Finding Accommodation in Murcia, Spain

In order to find my accommodation I was equipped with two things; or rather two things and one person. I had my phone and my Spanish bank card and one Spanish-speaking person (a very helpful friend) as people from Murcia are difficult to understand, and even more so on the telephone.

Online

I strongly advise against looking for accommodation on the internet, simply because you're not signing a contact and you run the risk of arriving there and finding the apartment already being rented out to somebody else, or another nasty surprise is that it doesn't look how it did in the photos. You might also come across this kind of problem when you visit somewhere expecting to see the amazing apartment the landlord described to you, but at least when you're there you haven't already agreed to something, and if you do want it, you can start moving your things in straight away and you know the room is yours then.

The best thing to do

Look in Murcia! The best thing to do is to look when you're in Murcia and I know by experience that if you want a shared apartment then it's better to search at the end of August or start of September, between the 1st and 10th. This is because at the start of August, people are at the beach and nobody will be there to do house viewings, so you won't have much to choose from. However, people start coming back at the start of September as they've already paid for their own flat. I recommend that you take a walk in the city centre with your debit card and read the adverts that you'll find in the streets, on the lamp posts and on buildings, especially at La Merced, the university's central campus, as they're not bad there. You should give them a ring as soon as you see one that you're interested in and don't hesitate to ask to see the apartment right away if the person is in, as you don't waste any time this way. You should try calling in the mornings as most students wake up late so they don't bother trying too early on and then they also sleep again in the afternoon for siesta, so try during this time too, which is when I would sometimes call. Even if you can't call until later on, just give them a ring in the evening, as it's better than nothing!

If you're staying for six months

If you're just there for a semester, some people might refuse renting the room out to you, but this doesn't happen very often as there are more places up for rent than there is demand, so it's not too difficult to find somewhere. However, if you're ever in this situation, I advise you to smooth-talk your way out of it with phrases like "I'm staying for a year, I'm just waiting for confirmation" or "I have a friend who's going to take my room after me" etc. Either way you won't have a problem finding somebody to take your place I think. Use Erasmusu to find an Erasmus student to take your room!

Source

Where to live?

Murcia is a little city, therefore I'd say that everywhere is suitable. However, sometimes there are adverts in the city centre but the apartment is actually in Espinardo for example, which is the science university located outside the centre. Therefore, always read where it says the apartment is on the advert carefully. People normally put how many minutes it takes to walk to La Merced university, but if it doesn't, you can always ask them on the phone to be sure. I recommend all the areas around Gran Vía (the big street) but be aware that if you do live there, it may be noisy. I also recommend anywhere near the river (it's long), Plaza Circular and Plaza de Toros. Las Tascas is a collection of streets located in the centre- I've lived there before, on the third floor, above a bar. I could actually hear my flat mates more than the bar, but my room was on the third floor and my room wasn't facing the street. There are a lot of people in the streets at night time so I can only advise that you don't rent a room facing the street.

Whatever you do, be cautious of the location as it could be really noisy living near to the busy spots where everybody meets up. When you do find a magnificent room, you should weigh up the pros and cons.