First steps in Milano

So I had some difficulties finding accomodation in Como, right? At least I thought so until I really started trying to find a place in Milan, which is the worst activity you can imagine. Every landlord is looking for someone staying for at least a year, and if you don't really speak Italian you have no chance to find it by yourself. Naive as I am I thought a metropolitan like this will always have some offers for those seaching for it, instead I had to realize if I don't make the contract rightaway after visiting a flat, I will end up homeless on the streets. Why didn't I go to one of the dormitories of Polimi? Because they are really expensive - much more than my monthly Erasmus scholarship - and they are full since the beginning of July.

From what I saw during this period of searching was that emailing never works really efficiently. You always need to call, several times, and make an appointment as soon as possible. Soon we figured out with the exchange guys that the best way would be to search for a place together and share sooms or flats. Usually it's much easier to find apartments for rent than single rooms - those are the ones everybody search for so you have dozes of students to outpace.

Thanks to the online sites for apartments in Milan and the cooperation of my fellows I found a flat 10 minutes away from the campus. I fell in love right after the moment I entered the flat. I just knew I have to take it. Now that's the thing you should avoid when searching for a place to live! I was so happy about being able to find this place that I forgot to really analyze it's conditions. Just ater signing the contract did I realize that the washing machine is the most ancient thing I've ever encountered, the wall in the bathroom is moldy, so are the beds in the room and in general the whole flat is a bit uncared-for.

The moment when I realized these I hated myself for taking the place too hasty. Then I started cleaning the flat, step by step for over 10 hours - it's a single room, livingroom, kitchen, bathroom complex, not a 10 hour surface normally - and by the end of it I fell once again in love with the place.

Later on I understood that signing a contract not only means that you have a great deal of money to pay, but also that you can require a lot of things from your landlord. Regarding the fact that I made the contract with my landlord directly and not through an agency it was easy to reach him and fortunately he always took care about the things I asked from him. It was something really hard for me, and it still is, to ask for something, and to measure what can I expect from my landlord.

And now to tell the truth once again I feel really lucky with my choice, though I wasn't aware of its true advantages when taking it. My accomodation is located close to the city centre in the vicinity of two metrolines, which means it's a much safer area than those further away, and much nicer aswell. What I really like about Milano are the trees and comfortable streets everywhere ending up in squares or parks full of people. Walking around you see amazing entrances everywhere - big contrast with the dirty sidewalks - and people mocing around everywhere. It is great how Italian people use their public spaces, they are constantly outside when the weather lets them doing so, and not only young people, children and elderly both take part in the city life.

Being so close to the campus means I can easily invite friends aswell, and they are likely to come, as it takes no effort to come over here instead of travelling home. Thanks to this I had the most amazing dinners and lunches, playing Dobble, watching movies and having Lalie sleeping over and having breakfast together before going to school. I would never give this moldy bliss for anything!