Accommodation. Mission possible.

Tybblegatan, a student dormitory

     Accommodation...it is a very hot topic in Sweden. It is difficult to find accommodation for students almost everywhere in ‘university cities’ with big influx of students every year. To find a room for international students - a special mission. Luckily, in Örebro situation is not that bad comparing to Lund or Uppsala regarding costs and places avaliable. Calm down, it is Possible!

     I will give you here just SOME information, some tips and hints. But you should continue exploring yourself, using the links provided.

    First, just some general information. University doesn’t provide accommodation, neither to Swedish students, nor to the international ones. University doesn’t deal with student accommodation and doesn’t own any special student dormitories. It means that your admission to the programme doesn’t mean that you will be provided with accommodation automatically. It also doesn’t mean that University staff will assist you with finding accommodation. It is your own responsibility.

     

     ÖBO - a key word!

     Since you started to look for a student accommodation, your main contact should be with Öbo company. This company works with students and student accommodation.

   The site has all the information in English, please, explore it. Well, the procedure of registering of international students is changing every year. I really hope that some of this information will be relevant for some time, but be ready for changes and updates.

     Right after your acceptance to the Master programme at Örebro University (around April) you should be registered in Öbo company’s system. It is a very important moment. You can be registered in the system only if you have a Swedish security number (personnummer), which you can get in Tax office in Sweden. But of course, you are sitting at home and just wondering how you can get this number? Well, that’s why you need the University assistance here. Usually all the new international students who are accepted to the programmes are registered automatically (only in Öbo system, you will not get a personnummer). It means that by e-mail you get a login and a password and can use all the services on the Öbo web-site, register your application for the room and take your place in the line…

     Yes, queues...you will be placed in the line for student accommodation. Don’t ask why, it’s Sweden =). Just try to understand how it works.

     During the time you stay in the line you get points, 1 day = 1 point. The person with bigger amount of points has better chances to get a room/flat. That’s why it is very important to be registered within Öbo as soon as possible, to collect as many points as possible till August/September. More about points – here.

A corridor in a student dorm in Tybble

     General important things

     Water, electricity, hitting and Internet are included in the rent. There is no wi-fi, bring your own cable for the Internet or buy it when arrive. There are furnished and unfurnished rooms, the latest are cheaper. In furnished rooms there is a bed, a chair, an armchair, a table lamp (without bulbs), a floor-lamp, a shelf, a coffee table, a desk, a bed-side table plus/minus some details. There will be NO mattress, so be ready for that. In some rooms, mattresses were left. Also, remember that each dorm has storage rooms ( in Studentgatan – in the basement, in Tybble – a small one on each floor and a big – in the basement inside the Laundry building). There you can find a LOT of stuff left by previous students. Also, ask your neighbors, they definitely have some friends who are going to move out or they can offer you some useful second-hand stuff. For girls – no curtains in the rooms, only blinds.

     There is parking for cars and bikes next to all the dorms.

     

Оne of the kitchens in Tybblegatan

     In the shared kitchens situation is different from corridor to corridor. In some kitchens there are a lot of common plates, forks, pans and pots that you don’t need to buy anything extra. But in some kitchens there is no common stuff at all.

      One student per room. No pets

     This is an official rule. Only one student can be registered in the room. Although I know several couples living together, probably then one of them is registered somewhere else. Pets are not allowed, although again I know students who do have pets in their rooms.

     Summer – for free!

     A good thing about being a student in Sweden is that there are rent-free months during the summer time. It refers to apartments with 10 months’ rent. It means that you don’t have to pay the rent from 15 June till 14 August and can still live in your room without moving out for these months.

     There are several districts with students dormitories. They are listed here with a very nice map. I have been living in a student dormitory on Tybblegatan, I didn’t change the room and I never moved to another place. So, I mostly tell about it, because this is something I really know well. All the general information about different districts you can read on Öbo web-site, I don’t want to repeat it here. I will just give you my personal view on different advantages and disadvantages of districts.

Tybble (around 2900 SEK for a 19 kvm room)

“+”

 - Bigger rooms and shower;

My room in a dorm in Tybble

 - close to ICA (a grocery store which is open till 22.00 every day and gives a student discount 5%);

 - in some corridors there are only 5 persons in one corridor/per kitchen, less people=less mess;

A common living room in the dorm in Tybble

 - in some rooms there are even bathes in the bathrooms;

 - nice barbeque place with a garden house (convenient for big groups of people).

“-“

 - LAUNDRY! Laundry in Tybble is in another building and all students are using it. Hence, there are big queues. As a result, you’d better plan to do laundry about 2 weeks in advance. The situation when you want just to drop in and do a spontaneous laundry because you have a spare hour – doesn't work. There is an online booking system on Öbo web-site, which makes life easier. But when I go there, the only possible time for laundry is usually 00.00-03.00 or 03.00-06.00…I wonder who are those people who occupy all ‘normal’ hours?...

