MERJ NAGYOT ÁLMODNI
This article will be about dormitories and apartments in Krems. I’ll give you tips on where to look and at what prices you can find alternatives. I will also share some personal experiences and opinions.
Now that I've been accepted and we've decided to go there's only one important thing left: to find accommodation. You need to start quite soon as the later you start the less chance you will have of finding the best. As I mentioned earlier, I found out in March that I was accepted but I wasn’t sure about moving so we only started searching in June. There were two options: dormitory and private flat. Since there were the two of us, we wanted to go to a flat. However, it is not easy to find an apartment here, as there are many students, so the prices are high and the supply is finite.
We had to apply for our current apartment as it is not rented out by an individual but by a company. A month later, we got the answer that the application was successful and we received the apartment. This flat was empty yet, there wasn't even a kitchen, so the furnishing part was waiting for us, as we got it at a relatively good price we decided to take it and furnish it at our own cost. At the end of the article, in the links, you will also find the company from which we rent our flat.
It is important that before looking for an apartment, find out on which campus you will have most of your lessons. For example, 95% of the lectures of tourism takes place at Campus "Piaristengasse", so my boyfriend and I were looking for an apartment that is close to this building.
Here is a list of dormitories and current prices for information (you can always find current prices on the website). Click on the name of the dorms to access their website. Later, you can also read reviews from my friends.
Single room: 424 € / month (no kitchen)
Double room: 298 € / month (no kitchen)
Fees are monthly and per person and include breakfast, heating, electricity, free high-speed Internet access (WiFi and LAN), TV connection, and room cleaning service.
Single room: 750 €
Double rooms: 590 €
This dormitory does not have its own kitchen in the rooms. There is only one kitchen per floor, which is cleaned daily. A buffet breakfast is provided and rooms are cleaned weekly, all included in the price. In this case, the double room means you share one room with your roommate. There is also a small gym, which can be used free of charge. It is the closest to Campus "Piaristengasse" and to the city center. You can easily reach everything in 5-10 minutes on foot.
Single room 400 € / month (own kitchen)
Double room 335 € / month (own kitchen)
Prices are per person per month, including utility costs, electricity, satellite TV, internet and taxes.
450 €
Here you already have a smaller, private kitchen (no oven, only cooking plates) in each room. Weekly cleaning is the same as for the previous dorm, but here breakfast is not provided. The same as before, in double rooms you have to share one area with your flatmate. If you have classes on the main campus and you choose this accommodation, you just have to walk over to your classes because this building is specifically next to it. But it's not so far from the city center either, approx. 15 minutes by walk.
Single room without kitchen: 419 € / month
Single room with own kitchen: 449 € / month
Double apartment without a kitchen, with own room: 389 € / month
Double apartment with kitchen, with own room: 419 € / month
max. 700 € (acc. website)
As you can see from the prices, there are several options here. If you choose a room where there is no kitchen, you can use the shared kitchen in the hallway. The apartments are to be understood as two people living together, having separate rooms, but sharing one bathroom and a kitchen as well, if applicable.
Weekly cleaning of the rooms is included in the price. There is also a gym and sauna, which can be used free of charge. The disadvantage of STUWO is that it's a bit far away from the city center, you have to take a 30-minute walk to get to the city center or to university. The good news is that there is at least a shop nearby (about 5 minutes on foot).
The situation is a bit different for sublets, where the price does not always include utilities and internet. You can find information about this in the description of the apartment or you can ask the advertiser/owner.
Not many people live in apartments alone because of the prices. Flats are usually rented out to more people that's why they advertise it usually as shared flat. In this case, the prices are to be understood per room per person and not for the whole flat. You will find them in advertisements as "WG" (wohngemeinschaft). In many groups, people are also looking for roommates so you can join in there as well.
You can join in by clicking on the names of the groups!
In this group, they often advertise sublets, books for sale to the university, and sometimes even second-hand items.
If you'd like to go for a flat make sure to keep an eye on the following pages. Of course, there are several websites, I have collected the ones I know and some recommended sites by others. Click on the name of the websites and it will open in a separate tab.
This is one of the best-known sites and there are usually good ads at reasonable prices.
This was recently recommended so I thought I’d share it with you as another option.
