Stay for Free While Studying Abroad

Finding accommodation that costs no more than staying in your own apartment or home seems impossible- but what if I said that one website in existence can offer students “free” housing while studying abroad?

StudyEnjoy.com lets students swap housing with other students around the world. The exchange is free as long as you can offer housing to someone else in return for staying in their accommodation. The company is one of the first to implement this seemingly marvelous concept, but its current execution on StudyEnjoy.com is slightly less grand than it could be.

How it Works

Anyone looking for free accommodation while studying abroad or interning can sign up as a member on the website. Once you have entered some background information, including multiple ID verifications, you will have access to all available accommodation. However, you will not be able to communicate with any other members or make accommodation plans until you have listed your own space on the site.

You can list any kind of housing on site, even if it is just a room in your family’s home. To list your space, you will be asked for specifics about your accommodation such as address, number of people it can accommodate, any amenities, etc., and for pictures of the housing and the surrounding neighborhood. If you find somewhere you’d like to stay, simply message the member who listed the space and agree on the dates of the swap. It is a simple process if both parties are interested in each other’s space, but your location of interest may not be available on the site… yet.

Issues

Limited Locations: The website is really new and based in France, so most of the listings available will be located there. There are a couple sites in Spain and one listing available in Greece, Italy, Germany, and Canada. If you are looking to study anywhere else, however, you will be out of luck until more people join the site.

Broken Communication: Many of the listings will have personal descriptions written in the member’s native language. There’s no option within the site to translate the description, so you may not be able to communicate with many of the members if they cannot speak English or if you cannot speak their language. This also may mean that the member is only interested in swapping places with someone within their country or who speaks their language. However, sending the member a message in English doesn’t hurt. They may surprise you with a response you can understand.

Benefits

Free Accommodation: This site is an amazing opportunity for low cost travel, especially if you speak the language of the place to where you’d like to travel. If your study dates are far in the future then it may be smart to wait awhile before messaging members. The site is very young so it’s likely to have many more available places overtime.

Listing a Place Gives Options: There are currently no accommodations available in the United States. However, if you list your place in the United States, this may entice more people from outside or even inside the U.S. to list their place. And, this may also give you more options for a swap if multiple people want to stay at your location in the U.S.

Complete Independence: Whether you are living by yourself or with roommates, swapping your room for one in a foreign country guarantees complete independence for the length of your stay. There may be little to no aid given from your school for food or other expenses, and it will be up to you to find transportation and maintain your place. Living away from home offers freedom and a heightened responsibility. Experiencing independence in a foreign country requires more effort for success, which is important for students to undergo during their college careers.

StudyEnjoy offers limited options for an awesome idea, and has the potential to grow rapidly with a little more momentum. So, if the concept interests you and you would like more options, then list your place and spread the word about the company. Getting more people involved will help you and anyone else interested in low cost travel.

For more information, visit their website:

[accordion_tab title=”Collegiate Correspondent: Jennifer Nieves” default]