Finding a home in Milan... How, where and at what price?

Hi everyone,

Today I want to talk to you about how and where to look for a home in Milan.

Looking for a home, especially in such a large and populous city, is not easy at all, and it can be even more challenging when you are not in the city itself, but when you are looking for an accommodation remotely for your Erasmus period.

Where should you look for a flat?

There are many websites where you can look for a room or a flat, but honestly I do not recommend any of them. Indeed, the houses that you'll find on those websites are often owned by agencies, so not only you will have to pay quite a big sum of money to open the contract, but also an equally high amount as payment for the service of the agency.

Moreover, since the agency has to make you sign a contract, you probably won't be allowed to stay just for six months.

All of this does not apply when you rent from private individuals, because, even if you have to sign a contract, they will let you stay for a limited amount of time.

But the real question is: where can I find private tenants?

The best way to find them is to use Facebook. On Facebook, there are many groups that post rental offers in Milan. The two most used and reliable groups are "Rents for People in a Hurry" and "Milan rents".

In these Facebook groups many announcements for houses and rooms for rent are published with various information regarding the premises.

If you are interested in a house or a room that you saw in a post, you simply need to message privately the person who posted the ad.

With the new Facebook system, however, when you send a message to the person that posted the advertisement - since you probably have not added her to your friends list - they will receive a message request first. Due to the fact that this person will receive many requests for messages during the day, it will take some time for you to actually get a response, and it may not be positive.

I can say from my experience, because I had to rent the room I stayed at in Milan when I left, that the tenant will only read the first 100 messages, if they are very patient, or else they will read many, many less!

So, the only thing you can do is to be as fast as possible in texting the renters. If, however, you find a post that you particularly like, but that was published some time ago, you can try to comment under the post, as well as sending a message in private, in the hope to attract attention.

At this point you just have to wait.

Perhaps it is useless to say this, but do not trust anyone who asks you for money in advance, as these people often turn out to be scammers!

How to choose a home

First of all, discard all the posts that don't include any photos, and those that require money to be paid upfront. After that, you should obviously rule out all the venues that are too far away from the location of your University or of your work place.

Milan is very well served by public transport, so if you find a home that is located far away from your destination, but that is well connected, you should consider it as a solution, because in Milan public transport is usually punctual, and many vehicles are available at different times of the day.

For example, I rented my accommodation in Porta Vittoria, which is a district in the south-east of the city, and I study in the Bovisa quarter, which is completely on the opposite side of Milan, located in the north-west. Despite this, I can get to my University in 15 minutes by train.

Areas to avoid

There are areas of Milan that should be avoided, as they are really seedy, and others that are best disregarded, as they are really poorly connected.

After discarding all locations outside the center of Milan, all of the neighborhoods that I am going to list are those in the city center that you should be keeping in mind. And, just a tip: no Quartoggiaro (set this in stone), and no Rho fiera (it's too far away! )

However, here I will try to list the various areas that I suggest you to consider for your accommodation, and I will describe them according to the aspects that I deem most important.

Porta Venezia

This is a very beautiful area, and it's also really well connected.

Finding a home here is not easy, in fact free locations are usually found towards the "periphery" of this neighborhood. Moreover, the houses that are located here are almost in the center, so the price is very high.

But if you find an offer in this area, take advantage of it, because it is really one of my favorite spots in Milan, both for location and landscape.

Source: seiacasamilano.it

Dateo

Another area that I really like, and that is located nearby Porta Venezia, is Dateo: here you can find lots of rooms for a good price and you will still be well served by public transport.

In Dateo, you can find both the railway and many other means of transport, including the famous 92 bus line, which travels from one side of Milan to the other.

Even if it is really close to Porta Venezia, it is more cost effective, it is inhabited by a big community of students, and with a bicycle you can get to pretty much all the main locations in five or ten minutes.

This residential area is very peaceful, so it's possible to go out at night without finding too much trouble.

There is also a large park where you can relax, sunbathe and play sports: I highly recommended it!

Source: idealista.it

Porta Vittoria

An area which is adjacent to Dateo is Porta Vittoria.

What we said for Dateo goes for Porta Vittoria too, as it is a good residential area well connected to the city via the train lined.

This area is located a little further in the outskirts of Milan, so pay attention to which area of Porta Vittoria the house is located in, and check whether it is still adjacent to the Dateo-Porta Venezia neighborhood, otherwise you'll risk of being too far away, in the suburbs!

I live in this area, very close to Dateo, and I am near the Esselunga supermarket and the train line, so it's perfect.

Prices here are excellent, and houses are often refurnished to accommodate students. This is the best area if you are looking for a single, economic room.

Source: blog. urbanfile.org

Garibaldi

Garibaldi is a wonderful neighborhood, although in my opinion it is poorly connected.

Both the railway and the green and lilac subway lines pass here, but unfortunately these transports are out of service in the evening, and the other means of transport are really scarce. Therefore, it may prove quite difficult to find ways to go back home.

Garibaldi is also a very expensive area, but it is very busy in the evening.