Well, we rent our apartment from this company. They also provide subsidy in some cases but unfortunately, we weren't able to take advantage of this, because we'd have had to live in Austria for several years already. But even so, we managed to rent a very good flat from them, we've been living here ever since.
This is a market place, you can find here; second-hand items, property for sale, but most importantly shared flats and apartments for rent.
"I really like STUWO. I'm completely satisfied with the service and the quality, It has a gym, sauna, and cleaning service for the rooms once a week. The shared areas of the dorm are cleaned daily. Along with these services, it's totally worth the price."
Rebeka, Hungarian student, in the programme of Export-orianted Management
I like living in Kolping because it’s surrounded by vineyards, directly located at the Campus Krems, and it is just a few steps from the IMC FH Krems (the main campus. I am living in a single room with its own bathroom and a small kitchen. In the kitchen, there are only cooking plates, no oven, a sink, a fridge, and a microwave. The rooms are really well isolated, and it is quiet in the room for studying. But I think meeting friends or studying together in the room is not really convenient. In my opinion, it is not a disadvantage because in Krems are a lot of cafes or bars where you can hang out and the University IMC offers study lounges. I am studying Tourism and Leisure Management and although I am not studying on the main campus, I like living in Kolping. Why? In the morning I have a 20 minutes’ walk in the fresh air to the building (Piaristengasse), where I have nearly all my classes. Sometimes lessons and examinations are on the main campus. The application is really easy, I downloaded the application form from their website and send it per e-mail. If you want to live in Kolping you have to apply early to get a place because a lot of Universities are in Krems. For the first Semester, I applied at the beginning of May and received an acceptance at the end of May for the upcoming winter semester.
Eva, Austrian student in the program of Tourism and Leisure Management
"I lived in ÖJAB for 1 year. For first-year students, college is a good choice because society and the atmosphere are very good, you don't feel alone. The cleaning of the rooms is also a big advantage, they do it very nicely. Since there is only one shared kitchen per floor, even though they are cleaned daily, people don't take care of it enough so at the end of the day it's often dirty. I like the breakfast buffet and the gym that you can use for free. The walls of the room are so thin that you can hear everything from next door.
Hungarian student in the program of Export-orianted Management
I like ÖJAB a lot. For me, It was the best option out of all dorms. I was never bored here and you always have something to do. I really enjoyed it when I lived there but I think it also depends a lot on your roommate since the double rooms are quite small and if you have someone you don´t really get along well it´s really hard to share this little space together. (There is also single room, its just more expensive). But I can say I was very lucky and happy with both of my roommates so I couldn't complain at all! What’s more, people in the dorms are very nice and you can build really strong relationships with people ( basically from all over the world) you would never expect since you see each other on daily basis. The location is awesome and very convenient!
Slavka, Slovakian student in the program of Tourism and Leisure Management
On each floor, there's one kitchen. Kitchens are very nice and each room has a locker where you can put your cooking stuff. At first, I thought that it´s gonna be horrible to share one kitchen with around 12 people but it turned out that it's not that bad at all. Usually, the kitchen was free unless you are unlucky and you meet 3-4 people in there. But it happened just from time to time.
There is also cleaning staff that clean your room+bathroom once a week. If you wanna wash your laundry there's a washing room with 2 washing machines and 1 dryer machine. For each washing, you have to pay 1 euro tho. Here I would say that 2 washing machines are not enough for around 100 people but it's not a bid deal u just have to be lucky and be in right place at the right time. Sometimes, it might be a little bit tricky but definitely manageable don't worry! 😀
On the very last floor, there's a gym you can use. To be honest, if you used to work out in a proper gym before, this won't be enough for you since it's very small and doesn't have a lot of equipment. In case you are a beginner and you just wanna keep yourself in shape but nothing crazy it would be more than enough. There are also different weights and exercise mats.
One more reason why people usually prefer ÖJAB is Breakfast. Every day (except for weekends) they serve breakfast from 7:30-9:00. Usually, I would go to breakfast almost every day. To be honest, it's not the best breakfast you can get, definitely don't have big expectations about it, but trust me you will be happy when you wake up and you just go just downstairs and you can grab at least something to eat 😀 You would find here: some pastry (dark bread, buns, toasts), vegetables, more types of cereals, coffee and tea.
I think this is the most important information you need to know. So if you consider ÖJAB as one of the dorms options to live in I would definitely go for it.
