{"id":103,"date":"2017-01-11T16:32:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T16:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/?page_id=103"},"modified":"2022-02-14T21:10:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T21:10:35","slug":"housing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/living-in-italy\/housing\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students have the option of securing housing independently or participating in the pre-arrival housing selection process offered by the School in Italy. In either case, students are responsible for choosing and paying for their housing following the rules established by the proprietor and\/or the School in Italy. Failure to adhere to the housing policies will result in you being required to change your residence, which may mean losing your rental deposit or payments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All students must complete the Housing Questionnaire in the online study abroad portal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once the questionnaire has been received, the housing coordinator will email students who have requested to be placed in an accommodation by the School in Italy. The housing questionnaire will help the School in Italy to match students with a suitable accommodation. The choice of this process is binding and you should not expect to change your accommodation once you arrive in Italy. Please note that Middlebury is not contractually responsible for housing arrangements and does not have authority over any lodgings.<\/p>\n

Pre-Arrival Selection Process<\/h3>\n

Many students prefer to pre-select a housing option before traveling to Italy, as this may alleviate the stress of searching for accommodations during the first weeks of the program.\u00a0 If you wish to participate in the pre-arrival housing selection process through the School in Italy, expect to pay your first month\u2019s rent plus a security deposit equivalent to one month\u2019s rent in advance to reserve the residence.<\/p>\n

When making a commitment prior to arrival in Italy, if not otherwise specified in a contract, you will be responsible for two month\u2019s rent and are required to give at least one month\u2019s notice to the proprietor should you decide to move out. It is not possible to rent a room for less than a month, therefore the rent is calculated on a monthly basis (e.g. March 1-31) and you will have to pay for an entire month, even if you are not there for the entire month. You should also keep this in mind in case you decide to give your notice to the proprietor (e.g., if you plan to leave in June, you should notify your proprietor at least before the end of April). When signing a lease contract, unless otherwise specified, you should notify the proprietor of your departure at least three months in advance.<\/p>\n

Remember that the University of Florence does not have a central campus like U.S. colleges and universities do, so housing may be a considerable distance from both the Middlebury Sede and\/or the university buildings where you will be taking your courses.<\/p>\n

Finding Housing Independently<\/h3>\n

If you choose to wait until you arrive in Italy to arrange your own housing, the School in Italy can provide you with some assistance on how to go about finding housing, although the School in Italy may not have information regarding specific apartments for rent. You should consider various options and several different places before deciding where to live.<\/p>\n

If you choose to find housing independently, we suggest you arrive early and have a lot of patience.<\/p>\n

Before choosing any housing option, it is your responsibility to READ ALL CONTRACTS CAREFULLY AND UNDERSTAND THE TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND \u201cFINE PRINT\u201d. Middlebury does not have any authority to make agreements concerning lodging with Italian hosts and\/or proprietors; however, you should not hesitate to ask for assistance if something is unclear.<\/p>\n

The Sede offices are closed during the months of August and late December\/early January, therefore staff will not<\/strong> be available to aid students in their search during those periods.<\/p>\n

Housing Options<\/h3>\n

There are generally two types of housing arrangements in Italy: 1) homestays or 2) shared apartments.\u00a0 Please be aware that not all housing arrangements will allow for individual doors to be locked.<\/p>\n

\u00a0(1) Homestays<\/h4>\n

There is no doubt that living in an Italian home can be a rewarding experience for a study abroad student who is willing to adapt to a different culture and lifestyle. The use of Italian in the home and contact with Italians in their daily routine are among the advantages of this experience. Nevertheless, you must be aware that integration into the Italian home is gradual and that many things taken for granted in our own homes are often viewed from a different perspective in an Italian household. Meals are a way to become part of the household and have a more active participation in the Italian way of life. Dinner with the host family becomes the time to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and to better familiarize yourself with the Italian way of life and improve your Italian language skills.<\/p>\n

Although living with an Italian host may sound ideal, it is important to consider the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • privacy may be relatively limited;<\/li>\n
  • while a \u201chomestay\u201d may involve cultural exchange, it is also a business agreement<\/strong> in which each party has particular rules by which to abide;<\/li>\n
  • it is unlikely that a host will allow you to have friends or guests over;<\/li>\n
  • utilities in Italy are costly; guests (even paying guests) should be careful to turn lights off when leaving a room, keep showers short, and minimize hot water use. If you have phone privileges, keep calls short and to a minimum. In case of excessive utility bills you may be required to pay extra charges;<\/li>\n
  • kitchen privileges may or may not be granted;<\/li>\n
  • if you commit to a homestay, you are financially obligated for a minimum of two months\u2019 rent.<\/span> If you sign a contract, you might not be able to move out before the expiration of the contract. Breaking a verbal or written agreement will jeopardize future students\u2019 ability to stay with these hosts. The School in Italy has developed special relationships with these families, who trust that our students will be responsible for fulfilling their obligations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>(2)\u00a0 Apartments Shared with Italians<\/h4>\n

    If you share an apartment with Italians you will be immersed in the language. However, it might be difficult to find an accommodation with Italian students as most of these apartments are often not centrally located and may be of different standards. Moreover, most Florentine students still live with their families, and those from other towns and cities often arrange to live together far in advance. It is not always easy for international students to break into Italian social circles and find housing with those students who do live in apartments. Academic year students usually have a better chance of finding Italian students as roommates by either accepting a pre-arranged living situation for one semester and then moving in with Italian friends for the second semester, or by pursuing apartment leads from internet sites and Facebook university groups far in advance. However, you may have difficulty changing housing mid-year without breaching an existing contract or alienating friends with whom prior agreements have been made.<\/p>\n

    For some, obtaining and maintaining an apartment are experiences they have not had before. It requires an initiative that, in most cases, has up to now been the responsibility of parents, guardians, or college housing officials. Utilities are not usually included in the rent, and certain house repairs (leaking faucets, appliance malfunctions, etc.) are expected to be paid for by the tenant. Students are advised to obtain in writing what responsibilities they have for making repairs to major appliances.<\/p>\n

    Tenants must conform to anti-terrorism laws<\/strong>\u00a0by informing immediately the proprietor of the number of people actually living in the apartment (this includes friends and relatives staying for more than 24 hours.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Students have the option of securing housing independently or participating in the pre-arrival housing selection process offered by the School in Italy. In either case, students are responsible for choosing and paying for their housing following the rules established by the proprietor and\/or the School in Italy. Failure to adhere to the housing policies will result in you being required<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":100,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-103","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/103\/revisions\/553"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/grad-italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}