One of the biggest concerns that I hear from people considering studying abroad tends to be the housing situation that they should select, and I agree with them: It is SUPER hard to choose where you’re going to be living for the next semester or year!
One has to consider that you are going to be coming home to this place every day, you’ll be eating at this place every day, and you’ll be relaxing at this place every day!
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| A home stay in Granada |
In Granada, there are 3 main housing options: home stay, residence hall, and apartments. This semester, we have people staying in the residence hall (nuestra señora de la gracia) and homestays. Personally, I chose to live in the residence hall. Some of the aspects that really made me choose a residence hall over any of the other options were that food is provided for 3 meals a day 6 days a week, you get the option of a double room or single room (I have a single room), the staff does laundry service, cleaning service, and the majority of residents in this building are Spanish students around my age. This all works really well for me because it gives me ample alone time, but also the ability to talk with the Spanish students to make friends. This may come off as an introvert’s paradise, but the Spanish students and international students are always doing something and never mind bringing along an extra guest! On top of this, there are American, British, and French students also living in the building, so you have a mix of people with their own cultures and ideas.
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| Cafeteria in the residencia |
As for the home stays, you have access to 3 meals a day for all 7 days of the week, a good number of the home stay families have children to talk to, and you have a dedicated person (host parents) who you can get to know and practice/learn Spanish with. Many times, I’ve heard stories from friends where the host parents take the student out into Granada to see a sight, go to a certain restaurant, and overall get to know the city better.
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| My room in the Residencia. |
Our final option is the apartments, which no CEA students are currently living in this semester. From doing a bit of research and asking people who live in them, the benefits are complete independence, access to a kitchen, and living with a group of students your age. The apartments do not have a meal plan, so you are expected to use the kitchen to make your own meals. Also, the laundry service gives you access to a washer, so you are expected to do your own laundry.
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| Living room in my Residencia |
All of the housing options include laundry, wifi, shared bathrooms, towels, linens, heating, cooling, roommates (optional), and they don’t have curfews. There is not a “best option,” but rather a “best for you option.” You have to realize that you will be living in this place for a summer, semester, or year. You’ll be spending a ton of time in this place, so finding where you will be comfortable in is very important. Seeing the sights and culture is very important, but so is your rest.
Chase is the Fall 2015 CEA MOJO Blogger in Granada, Spain. He is currently a Senior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.