Looking for accomodation?

After you get the oh-so-waited official confirmation that you were selected for a traineeship, you will start thinking about the practical stuff regarding your move to Brussels. The most important thing will be the accomodation, which could  also be the one which will provide you some times of stress.

As mentioned, Brussels is quite an international city, full of foreign people living there and with a constant movement of trainees coming and going every six months throughout the year. So you'll have plenty of room/flat options, but a fierce "competition" of other people trying to get them.

Be prepared to pay anything from € 350 to € 600 for a room or a studio, if you're looking for a place close to the EU area (where most trainees live), as well as to pay one or two months deposit in advance. The most wanted comunes are Ixelles and Etterbeek, as those are the closest to the European institutions' buildings. If you're looking for a place from abroad, without having the chance to visit it beforehand (my case), I suggest you to look on the following websites:

• March 2013 Stage European Commission (the group for the current session of the EC traineeship, where room offers are posted daily, as well as where you can find people looking for flatmates)
• Flat board for EU stagiaires (a group where room offers are posted daily)
• BXL A LOUER - bouche à oreilles (a group where room offers are posted daily)
• Stage Committee (the webpage of the Stage Committee, where some room offers are posted, as well as more tips on accomodation)
• Expats (room offers are posted daily)
• Brussels rent (an agency with studios and flats for rent, a friend of mine rented her studio through it)

These are the websites I was consulting daily when I was looking for a place and where I saw the best and most reliable ads. Be aware because the most popular real estate websites are full of scams (such as alleged landlords from France or the United Kingdom which work far away in a boat and are allegedly renting their house from distance... the next step would be to ask you for a transfer of money in order to send you the keys... indeed I got some replies like this!). So, always get suspicious when you see great houses with magazine-like photos for a ridiculously low price.

My other advice on finding accomodation would be to tell everyone you know who is in Brussels or knows people in Brussels that you're looking for a place, because through these contacts you'll always find someone, who knows someone, who knows someone (etc...) that may be leaving a nice room or who has the contact of a landlord and then you found a place! Either such person may be keener in renting a room to someone they have a reference about, as you also have a reference about such person and are more protected from getting scammed or from having a bad experience. Even though you may get a reference from someone who is in Brussels but that you don't directly know, ask them for help anyway, as they probably passed through the same process like yours when moving and so will be glad to help. Also, if you know anyone who has been a student in the College of Europe, or who is working in the European Commission, ask them to forward you the room ads they receive daily in their mailing lists. You always find some great offers there as well.

Finally, don't be shy to ask your traineeship adviser/the assistant who called you to schedule an interview during the selection process/your file manager/the Head of Unit who you changed some e-mails with if they know something about rooms for rent or flats to share. Most of them are really nice people who are willing to help out a trainee and have many contacts in Brussels. And, guess what: that's how I found my place to stay!