 - Going uphill to the University. Well, it’s not really a big deal. Let’s say, it’s a disadvantage from a point of view of a very picky student;

 - higher rent because of the bigger size of the room.

Studentgatan (around 2800 SEK for a 17 kvm room)

“+”

 - Very close to University. It is so close, that you can even make your tea/coffee and bring it right to the classroom! Although some students still bike from Studentgatan to the class.

 - Close to Campus Pizzeria. A fast food place, which works even during the official holidays. Well, when you are new in Sweden and don’t really know those special dates when even grocery stores have short open hours – this place can save you from starving.

 - Close to Pressbyrån. A small store, where you can find just everything: from junk food to cigarettes, stamps and frozen food. It is also a ‘survival’ point, which works till 22.00, but it’s quiet expensive.

 - Laundry! Every building in Studentgatan has its own laundry in the basement. Booking system is not that strict as in Tybble and you can actually do your laundry whenever it’s not occupied by anybody else.

 - A bit cheaper rooms comparing to Tybble, cause the size of the rooms is smaller

“-“

 - Rooms are smaller, than in Tybble, for example, especially showers. But it’s not a big difference actually.

 - It’s close to Pressbyrån, which is expensive and can become your addiction if laziness will take over you.

 - A bit further from big grocery stores like ICA or Willy’s.

 - a bit louder because the University student club Kårhus is nearby.

Brickebacken (around 2300 SEK for a 15 kvm room)

A student room in Brickebacken

       I have never lived in Brickebacken and can only give limited information about it.

    Well, it is a bit further from University then Studentgatan and Tybble, but still it’s possible to walk this distance. It will take around 25-30 to walk from there to University. Well, still very close for bigcity-minds =)) It’s a bit tricky to bike on the way from University to Brickebacken cause the way goes pretty much uphill and it’s a real hill. Especially tricky it is to bike during the winter. That’s why I guess students who live in Brickebacken spend more money on buss cards. Well, good thing about Brickebacken is that the rooms there are pretty cheap comparing to Studentgatan or Tybble. And you live not in the corridor but in a shared apartment, so you share kitchen and a shower with 2-3 other students of the same sex. Some students prefer to live in shared apartments than in corridors. Moreover, it’s a very green area, surrounded with forest. Another thing about Brickebacken is that it’s very diverse and international with less Swedish people living there, however there is also a double-opinion about that.

A shared kitchen in Brickebacken

     SOS! Didn’t get the room!

    What if it’s already August and you still have no place to sleep? It’s possible. And it’s better to just be ready for this kind of situations because sometimes students get their rooms in the very last moment or they fly to Sweden without a certain place to stay in. But again, calm down, in this case you have several options. I’ll tell you about some of them.

     1) A guarantee of accommodation from Öbo Company

   This is a special service within Öbo company. You can register to be covered by the guarantee of accommodation from 15 July until 1 October (autumn term) and from 15 December until 15 February (spring term).

     You can register for guarantee of accommodation by sending your letter of acceptance from the University to bostadsgaranti@obo.se. Mark it “Bostadsgaranti” (guarantee of accommodation), and attach your letter of acceptance in PDF format. After you do so, Öbo should garantee that you will be offered somewhere to live within one month.

     Remember, that accommodation that you will be offered on this scheme - is always on a short-term contract. No specific personal requirements are taken in account, you will just get the first place to stay that is available. The districts where you can be offered a place are Vivalla, Baronbackarna and Varberga. Mixed gender roommates are possible.

     2) Akutboende from Student Union

     Student union can also help you to find an emergency accommodation. Emergency accommodation vary in design and can be anything from an empty apartment with a mattress on the floor to a private room in a house or sleeping on someone's couch. Remember that it is a temporary solution and you shouldn’t expect much.

     Rent for emergency accommodation is 500 SEK per week, regardless of the form of accommodation. The amount you pay as a tenant to the project leaders for emergency accommodation every Monday. To be registered for this kind of help, you need to be a member of the Student Union and be registered within Öbo emergency accommodation service.

    

     Information on the link above is in Swedish but feel free to contact Student Union in English.

     Örebro studentkår, Fakultetsgatan 3, 702 81 Örebro

     +46 737 10 90 48

     akutboende@orebrostudentkar.se

     There is always a possibility to use Couchsurfing. Here you can find not only a free place to stay for a couple of days, but also new friends!

      Good luck! Wish you a comfortable couch!

A view from my dorm on Tybble-barbecue place