Types of Housing

1. Renting a room/floor from a family home.

2. Leasing an apartment

a) Studio – Living area, bedroom, are all in one room. Sometimes the kitchen is in the same room, in other cases it may be in a separate area.
b) One Bedroom – Living area, kitchen, and one bedroom
c) Two Bedrooms – Living area, kitchen and two bedrooms
d) Three Bedrooms – Living area, kitchen and three bedrooms. In the UK, this is the same as renting a flat, a floor of an apartment that you can share with several people

Some apartments come furnished. This might be the option to consider if you are only planning to stay for a short time. This way you won’t have to worry about buying, and then selling, or even worry about shipping furniture back home when you are done with school.

3. Leasing a House – Also called house sharing in the UK

4. Subletting an apartment – You rent from someone who is renting the apartment. This may be done legally or under the table. Some landlords do not allow their renters to do this. Some don’t mind. If you plan on staying for a short time you can probably risk it. If you think you are going to stay for more than a year, we advise that you get an apartment of your own.

Wise Words: In Manchester, the normal arrangements for students would be to share a flat with others. Normally, they would have their own bedrooms, sometimes their own showers and toilets. But they would share a common kitchen. Flat sharing can be between 3 to 8 people. –Chips Guevara, Manchester Business School, Manchester

Wise Words: In Tokyo, the older the apartment, the cheaper it is...If you don't really mind the earthquakes, it's a good idea to look for slightly older ones that have recently been remodeled. (Personally, I think if an earthquake occurs, it doesn't matter if you live in an apartment or mansion (buildings made of concrete), though some people believe mansions are safer.) –Celeste Gacad, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo