Accommodation in Liège: where to live and how to choose?

Future Erasmus students are, well in the case of the vast majority of them, somewhat lost when it comes to the topic of renting a flat (kot). What is a "kot"? Is it better to live in a kot or in a student residence? If I do choose a kot, do I rent a studio, a flat, or an apartment? And which are the best areas to live in? The nicest neighbourhoods?

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What is a kot? A single kot? A studio? An apartment?

The word "kot" comes from Belgium, and does not exist in French. A kot is a room that you rent in a building. The majority of the time, the kitchen is shared with other students, as well as the bathroom. There usually isn't a living room or a dining room in a kot, unlike in flats in Spain, for example. When the kitchen and/or bathroom are not shared, we are talking about an individual kot or a studio (which are more expensive, of course). An apartment normally has a living room and, at best, a dining room: this would be a shared flat.

Renting a kot

If you have the opportunity to do an Erasmus placement in Liège, I would advise you to rent a kot (Belgian word) with four or five people; this way, you have a better atmosphere, you experience co-habitation, you can practise several languages... especially French! The rent prices vary between 250€ and 350€ a month (the bigger and nicer the kot is, the more expensive it will be). When there are more people living in a kot, the flat will be cheaper (this is normal). If you are a couple living together, the best thing to do would be to look for an apartment or a studio, as it's less expensive and sometimes you just end up paying for one double room. For example, my sister and her boyfriend live together and are only paying a total of 500€ a month. So, my sister pays half of that, which is 250€, meaning that her rent is really cheap.

To rent a kot, the best thing to do is to start searching for one from the 20th June onwards, as this is more or less when the university exam results are released and when people start to move out). You can search online, but not everything is posted on the internet, and, besides, you will have to meet with the owner to sign the contract anyway (nothing is done under the table in Belgium). There is always a contract, which is, well, different to how things are done in Spain. If you are staying for a whole year, the best thing to do is to come to Liège for the weekend (or, at best, a week) to look at advertisements and orange flyers posted on doors of buildings, and note down owners' phone numbers.

Then, you have to make an appointment to visit them. Sometimes, the owner arranges a viewing during the weekends. The best thing is to take a two week holiday and take your time to search properly. The best thing to do would be to look at advertisements whilst walking around Liège because sometimes the owners don't bother posting their available accommodation online. Besides, this allows you to see exactly where each kot is located in the city, and if it is far from the city centre, etc. Nevertheless, some websites are actually very useful: Erasmusu.com, Kots à Liège, and the ESN HEC website (Faculty of Economics), which helps Erasmus students find accommodation. My advice would be to search online before leaving your home country. Call the owners (it's better to do this than send emails) if possible and arrange a viewing. When you arrive, in theory, you will already have viewings arranged, and by spending time walking around the city looking for more advertisements, you will end up arranging even more.

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Student residences: Home and Student Hotel

I would advise against choosing a student residence: they are expensive, far from the city centre (in the case of Home, not Student Hotel - that's a different residence). Home is situated close to Sart Tilman, but this faculty is literally in the middle of the forest. Student Hotel is in the city centre, but it's not great if you want to integrate yourself into the Belgian culture and meet Belgian people, simply because, in this residence, there aren't any... But, my opinion has changed a little. It's true that the residences do present some advantages: you can have a contract of a month or longer, and you don't have to search for a kot (which is a nightmare in comparison, let's be honest).

But, the residences come at a greater cost, as a room in one of these is triple the price of a kot. My advice is: come to Liège, even if you are just here for one semester, to search for a kot before you go to a student residence. Look online, then look at the flyers and advertisements in and around the city centre. Make appointments to view them, and then, if nothing works out, you can still go to Student Hotel (because there is always availability). Student Hotel is kind of a last choice situation - one chosen out of sheer desperation. If you are studying at Sart Tilman in the forest (Faculty of Science), I would advise living in the city centre and taking the bus every day (everyone else does it). The bus routes that you could take are the 48 and 58. The rooms in the residences are small, and there is a lot of noise (of course, it is a building full of Erasmus students after all).

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Finding the perfect location with regards to the university faculties

There are three big university faculties in Liège: XX August (Philosophy and Languages), HEC (Economics, located on Louvrex Street), and Sart Tilman (Faculty of Science, located in the forest outside the city).

• The first two faculties - Philosophy and Languages (XX August) and HEC (Louvrex Street) - are situated in the city centre, so, in this case, renting a kot close-by is the best thing to do in one of the following locations:
  • Boulevard d'Avroy
  • Rue Jonfosse
  • Rue Saint Gilles
  • Close to the cathedral
  • Rogier Avenue
  • Rue Louvrex
  • Rue Darchis
  • Rue des Augustins
  • Rue Fabris
  • and, a little bit further out, there is Rue Hemricourt and Plan Incliné...

  Search for them on Google Maps.

  If you are studying in the city centre, you can live in Outremeuse (the area further away from the river). It's prettier and quieter, but is still close to the centre.

• The other faculty, the Faculty of Science, is Sart Tilman. It's located in higher Liège, in the forest, further out of the city (30 minutes by bus). But, be careful with this: if you study at Sart Tilman and you live in the city centre, don't search for flats in Outremeuse because the buses that go to Sart Tilman don't go past there (buses 48 and 58). But, you could walk to the closest stop if you wanted to. If you study at Sart Tilman, you must buy a bus pass. The best thing to do is to live in Boulevard d'Avroy, or anywhere close-by, like in the streets perpendicular to it, like:
  • Rue Darchis
  • Rue du Jardin Botanique
  • Rue des Augustins
  • Rue des Guillemins
  • Rue Hemricourt
  • Louvrex
  • Rue Saint Gilles, etc.

  as there are many bus stops in the vicinity. Anywhere in this area would be considered to be close to the city centre (approximately 10-15 minutes walk away).

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