6 Benefits of Renting Apartments Abroad

Commence your hunt for finding housing abroad! ☆ Are you planning to move abroad for a few weeks, maybe a few months—or even a year? As you look over the options for coordinating housing through your program provider, you might be feeling overwhelmed by the price tag and not fully convinced their housing opportunities are quite for you. Maybe you want long term rental properties abroad, maybe you want to live in a trendier neighborhood, maybe you’re moving abroad with a friend who isn’t participating in your same program.

Lucky for you, there are many high-quality, trustworthy, and overall homey options for you to consider for renting abroad—not to mention, finding apartments abroad to rent can yield tons of awesome perks.

Thanks to newcomers in the market, renting abroad has never been easier (or more secure). Companies like AirBnb and VRBO have absolutely shattered the longstanding hotel industry as a solid option for finding housing abroad. For the first time in history, there’s a trend of “casual hoteliers” and young people moving abroad for short stints of time to intern, volunteer, work, or study. Alongside that uptick, more and more people are willing to let tourists into their homes for money. It’s often cheaper for the traveler, more interesting and culturally immersed, AND helps hospitable folks make a little money along the way.

Read on to learn MORE of the benefits of renting abroad for students.

The perks of finding housing abroad direct from owners

1.  Transparent security deposits

In most cases, hotels charge guests a certain amount as a deposit (refundable) upfront to secure things such as incidentals, amenity use, and breakages. This could be up to 50 dollars every day or more. As a traveler abroad, it can be difficult to anticipate how much they’ll hold on your credit card—and you never know what amount they’ll charge you for security.

That said, we haven’t come across any rule governing the amount these hotels should charge. The decision lies entirely on hotel owners—it means that they can charge low or high amounts.

[Choosing the Right Travel Accommodations]

Well, this scenario doesn’t occur when you book an apartment direct from owners. Instead, the owner comes clean with the amount you should pay. Without hidden “fees” or unexpected costs, you can budget accordingly for your stay. It might include cleaning fees, a security deposit, utilities, or other additional costs, but since it’s all lumped together, you don’t have to feel worried about a last-minute bill showing up under your door.

One thing to note: It’s helpful to get on the same page with your new landlord about what the cost does and does NOT include.

2.  More, better locations

Your program provider is likely going to coordinate housing a perfectly nice neighborhood with comfortable, familiar amenities (like a washer and dryer, for instance). That doesn’t mean that you’re going to be front and center with the nightlife that makes Tokyo great or the adorable Piccadilly Circus streets of London.

If you’re dead-set on experiencing a specific neighborhood in your new home and don’t mind a commute, then finding apartments to rent abroad in your area of choice is a must. There will be tons more options—and more local ones at that. This is your chance for a more immersive, independent living situation abroad.

3. Access to a modern kitchen

You are *so* over shared student dormitory kitchens, and no hotel continental breakfast can simply make up for the joy of brewing your own pot of coffee in the morning and watching the sunrise over your fave bagel. Renting abroad means access to a KITCHEN, which means dinner parties with new friends, staying on track to eat a healthy and balanced diet, and more space to experiment with a new recipe inspired by the street food you scarfed yesterday.

[5 Tips for Choosing Student Housing Abroad]

Finding apartments to rent abroad will give you access to a fully-packed kitchen—here, you can prepare your favorite meals, just as you would do if you were at home. We can’t stress enough how much the comfort and familiarity a kitchen can bring, ultimately improving the sustainability of your beloved life abroad.

4. Access to a dryer and washer

Apartment owners that rent out their homes have one major leg-up on hotels, short term vacation rentals, or even many program-provided housing options: convenient and easy access to a washer and dryer! No more lugging your laundry to the corner laundromat for a couple of hours. No more idle scrolling on your phone when you could be out and about exploring your new home or getting a jumpstart on lesson planning for next week’s TEFL classes. No more wasting energy on scrounging for quarters when you should be reviewing your big internship presentation for the company next week.

Renting abroad means clean clothes (one of the most under-appreciated and precious of items when living abroad!). So, whether you’re in Australia, the rainforest, or the steppes of Central Asia, access to laundry means you can stay fresh, stay folded, and stay happy. 

5.  Low price, high quality

Another benefit you’ll enjoy when you book an apartment direct from an owner is low price for high quality. Renting a room abroad is generally more affordable than accepting your program providers’ options at face value—in some cases, your apartment could be more local with less-frills than the provider’s pick. In others, your apartment could be a lot swankier, more modern, and a better location. It ultimately depends on YOUR housing needs and preferences and how a program providers’ options match that.

There are some program providers that require participants to live in provided housing—and that’s okay. But if you have the chance to book your own, and you love the idea of having more “me time” away from the group, then you’ll be happy choosing to rent from owners direct over staying in a hostel or hotel any day.

More resources for renting abroad

Think this through

Finding housing abroad independently should be taken seriously and with a word of caution. You should absolutely trust your gut throughout your correspondence with the renter, and check reviews on specific properties and renters to get more of an “inside scoop.” Use Facebook groups or vetted online services to get new leads on possible apartments to rent abroad. 

Also, be sure to double check and confirm your plans with your program provider—they’ll likely have some paperwork for you to fill out (#liability).

Questions to ask

Without further ado, before you click “submit payment” or “book this place” on apartments abroad to rent, take a few minutes to touch base with the owner and ask questions like: 

Money

• Are there any down payments I need to be aware of?
  
• When is rent due and how should I remit payment?
  
• Who bears the cost of maintenance problems?
  
• Do you need a copy of my visa or passport?
  
• What utilities are included in the cost? Internet, water, electricity?
  
• Is there a security deposit?

Other

• How many other people live here?
• How big is my room?
• Can I decorate?
  
• Can I have friends over?
  
• Are we sharing food or doing our own thing?

The bottom line

While program provided accommodations can be great, they’re not for everybody. If you’re a confident, savvy traveler and have been around the globe a time or two, having a hands-off approach to coordinate your own housing through renting abroad can make a ton of sense. Consider factors like location, cost, quality of housing, accessibility to your university/internship host company/language academy/school employer, and availability of perks like laundry and WIFI. 

Weigh the pros and cons of paying the extra for vetted accommodations through your program or saving some $$ and trusting the AirBnb’s of the world. And, if you are so brave as to take the leap and find apartments abroad to rent, you’re in for a whirlwind adventure (not to mention all those benefits we talked about above!).

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This article was written with the help of Owners Abroad. Owners Abroad is an online service that helps connect young travelers with short term apartment rentals abroad, as well as holiday and vacation rentals.