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Trust the advice of specialist estate agents Finding a home away from home
[Maddalena Delli]
If the study program you're on doesn't provide you with pre-arranged accommodation, the first thing you'll be after is a comfortably equipped, reasonably priced and maybe centrally located apartment - preferably with the added appeal of a view on something more exciting than your neighbors' lines of laundry. And you will need it quick: hotels in Florence cost a fortune, hostels will only let you stay for a short time, and you certainly can't impose on kind friends forever. Of course you can try your luck, rely on word of mouth or strain your still tentative Italian to browse through endless classifieds in the local magazines while rushing up-and-down-and-across the city inspecting apartments that never match what you thought the ad said anyway; or... Yes, or: you do have a clean, easy and affordable way out of that hell.
Term after term, there are thousands (that's right, literally thousands) of foreigners like you coming to Florence for a study abroad semester. So over the years the city has inevitably developed a few estate agents specializing in short- to long-term housing services for visitors, especially international students, faculty members and academic staff. They speak (at least) English and will understand your exact desires, they are acquainted with the tricky ins and outs of Italian bureaucracy, and most of all they have built a dependable catalogue of options suitable for customers with the same needs as yours. In short, they have an in-depth knowledge of the semi-residential housing requirements of people like you. Needless to say, that makes a hu-u-u-uge difference from having to deal with an ordinary estate agents who - good at their job as they may be - are simply not accustomed (and much less trained) to deal with foreigners.
And even if you are lucky enough to have had your apartment reserved by the accommodation officer of your school (who is very probably employing the services of these very same agents in the end), you may still want to avail yourself of the services of these professionals for a variety of needs: are your relatives or friends coming over to visit for a week? Do you want to extend your stay of a few days after the end of your study program? Are you looking for a villa with swimming pool in the Tuscan countryside to throw your birthday party?
Whether you wish to stay with an Italian family or need a five-bedroom deluxe apartment, people like the staff of Florence and Abroad or Milligan and Milligan are the perfect answer to your needs. They will present you with a variety of choices, place all their expertise at your disposal and take care of all the paperwork.
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http://http://www.florenceandabroad.com
http://www.vacations-in-italy.com
http://www.italy-rentals.com