Getting started
How to prepare your housing search
Finding a place to live in Spain is all about patience and persistence. As in many places, it can be a long, time-consuming and frustrating process. The typical search takes at least a week to 10 days - don't make the mistake of thinking you will find something and be moving in after a few days!
Plan on doing a lot of walking. It's a great opportunity to discover the city that will be your new home. The first step to locating accommodation is to familiarize yourself with the different neighbourhoods (barrios). Buy yourself a pocket-sized street guide (callejero or guía urbana) and get to know the local bus and metro lines. Explore different areas, talk to people and spend some time walking around. This will help you decide where you want to live.
Once you have some target areas, the real fun begins. Make sure you know what you are looking for before you start. A list of desired characteristics for your future home is essential, but make sure you split it into "essential" and "nice-to-have" items.
Get your point across in Spanish
If you don't speak Spanish very well or are lacking in confidence on the phone, try to find someone who is willing to help. Like just about anywhere, people tend to have less patience with foreigners and will not struggle through a conversation that is going to take half an hour.
Take some time to write down the questions you want to ask in advance. Also, you might find it useful to prepare a few lines that you will use to describe who you are and what you are looking for. Some preparation might save you some trips to see apartments that are very different from what you want. One of our readers told us that when searching for a shared flat with other students he had come across a middle-aged woman renting out a room of her son who is not living at home any more and a recently widowed seventy-year old lawyer renting out his study. He now asks a few more questions before going to visit places!
Also in this section
- The rental market: How hard is it to find accommodation?
- Getting started: How to prepare your housing search
- Where to look: The best places to search for accommodation
- Paid services: Estate agents and room finding services
- Apointments: Visiting an apartment
- Contracts: What to bear in mind when signing a rental contract
- Glossary: Language help for your housing search
