Finding a Place to Live in Amsterdam!

One of the hardest parts of settling in Amsterdam is finding a place to live.

Fortunately, students can get a dormitory through the school, but it is not guaranteed. UvA operates a lottery system, and only first graders were allowed to get a dormitory through the school. So if you plan to stay in Amsterdam as a student, I recommend joining the dormitory site as soon as possible.

You might think you're going to win the school dormitory lottery, but as someone(it's me!) who failed the first dormitory lottery and won the waiting list a week before leaving home, I almost cried when I looking for a place to stay. (It's impossible to find a place to live in Amsterdam while staying in our country.) If you have plans to apply to university or have already received an offer letter, You must apply to join the dormitory sites below.

1. Room (Duwo)
2. Hi Condo
3. Student Experience
4. Plaza
5. Blue Gray
6. Our Domain
7. The Social Hub
8. Holland2Stay

It would be best to live in a Duwo building, but the competition is fiece. I believe it would be almost impossible for an international student to live in the Duwo building without going through the school lottery because Duwo gives priority to students who have been registered on their site for a long time.

There is a hosuing rent allowance in the Netherlands that international students can also reveive if you live in a place with a mothly rent of less than 800 euros, including service cost. There are several conditions for receiving housing rent allowance, but I'm not sure about them exactly. The application process is not difficult (but not easy either), so please try to apply anyway. (I will also post how to apply for the rent allowance.)

In my case, I've signed up for the options 1-6 above, and 2-6 seem to be a lottery system. If you register, you can receive an email with link when they have an available room. 

Before UvA operating the lottery, they gave some options depending on the cost. 

1. Budget category1: <410 euros per month: Shared rooms or small private rooms with shared facilities
2. Budget category2: 410-500 euros per month: Small private rooms with shared facilities
3. Budget category3: 500-700 euros per month: Larger private rooms shared facilities, or small private rooms with private facilities
4. Budget cagegory4: 700-950 euros per month: Larger private rooms with private facilities

I remember choosing the first option. Actually I didn't think I did not win so I choose really casualy. The mail stated that there was a room available to accommodate about half of the students who wanted to live in the dorm. After falling out, I asked If there were any vacanies since it does not matter what category it was, and few weeks later I got an email I can live in a room that belongs to category 3.

I don't like the ugly freen floor, but I was lucky to live in a room with a nice view on an high floor. Unfortunately, it's north-faceing, so enen on a very sunny day no sunlight inside room. 

Duwo provides blankets and basic household items so that you can stay right away on the day you arrive.