I have to say that I have spent a few days trying to figure out exactly what I want, and I realised that I want pretty much the same kind of accommodation that I have in the UK – a single room with a double bed.
I have to say that this is definitely not the standard in Italy – although the accommodation is sometimes less expensive, you often end up sharing a room (hence you get a double room with a single bed).
Another thing you need to watch out for are the ‘other’ expenses (e.g. utilities) that are usually included in the rent when you live in the UK – they do not tend to be included in Italy, so you might need to pay extra €30-50 for the electricity, gas, internet, and so on. Finally, you should consider the distance to your university department (and whether you want to walk, cycle, or use the public transport) and important facilities (supermarkets, stations, hospitals, pubs and clubs…) that you will need to use.
I have found some tips for where to look (there is a really useful database of Erasmus + final reports which can be used to look up your destination and read the stories of outgoing Czech exchange students – can’t say I have found anything like that for the UK students though, but with the help of Google Translate, you might be able to get some info!); apparently, Facebook is the thing now, so it’s best to look up FB groups, for example ‘Erasmus Padova 2019/2020, Apartments and bikes for ESN Padova,’ or, apparently the best one, ‘CERCO, OFFRO CASA O STANZE IN AFFITTO A PADOVA’. There really is a lot! However, if you decided to look for accommodation on social media, you need to be very careful about who you trust and send your money and documents. I highly recommend to search for whoever advertises rooms or flats online and in other groups – you might come across people who are trying to steal your money, and this can often be prevented by looking up their names and email addresses.
There are other websites you can look at, for example Housing Anywhere, which is a service that apparently co-operates with the University of Padua (and is crazily expensive in my opinion), or Erasmusu (a privately owned ‘social media site’ that aims to connect students, advertise jobs and accommodation, so you should check that out!). One of the disadvantages of looking for private accommodation in Italy is that most of the posts are in Italian (regardless of the target audience!) and you are unlikely to understand to the writing and possibly the contract (again, Google Translate!), so you might want to consider the last option, which is university accommodation.
The dorms in Padova are managed by the SASSA service, and as an Erasmus student, you are entitled to apply for the university accommodation. The prices range (approx. €220-600), and the accommodation will be of lower quality in my opinion (I will let you know if I find out!) and might be a bit noisy (because dorm parties, right?), but it’s pretty easy to apply online, and I am expecting all the paperwork to be in English.
tl;dr
The Italian student accommodation differs – the rooms are often shared, with a single bed. You need co consider the distance to uni and important facilities. Utilities are often not included in the rent. You can search Facebook groups (be careful here, and look the person up first), use third-party websites, or use the SASSA (university accommodation) service in Padua.
I managed to find a room with the SASSA Service for an amazing price (just over €200 a month) and I can’t wait to find out more about it and share my thoughts with you!
Best,
Ondrej