5 Websites That Will Make the Summer Housing Search Easy
This blog is written by our Campus Ambassador, Heather. Heather attends the University of Notre Dame in Indiana where she is majoring in Business Management with a minor in Anthropology. She has interned at her school's Alumni Association and for the Intern Queen herself! She will be interning for Deloitte Consulting in Chicago this summer.
So you got your dream internship in a big city far from home. First comes the elation of success. Then the panic….where ever will you live? Never fear! InternQueen.com is here with words of wisdom about finding your new home, sweet home – no matter where you’re headed.
1) Local University Websites – Ok, so technically this isn’t just one site, but it is still 100% the best place to start looking! Most universities in big cities rent out their dorm space to interns. It’s perfect – the students are gone for the summer – just when you need housing the most! So Google Search “Colleges and Universities in [your city]” and see what turns up! It might take some digging, but you can find the phone number of the housing office and call them for more information.
2) airbnb.com – airbnb is a site that allows you to search for rooms for rent, apartment subleases, and so on! There are listings in almost 20,000 cities and many different countries! The website basically operates as a craigslist especially for short-term rentals. The great thing? Since you are renting from real people, you can choose the length of your stay. It’s perfect if you only have a 6 week internship and don’t want to pay for a three month summer lease.
3) Campusrent.com – this goes along with that university housing idea. However, if you are so done with staying in dorms, I would use this site. College students all across the nation post their summer sublease details for awesome apartments! Just another suggestion, if you are wary of using a website – reach out to your sorority/fraternity’s chapters at a University in your destination city. Or ask friends if they know anyone that goes there. It’s a smaller world than you realize and you can find a lot of great deals through connections you never knew you had!
4) Mycheapapartments.com – So you’re internship is unpaid. That means you are on a pretty tight budget, right? Then check out this site. You just enter the city or zip code and it will find you the cheapest apartment listings out there. Just make sure to do your research before you agree to a lease!
5) easyroommate.com – In almost every situation, you are probably going to be living with someone else. Maybe it’s a roommate, or someone who lives in the other room of your apartment. Either way, it can be a little scary to live with some random person. So why not find a roommate first and then find a place to live together? This site has roommate screening AND housing listings. Find someone you like who wants to live in the same city, and look together for a place to keep rates low! I think the website name is a little unfortunate, but I’m sure the people posting on it are high-class folks!
I hope this helps you to find the perfect place for the summer! If none of these sites work for you, make sure to contact your school’s career center. They will have a lot of resources and insight for you, as well! Bon Voyage, my fellow interns!
