This is usually followed-up by a postscript plea along the lines of: by the way, I don't speak any Italian. From the get-go, the language barrier can post a huge issue as many Italians put their properties online on Italian sites such as subito.it or kijiji.it, which is all fine and dandy unless you've never lived in Italy before and you're moving here to study International Business and not Italian 401. Even the English sites can become daunting seeing as in this day and age, we are virtually bombarded with search options. One of the main headaches that students seem to come up against, next to the language problem, is the seemingly scarse supply of short-term, furnished housing options. While some sites are geared towards tourists (think Airbnb) and others towards long-term rentals with year-long contracts, a unique and welcome entry to the mix is Nestpick, conveniently available in French, German, English, and Spanish and with the option to chat with representatives in any of these languages. Finding a place to live is hard enough without having to worry about miscommunication.
Nestpick is a site that partners with a handful of other established sites such as Spotahome and Urban Apartment, in a Skyscanner, Kayak, or Trivago-like manner, essentially aggregating all the options in one place, minimizing the time you spend clicking from one website to the next (and inevitably avoiding that moment when you find the perfect place and forget where you saw it!). It's beautifully designed on both desktop and mobile, to streamline your search efforts and save a ton of time that you could dedicate to aperitivo with new friends (or cute Italians) or to exploring your new neighborhood and city (with aforementioned cute Italian as a tour guide, of course).
Stay tuned for more posts in this series entitled "Moving to Italy" and make sure to PIN this post if you're on Pinterest.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at these ones or the Category "Moving to Italy":
The Most Important Thing I've Learned After Living in Italy for 4 Months
Five Things to Do Before Selling All Your Belongings and Moving to Italy
Quiz Time: Will You be a Happy Expat in Italy?
A Memorable Expat Moment, from the Book "Once Upon an Expat"
How to (Legally) Move and Live in Italy Oh You're an EU Expat in Italy? That's cute.
Immigration Update: Italy, I'm BACK!
Should You Move to Italy?
Living in Italy, Speaking in English
PIN IT: