I apologize in advance for the rant... but why is it so hard to find a decent apartment to rent a room from in Madrid? (well, within the city center or accessible by bus,metro). I'm trying to find something from June on, that isn't a dump, doesn't have roaches, has honest people that will give me my deposit back before I leave and is somewhat close to my Language school (between San Bernardo and Arguelles metros) I have looked on all the websites I possibly can and despite my price range (up to 600 euros)I cannot even find anything decent. I'm 25 and I am pretty laid back. I just want to learn spanish/do my internship and enjoy the city while living in a decent place (nothing fancy,just not a dump). Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm not sure how long you plan to stay-n-study in Madrid starting in June but for long-term stays (like months) I wouldn't attempt to find your apartment-to-be on the internet. If you only plan to spend a few weeks fine, but for multi-month-stays I'd recommend waiting until arriving in Madrid to get something. You can't see roaches on websites (roaches are not common in Madrid except in the oldest, least maintained buildinges - I haven't seen a cockroach yet in my 14 months of living here) nor can you tell if the people advertising them are honest - most are, of course, but you'll know better once you meet them face-to-face.

Have you tried http://www.Habitamos.com yet? There, mostly, individual apartments are posted by owners but they never have websites nor photos. This is a good source for when you're here, though.

Your language school SURE has contacts and recommendations for lodgings for their students, don't they? THAT, neither, guarantees nice "digs", however, but your chances are probably better if you're hoping to get something SOLID before arriving - but it'll still be "sight unseen".

Check out http://www.VenAMiCasa.com for "Home Stays" throughout Madrid and Spain. I've YET to read ANY reviews of this website or the bedrooms people rent in people's homes but it seems to be an interesting and affordable concept. Many/Most of the rooms cost as little as 12 Euros per night up to about 24 Euros per night. (600 Euros, your monthly budget, would put you at 20 Euros per night)

Anyone else have ideas? Best of luck, cja3882! Se you in Madrid!!

Saludos, MadridMan

if you get no help from the school;my best bet is to rent a hotel come over and search on site for the apartment. You might want to get some line up to see from the internet but come first.
you can try suvivienda.es from El Mundo newspaper or this one 30madrid.com

good luck

Thank you both!
I've decided to stay with my language school for a couple weeks until I find something else. I'm excited to stay in Madrid as long as I can(so basically as long as I can get a visa for )

Thanks again for the advice.

I just wanted to quickly add that I came over about a year ago to teach with a language school and had no luck finding an appartment online before i got here . I stayed at an Hostal for 3 weeks before finding somewhere . MadridMan is right that it's really better to get over here . The hostals are reaonably , cheap , a bit shabby sometimes but nothing to worry about and I was stayin in the absolute centre of Madrid . As for roaches ... well I guess MadridMan lives in a good neighbourhood !! I've NEVER had roaches in my appartment , but know people that have had this problems . I've also seen some huge roaches in the Metro system and plenty of smaller ones scuttling all over the sidewalks late at night . They are here ! But i've never seen one indoors ... Except in New York City ... Now that was a horrible experience haha . Steve

From my experience, the best bet is to plan on staying somewhere temporarily as you search for an apartment once you're here. The Segundomano newspaper version is great (on Saturday mornings); I know people who have found roommates (and places to live) through loquo.com.

cja - I sent a private message, but you could sublet my apartment for the summer at least, or even take my portion of the lease over in July.

Good luck!