage of contracts (often sublet situations) that are very flexible, with no or very short notice, and that do not require deposits and special guarantees. On the other hand, these are apartments shared with strangers, with all the day-to-day problems one can consequently incur.
Rent an apartment
The last solution is to rent an entire apartment by entering into an ad hoc contract, either alone or sharing with friends. This solution is less risky in terms of the daily environment, as you are alone or sharing the apartment with known people.
To find an apartment, the top-rated means are:
● Specific real estate buying and selling (and renting) sites, such as Immobiliare.it or Idealista, to name a few, or more generic ones, such as Subito.it
● Social groups
● Real estate agencies in the area of interest
This option turns out to be often time-consuming to implement and expensive. In fact, in addition to the cost of the apartment, guarantees and/or deposits (which are often 3 months of rent) are required, not to mention agency fees (if any) at the signing of the contract, which can range from one to two months of rent.
Costs clearly vary widely depending on the solution you find, but the advice is to get an idea by looking directly at the sites.
You just have to decide how to proceed and look for your next college house! Best of luck 🙂
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