Shared apartments
For those who are coming to the U.S. alone, sharing an apartment is often a good option as you can live cheaply and meet new people in the process. It is very common among students and young professionals to have a roommate. To live with a roommate obviously means to share a kitchen and bathroom.
When it works out well, sharing an apartment can be a good solution, as you can often live in a better location and have more living space than in a single-person flat. If you don’t know many people, it’s a great way to extend your social life, make new friends and improve your language skills.
The main challenges are to find a place (as always) and to make sure you are going to be able to get along with whoever you are living with. Definitely have a good talk with your prospective flatmate/s to make sure your lifestyle expectations match. Conflicts over things like smoking, pets, late-night partying, recreational drug use, the washing up or the state of the bathroom are all easy ways to land yourself in an uncomfortable situation. It can be a good idea to agree in advance how things like cleaning, buying household supplies and insurance are going to work before agreeing to move in.
When sharing a rented property, the contract should contain the names of all the tenants. If your name is not on the contract, you might not be able to stay there if the other person or people leave. It often happens that a tenant will offer a sublet without wanting to change the contact. This can be an easy solution as you leave someone else to make sure everything is OK with the landlord, but be aware you could be chucked out at any time.
Temporary accommodation
If you intend to stay in America for a limited period of time, you could consider temporary accommodation. Tenants are sometimes allowed to sublet their apartments for a limited time. This means that the flats or rooms are sublet by the tenant, not the landlord. Note that the landlord has to know about the situation.
Furnished apartments
Short-term expats (anywhere between a few weeks to a few months) can make their life easier staying in a furnished apartment. They offer a great way of avoiding the hassle of sorting out internet contracts and utilities, and will save you money on buying furniture and appliances. This is also a good alternative to staying in a hotel while you sort out your long term housing situation.
Furnished apartments usually offer a high standard of accommodation in different types of properties, from apartments to family homes or condos. You can start your search for a furnished apartment in the United States with Blu Corporate Housing , an established market leader in the US.