Source: gibart.it

Isola

Isola is one of the areas adjacent to Garibaldi, a small neighborhood where artists and creative people live: it is another of my favorite neighborhoods.

Once, it was a rundown neighborhood and no one has ever considered it as a possibility to live in, until it was slowly restored to its former beauty, also thanks to the many craft shops that were opened in its streets.

Right now this district's houses are rented for very high prices, as it is a beautiful bohemian, radical chic neighborhood, and it is very trendy.

This neighborhood is very busy in the evening too. There are many bars, almost in every corner and in every street. However, much like Garibaldi, it is not really well connected: the railway and the lilac line of the subway pass here, but there are almost no comfortable night transports.

Source: www.ilgiorno.it

The Central Station Area

The Central Station area is one of those neighborhoods that I don't appreciate very much, because it seems to me one of the most chaotic by day and dangerous by night.

Usually this district is simply referred to as Centrale, as it is located near the central station (Stazione Centrale) of Milan. This area is visited by not so reliable people, and at night it could be very risky to go out.

Despite this, I must say that I have two friends who live happily in this block, as it offers all the basic services you may need, and is also very well connected.

The prices here are not very high, just quite average.

Source: ilgiorno.it

Lambrate - Piola

Lambrate is a fairly remote area: it is a neighborhood that is revitalized and comes to life during the "Fuorisalone" week, and at the moment the house prices are still relatively low.

For the rest of the year, it is an area that I do not recommend.

However, near the Polytechnic of Milan (Piola area), there are some good offers of houses for rent: it is the only area which I would encourage you to keep an eye out on.

Otherwise, the whole Lambrate district is quite dangerous. And if you want to be safe when you go out at night, it's better to choose another neighborhood.

Source: ilgiornaledellarchitettura.com

Sempione

This area gets its name from the large park in its vicinity, called Parco Sempione.

It's a fantastic district. It is a residential neighborhood for the "rich", which is why the houses you can find here have often very high prices, and they're usually found in premium condos.

The neighborhood is very calm, but comes alive at night and it is an excellent area to get aperitifs.

Source: wikipedia.org

Porta Romana

As for Porta Romana, it is a great neighborhood to live in, but try to look for a home in the area near the city center.

The parts of this neighborhood that extend further into the suburbs are absolutely not recommendable.

So, avoid the areas near metro stops like Crocette, Corvetto or Porto di Mare to live in, but come here in the evening to discover interesting places - such as bars and nightclubs.

If you want to find a house here in Porta Romana, look for a place that is close to a metro station, because this area is not really well connected to the rest of the city: there are several trams that pass here, but obviously they don't work at night.

Source: blog. urbanfile.org

Porta Genova - Navigli

This area is great to go out at night; however, the houses here are often old and very expensive.

What is more, this site is poorly connected, since the underground station is located far away from the "famous" areas of the canals. There are some trams, but if you live here you will be very, very far from the city center!

Source: mondointasca.org

Bovisa

The Bovisa Polytechnich area is one of the least recommendable ones. Here are located the headquarters of the Polytechnic's Design Department: despite this, it is not just a student area by day and it's unwise to come here at night.

Many students that are not familiar with Milan, knowing that they have to study near Bovisa, try to find a home in this area or nearby.

You may be tempted by the house prices, which are very low, but ask yourself why they are! Here you won't be safe at all if you go out alone at night, especially if you are a girl. There have been many cases of thefts and robberies to students that were going back home in the evening, having finished university, from the Bovisa station.

Obviously this is not something that happens on the daily, but if you can choose where you want to live, spend some extra money to live in a safer area.

Source: comune.milano.it

Prices

The question everyone asks is: what prices should I expect?

For what concerns rental companies, prices are often quite increased, but it must be said that Milan's premises have, on average, very high prices.

Obviously, it depends on the area. In the areas near the suburbs - so, for example, Dateo, Porta Vittoria, Parco Sempione, Bovisa and Porta Romana - you can find rooms for two people for 200 or 300€ maximum, while for single rooms the prices range from 350 to 450€.

As for the central areas, you can find rooms from 100€ more than the ones before, to 200-300€ more per area, based on how close you are to the city center.

A lot depends on the house, too. Some houses are very old and poorly maintained, and I do not recommend living in these houses, because they usually have problems with boilers, appliances and it is, in my opinion, sad to live there.

So, since it's not difficult to find houses that have been recently renovated and provide new furniture and appliances, with freshly painted walls and that do not cost much.

The best months to look for an accomodation

Try to look for a room during periods when students have finished school or University, and they have to find a housemate who will replace the one who's leaving.

Usually, the periods with the most offers are when semesters end, starting from a month beforehand.

At the end of the semester, every course - from workshops to masters - ends, so you will have more chances to find good houses available.

Hence, these are the months to keep in mind to look for a room: the end of December and beginning of January for houses that will be free from February and March, or June and July for homes that will be free from September or October.

Looking for an accommodation before these dates is rather useless, and the same thing goes for later dates. The number of ads will still be significant, but you will have a lot less chances to find rooms that are affordable, in a good area and with nice interiors.

Now that you know everything you could need, there is nothing left but to find a home!