Rental accommodations are generally available around college campuses. Your international student advisor, department, campus newspaper, local newspaper, and information from other students are the basic sources of information for rental accommodations.

Most students, at least initially, share accommodations with other student(s) to manage expenses and have company. In some instances, a handful of students may rent a house, but most students rent apartments (commonly used term for flats). As you meet other students, or through information on campus, you are likely to find other students who are also looking for partners for the rental.

Most rental properties are for one-year lease. Properties may be fully furnished with sofas, dining table and chairs, beds, etc. or they may be equipped with bare essentials such as refrigerator and stove. Obviously the fully furnished properties are more expensive. The choice is yours. You may, however, wish to keep in mind that you can buy used furniture and appliances very cheap. You may even get offers of free furniture and appliances from others; all you have to do is to carry the stuff out of their place. Talk to other students; they are your best resource and help.

There is no easy or analytic formula for finding accommodations. It requires effort on your part to find the available rental properties, visit them to see what they offer and for what price, and then make decisions. You will likely to be required to put up an advance payment worth one month of rent and pay the first month rent up front, effectively a payment equivalent to 2 months rent.

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