Room or apartment? Pros and cons in 7 steps

In the life of every student or young worker, there comes a time when one must choose accommodation. The question that often arises is: “should I look for a room or an entire apartment?”

In this guide, together with the Spacest Team, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of both options to help you make an informed choice.

Step 1 – Where to start?

When we decide to move to a new city, our minds are invaded by many doubts and perplexities.

But discovering places, creating new bonds, and expanding one’s horizons could be a good price to pay if you have the courage to make this big leap. There is no better decision than another, but there maybe one more suitable one if you consider your own attitudes, passions, habits, and needs.

The Spacest Team is here for this: to help you understand which questions need to be asked at the beginning of this journey to explore as many options as possible and to identify which cities are most in line with your personality.

Step 2 – Budget: establish your financial priorities

For university students and young workers, the budget is often the determining factor. Renting a room is generally cheaper than renting an entire apartment, especially in large cities.

• Room advantage: savings on rental fee and shared expenses (e.g., utilities).
• Apartment advantage: more privacy and space.

Check out our best room rental listings to get an idea of prices, for example in Milan.

Step 3 – Understanding the real estate market

Even a quick analysis of the various portals that allow you to search for housing solutions will surely lead to some difficulties.

Once you have chosen the city where you want to move, you will need to understand the average prices of rooms and apartments.

The real estate market is certainly a saturated market: many traditional real estate agencies and private individuals publish numerous ads on every type of portal. Agencies require very high fees.

In recent years, this sector has also evolved: its approach to the Tech world has led to a considerable increase in the options available for those looking for a house, a room, or an apartment.

In this regard, you should know that there are new online platforms, like Spacest, that offer the guarantees proposed by traditional real estate agencies applying lower costs, thus helping our researchers save on initial rental expenses.

Step 4 – Privacy and independence: define your needs

While renting a room might mean sharing common areas like the kitchen and bathroom, an apartment offers more privacy:

• Room advantage: opportunities to socialize and create lasting friendships.
• Apartment advantage: total freedom over spaces and independence; take a look here.

Step 5 – Contracts and flexibility

Many rental platforms offer flexible contracts for rooms, ideal for those who are not sure about the duration of their stay or for temporary stays like university students:

• Room advantage: often more flexible contracts ideal for temporary stays.
• Apartment advantage: stability and the possibility to personalize the environment.

Step 6 – Location: where do you want to live?

In the centers of large cities, finding an affordable rental apartment can be challenging. A rented room could offer you the chance to live in central areas at more affordable costs:

• Room advantage: access to central areas at lower costs.
• Apartment advantage: greater variety in the choice of area and superior quality of properties provided you have a higher budget.

Step 7 – Rental Platforms: how to find the perfect accommodation

Here we are at the last step: once you have chosen the city, understood your needs, and expressed a preference for the type of accommodation you are looking for, it’s time to choose who to trust to search for your home.

We have talked about the many traditional real estate agencies and private individuals, two of the most well-known options, but not always the most efficient. Today we propose our Spacest platform, a revolutionary real estate platform that offers the possibility to save and invest in your choices.

Spacest can help, guide, and orient you in these choices.

Our team of experts views the rental apartments for you, making numerous original photos and videos of the apartment or rooms available to you to better and beforehand view the property. Spacest reduces costs for tenants and property managers by proposing safe solutions and offering concrete guarantees.

Spacest enters this space by proposing itself as an intermediary and offering an alternative but high-quality solution to traditional players in the sector.

For any further information, visit our website and follow us on our social channels. Whether you choose a room or opt for a rented apartment, always remember to consider your personal and financial priorities.

The Spacest Team hopes that this guide will help you in choosing the perfect rental accommodation for your needs. If you have further questions or wish to explore the available options, contact our Team of experts.