The basic headline: an opportunity to live, work or study abroad — for any extended amount of time — can be enlightening, rewarding and significant. A reality less advertised are the obstacles that accompany an abroad experience, as uprooting to a new country is never simple. Primary among these hurdles is the task of finding a place to live. Luckily, a New York City startup is on a mission to eliminate that pain point.
Study Abroad Apartments was founded in 2014 by Ryan Blum and Brett Newman, after the pair experienced first-hand the struggle of finding housing for their study abroad semester in Barcelona. Blum and Newman, along with four other roommates, had found and paid for an apartment through a local realtor while they were still stateside. But, upon arrival, they were given an entirely different apartment. With that experience in hand, Blum and Newman set out to take the risk and guesswork of booking international housing accommodations.
The service works like this: the company provides a marketplace of verified listings to students, interns and young professionals looking for apartments abroad, eliminating any bait-and-switch promotions. Upon booking an apartment through the company’s online portal, a renter is only required to pay the first month’s rent, which is held in escrow until the renter moves into the apartment.
While services like Airbnb are ideal for short-term rentals, affordable month-to-month options are tricky to find. Study Abroad Apartments is tapping into this mid-term rental market, which includes any rental over 30 days.
The company doesn’t currently work with individual landlords, but instead partners with apartment management companies to ensure that students find safe and reliable housing options.
“When we studied abroad we found that the general consensus was 'how do you find a reliable apartment when you move to a new city for multiple months?'” said Ryan Blum, co-founder of Study Abroad Apartments. “Now, we advertise apartments on our website and facilitate the transaction. Whether you’re an individual student or a group of students, or you want to live by the beach or you want to live by the Duomo, we tailor all of our options for apartment rentals based on a group’s preferences.”
Today, Study Abroad Apartments operates in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, San Sebastian, Granada, Florence, Rome, Prague, London, Berlin, Paris and New York. The company is currently focused on expanding its inventory of cities.
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