Housing: All you need to know.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, where will I stay in Wageningen? There are so many options, yet it stays a competitive front.

Before I moved to Wageningen finding a room became quite a treasure hunt. Finally, I found my current room through a friend who gave me some tips on where to search. So in this blog, I will try and cover all the possible options for housing in Wageningen and the differences.

Idealis and Room.nl

If you are living outside a radius of 130km from the university (in other words, probably internationally) one of your best options is Idealis as they will provide priority housing for students living far away. Idealis uses Room.nl as its platform for showing its residence options.

Here you can sign yourself up for housing and be placed on the waiting list – once you are enrolled with the University. Keep in mind that most of the available rooms will only be shown online in the summer (when other students move away).

Idealis offers different housing types, including corridors where you will live and share facilities with a group of other students, self-sustained rooms, and apartments/ studios. How you want to live is completely up to you, however, as a general rule of thumb, take what you get as you can always move again once you are in Wageningen.

To read more about what it is like living in a corridor, you can read Samuel’s blog where he tells about his experience.

Something else

If you are too far down on the waiting list at Idealis or are looking for something else there are also some other options.

Pararius sometimes also offers places in Wageningen, although they don’t target just students, but also caters for young professionals and the general public. If you are looking for something different than the typical student housing, you might want to keep an eye out for their website.

ShortStay Wageningen is also a good option to get started in Wageningen or if you are only here for a short while. They usually offer studios and apartments.

Kamernet Wageningen is a platform where house owners/ tenants can directly post an available spot in their house. Here you can find apartments, studios and rooms in either a student house or a family home. These places can either be for the short term or the long term.

Facebook:  Wageningen Student Plaza. On this Facebook page you can find secondhand furniture, plants, clothes, advertisements for events and also, of course, rooms available for rent. During the peak moving seasons, this page can get flooded with advertisements for (usually) student rooms. This is quite a convenient option as you can then get directly in contact with the other tenants.

– Sometimes you will have to do an ‘interview’ for your potential room (usually when the advert is published by the current residents). If you are unable to meet everyone in person, you can always propose an online meeting. Be sure to send a nice introduction message and maybe add a few photos and fun facts about yourself.

Furnished or Unfurnished?

Hauling your mattress all the way to Wageningen as an international may not be an ideal option, therefore renting a room with all necessities included is brilliant! If you are also just new in the Netherlands then this is very convenient, as you may not be directly able to buy furniture and know all the ins and outs of your new environment. A furnished room is definitely recommendable at the start of your journey.

However, this is obviously more expensive, and should you consider whether the additional price makes sense to you in the long run. Finding a furnished room is also harder, so you may have to look longer.

In case you then decide to rent an unfurnished room, you’ll have to buy some furniture. Of course, you can buy furniture online and have it delivered, but I will make sure to first check all the second-hand furniture shops in Wageningen and keep an eye on the Wageningen Student Plaza page on Facebook. Definitely the better option for your wallet and the environment!

I decided on shared housing, will I survive?

I get it, staying in a house full of strangers may seem daunting, but as a student, this may be one of your best decisions.

All houses differ; some houses/ halls are very lively and have dinner together, have parties and are very actively involved in one another’s lives. Some places have a more independent atmosphere, where everyone keeps to themselves and has the occasional chit-chat. Depending on your personality, either can be perfect for you. Houses can be only international, dutch-only or mixed.

In general, you will all have some sort of cleaning schedule in your house, for example, taking turns every week to take out the trash, cleaning the oven etc. Some houses are really neat and other ( typical student houses) opt for the messy, ‘cosy’ look. Again, something for everyone.

Note: You do not have to have everything in the beginning! As a student, a lot of times you can get by, by relying on your environment for help. Don’t have a vacuum cleaner? The house probably has a shared one. Need boxes for storage? Your housemate may have 20 stashed up in the corner.

The most important thing is to just get your first room in Wageningen, once you found your feet, you can start looking for more ideal options if needed.

Good luck to all looking for housing!