How to move to another country? Part 1: Accommodation

View from my 10th floor room in Buenos Aires, taken the day I arrived

First of all - congratulations! Moving to a new country is going to be a huge and life changing experience for you! But as with all lifechanging events, it will probably bring lots of doubt and anxiety as well. No worries, you are not alone!

The questions I get asked most frequently are

• "How do I find a place to stay in a new country?

• "How can you find a place to live not knowing the language?"

• "I don't know anything about this place, how could I find a place to live?"

The first time I moved to a new country alone was Buenos Aires. My then-boyfriend was going on a trip to Asia, and I didn't want to sit at home in Denmark and miss him. So I decided to move to a completely unknown country whose language I did not speak. I also wanted to be sure it was a place where I knew no-one. I gave it a lot of thought and I chose Buenos Aires. I bought a one way ticket, and told my parents that their 19 year old daughter was leaving for Argentina. They were not thrilled, and when I told them "don't worry, I already found a place to live on Craigslist", they were even more anxious.

I cried on the plane. What was I doing? Why would I leave everyone behind? What would happen to me? And then I started smiling; What would happen? Who would I meet? What would I experience? Where would I go? Everything was unplanned. I did not have one single day in the future planned.

The room on Craigslist was very real and indeed existing (luckily), on the 10th floor with a balcony. I stood there, overlooking the concrete buildings on my first day and thought "I am gonna take over this city". The photo of me is Fefe, 19 years old after having lived in Argentina for about 3 months.

In my first 6 months in Buenos Aires I managed to learn Spanish, get a job, get a group of friends and a great knowledge of the city. I moved there again a few years later, and I now consider Buenos Aires my second home.

You can do that with any country as well, just follow my guide:

All you have is a plane ticket and a blank calendar. Is that the case? Then keep on reading the first step of my guide, the accomodation chapter.

1: Get a room!

First of all, you need to be accomodated in some way, so you will have a home your first days in location X. You can either:

Couchsurf:

How do I use Couchsurfing? Go to couchsurfing.com and create a profile. Take the time to fill in everything in a nice, personal and thorough way - it will pay off. Now find yourself a host that suits you and your interests. In this case you would like a host that has some time to hang out and help you a little. Write the host, and tell what you can do in return - maybe you are a super cook? Remember: be personal in your approach - read their profile. You will need someone who can host you for 5-7 days, so you have enough time to find something else.

Pros:

• free

• you meet a local

• you get to hang out with his or hers friends

• you might get a new friend already

Cons:

• you live in someone elses house

• you feel obligated to clean and cook

• you can't stay forever

• you might not get along

• difficult to get a host

Live in a hostel:

For quick and easy accommodation choose a nice hostel (find one on tripadvisor.com) and book for 7 days. Most hostels are quite cheap, and even offer free breakfast. At the hostel you probably won't meet any locals. The people staying there are travelers, and mostly the receptionist are travelers that decided to stay. The people working at hostels are usually hired because they are super friendly and helpful, so they will definitely be willing to help you - after all, it is their job. If you are in need of a job: remember to be fun, charming and responsible whenever the manager is around - it might come in handy one day. I stayed at a hostel 4 days in Rio, and later got offered a job there.

Pros:

• you don't feel obligated to do anything

• people are sociable

• people are curious about the place you are in

• the staff will help you

• you might get a job there

Cons:

• there are few or no locals

• you have to pay

• lots of distractions

2: Fly on your own!

Okay, so now you've got a base, and your life here at location X is already taking it's form. Let us find something more permanent to really get you settled!

Facebook:

Maybe you have already added a few people within your first days here. Or maybe someone in your network knows someone who knows somebody in the area you are in. No matter what, making a status update on facebook never hurts! Just write something simple,

"Hey guys, I am looking for a place in Rio de Janeiro, do you know anyone who could be of help? Thanks!

You will often be surprised by the help you will get, and how everyone always knows someone in the weirdest places.

Let us say you met some locals at a party, you hang out, the vibe is nice. Promise me this: you will ask for their facebook. It may feel a little embarrassing, but they will come in handy. I met a guy at a party in Rio on a vacation there, and talked to him for maybe half an hour. I asked for his facebook, then went to Denmark the next day. After one month there I decided to move to Rio, and I only really knew one person there. Knew is a big word to use here, I knew his name and that he lived in Rio and had dreads and sang samba. It didn't stop me from writing him:

He sent me the facebook of a really nice girl from Norway. When I arrived in Rio two weeks later I lived in a huge house drawn by the artist who lived there. There was a jacuzzi on the roof and a panoramic view on Rio. I later moved to a garage, but that is another story. The point: use facebook shamelessly!

Community:

Talk about your situation constantly, and learn how to say that you are looking for a place to stay in whatever language they speak where you are. When you shop groceries let them know, if you meet people at a party tell them you are looking. Sooner than you think you will have a place to live.

The internet:

This is a rather dubious option when you are a foreigner but I will list it anyway, since it helped me a few times. You can use pages such as craigslist.org, or find out what the local website for apartments is called. Usually when you rent something officially you will need some proof that you are gonna stay or you have to have more than just a tourist visa. This is not the case in all countries, but it is common. Other than that, all these websites are usually targeted young, desperate travelers, so they are very expensive. And as we all know the internet has many scams, especially craigslist - don't be naive.

Conclusion:

Preferably, use your network to get a place to stay. Facebook and people around you are your best options to find a cheap decent place. Don't have a network? Create one! Go out, talk, dance, be nice, and the place of your dreams will be within your reach.

If I missed out some great tips, please feel free to share!

Good luck on the search, and on your new exciting location

Love

FEFE