How I Found Housing in Madrid

The number one thing I was stressed about before coming to Spain was finding housing. Finding a roommate(s) and a decent apartment in a good location was all so important to me and I knew this could completely change my experience in Spain. Do I want international students as roommates? Do I only want American auxiliars as my roommates? And do I want only other girls or does having boys as roommates not matter to me?

These are all normal questions to have. I can honestly say that the apartment hunting wasn’t AS stressful as I made myself believe it would be. EVERYBODY doing CIEE and other auxiliar programs are in the same position in August/September. Everybody wants a good roommate, everybody wants a nice apartment, and everybody wants to find one as soon as possible.

My number one piece of advice to someone searching for housing is do not settle for anything less than what you want. If you have a bad feeling about a place and it isn’t living up to your expectations, do not just sign a lease because it's somewhere to stay. My roommate and I got really lucky and only visited one other apartment before finding our current apartment. The place was basically a closet. It had one window in each room that was probably 4 inches x 4 inches. The rooms were ridiculously small and all it had was a kitchen, no couch or seating to eat. It was 600 euros a month. We were so close to signing the lease because we had four days left in CIEE’s provided housing and we did not want to pay for an Airbnb or a hostel. I am SO glad we didn’t settle for that apartment.

My roommate and I get along really well. We have our own friends and our own activities we like to do so we aren’t constantly with eachother but we also have a lot of fun hanging out and talking in the kitchen. We met during orientation on a walking tour of the neighborhood Chamberí, where we live now. My school is in this neighborhood and the bus she needs to take to school is at a station close to our apartment. It’s crazy to think that I was signed up to explore a different area on that walking tour but changed my mind last minute. I’m so happy I didn’t stick to my original plan or we may not have met.

We pay 395 euros a month each and pay utilities every other month (so about 420 euros each every other month). We have SO much natural light in both of our rooms and in our kitchen/living room area. As soon as i walked out onto our balcony I knew this place was the one.

My landlord is a really sweet elderly lady who basically leaves us alone until we have to pay rent on the 5th of every month. She required a full months rent security deposit and we pay our rent in cash every month. She is super helpful and when we had an urgent problem with our radiator leaking water she was at our apartment within 30 minutes. Before signing the contract we made sure to ask certain questions:

• What would happen if one of the roommates decided to leave? Would I be left to pay for her portion of the rent?
• How do you want rent every month? (cash, withdrawal, etc.)

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect. None of the Americans I have met in Spain say that their apartments are perfect, but I knew coming into this process that I would be here for 10 months and it 100% gets the job done.

Here is a list of some of the most common differences between a Spanish apartment and an American apartment:

• You will almost definitely not have a dryer. They are virtually non existent in Spain. Get used to having to wait all day for your clothes to dry on a drying rack or a wire.
• It’s incredibly common to have a hot plate as an alternative to a gas/electric stove.
• It’s also pretty rare to find a typical oven in Spain. I know a few people who have one, but as for the majority of my auxiliar friends, we all use toaster ovens.
• Ok i'm not sure if this is just my apartment or if it’s common, but our shower is a handheld hose. My roommate and I can’t just stand in the shower and let hot water rain down on us like at home. We have to put the hose down, shampoo, pick it back up, and hold the shower head above to rinse the shampoo out. It’s not ideal and I definitely miss a good shower but that’s what weekend trips in Airbnbs and hostels are for, right?
• Yes, we have a mini fridge for the both of us. And yes, surprisingly it works out really well. We are pretty good about only using our designated shelves/drawers and neither of us really buy a lot of frozen foods so I’m still really shocked that that isn’t a problem for either of us.

My advice for you is to have a list of what you really want to find in an apartment and be open minded. Be flexible if not everything on your list is present in an apartment, but also know when to draw the line. My roommate and I knew we both really wanted an outdoor space of some kind and a lot of natural light so this apartment was perfect for us. But if we really liked to cook/bake it probably wouldn’t have worked out for us.

As for actually finding an apartment, CIEE will help with the websites you should use when you arrive in Spain. I emailed/called about 10 apartments on Idealista (the most common apartment hunting website in Spain) and I heard back from about 4 landlords. The most efficient way is to call the number listed on Idealista instead of emailing, and contact all of the apartments that you are slightly interested in. It doesn’t hurt to visit an apartment, also DO NOT sign a contract without visiting the apartment. There are a lot of scams on these websites so you really need to be smart.

As for finding a roommate, don’t be afraid to just talk to everybody in orientation. You’re all there to make friends and find someone to live with. I probably asked 10 people if they wanted to live together before finally finding my roommate during an orientation event. I also knew I wanted to live with an American. But if you do not have any interest in a specific nationality/age group, I recommend searching for individual rooms instead of entire apartments. It’s much easier to find housing with people from other countries who are studying or working abroad if you are only searching for one room in an apartment.

The most important thing is to not let this process scare you from moving abroad. It is over within the first two weeks- month you are here and then you get to explore the world. Do not be discouraged. Everything will work out. Good luck!