Housing

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SAI aims to create a comfortable living environment for each student by providing safe, well maintained student-level housing in quality apartments. Our staff will be on hand to greet and help orient you to your new apartment and city, and they will remain available throughout the term to answer questions and assist with maintenance needs that may arise.

SAI, with our rental agency partner, Comforts of Home, offers shared student apartments, however students are also free to arrange their own accommodations. SAI also offers a home stay option for students wishing to live with a host family while abroad (additional fee). Please contact the SAI California office for further information.

• Students are placed with other SAI students in apartments that are privately owned and located in buildings shared by Italian residents.
• A typical residence will house 2-8 students, and contains a combination of single (1 student per room) and double (2 students per room) bedrooms and shared kitchen, bathroom and living areas.
• Apartments are within a 30 minute walk to the main campus (this includes the Oltrarno “other side of the river” section of Florence)

Apartments do not include:

• land line telephones
• clothes dryers

Students may choose to pay an additional fee to be placed in a single room (one student per room). Having a single room means that you will have your own private space in an apartment shared with other SAI students.  Since every apartment is different in shape and size, the single room can also vary.  Single rooms can be quite small so please do not expect a double size room for single use.  Please note that a single room will always consist of at least one single bed and your own closet space.

SAI is pleased to be the first program to offer Premium Apartments to study abroad students in Florence. Premium Apartments are a clear cut above our Student Shared Apartments, with special attention paid to details and comfort.  Features include (not all apply):

• Weekly cleaning service*
• Weekly laundry service*
• More recent and/or higher quality design, renovation, appliances and amenities
• American coffee maker*

*These services are available in the student shared apartments for an additional cost.
The cost for the Premium Apartments is $1,000 and are offered on a first come first served basis.

SAI offers the Health, Wellness and Sustainable Living Community in Rome and Florence.

In the Health, Wellness & Sustainable Living Community, students will:

• share a commitment to personal and community health, wellness and sustainability;
• work together to create and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle as it applies to academic and personal experiences while abroad;
• participate in activities that focus on sustainability and the environment;
• develop low impact living habits that reduce their environmental footprints;
• establish meaningful connections both within the SAI program and in the greater community.

Elements of the Health, Wellness & Sustainable Living Community include:

• On-Site Orientation: During orientation, the students living in this community will meet to develop and sign their own agreement that will define the mission, goals, and policies of their apartment.
• Group Meetings: During orientation and then once per month SAI staff will meet with the living community students to discuss issues related to health, wellness and sustainability.
• Group Activity: Students will  develop and organize one  group activity during the term, with the assistance and approval of the on-site SAI staff.

Application Procedure

• Complete the SAI Housing Request form (part of the SAI application) checking the box for “Health, Wellness & Sustainability Living Community”.
• In about 500 words on a separate sheet (mailed with your application) or e-mail (sent to mail@saiprograms.com), tell us about yourself and what you hope to gain from participating in the Health, Wellness and Sustainable Living Community program with SAI. Include how you would contribute as a member of this living-learning community.

SAI student apartments are assigned as single gender housing, (all male or all female). Students seeking male/female shared housing options have two choices:

Housing requests are made by submitting a “housing request form” with your application.
Applications are processed when payment of your confirmation deposit has been made to SAI.
Single room requests must be accompanied by payment of a single room supplement fee.
Single room requests are processed when your single supplement fee is received.
We are happy to accommodate roommate requests. Roommate requests must be mutual; both you and your roommate must clearly write each other’s name on the housing request form.
SAI may be able to assign a one-bedroom apartment to a male/female roommate request, however this cannot be guaranteed available or students may contact our partner rental agencies to arrange a private apartment rental in order to accommodate male/female roommates at: Comforts of Home.

Housing assignments are emailed no later than 10 business days prior to the start of the term.

Students are asked to complete the arrival information form prior to departure.
Students will receive detailed information regarding the complimentary pick-up and arrival upon submitting the arrival information form.
Please plan to arrive on check-in day. Apartments will not be available for early check-in. Any students arriving early should make prior arrangements to stay at a local hotel until check-in day.

The majority of SAI students are 18-22 years of age. We have found that placing students over 25 with students between the ages of 18-22 has not been successful for either age group. Therefore, we encourage students over 25 to contact our partner agencies to arrange for private studio or one bedroom apartments directly with the agencies listed below.

Sometimes other adult students  are enrolled, which allows SAI to place those students together in shared housing. It is not our intention to deny housing to any enrolled student, but we do place students of similar ages together in order to create a successful experience. If an older student is unable to bear the added cost of private housing, in cases when SAI does not have a student apartment available, SAI will make every effort to nevertheless provide housing for that student by placing her/him in a single room within a shared apartment. In these cases, the student must pay the single supplement fee.

Please note: SAI does not offer housing to spouses, children or pets. SAI recommends that students with these circumstances, or students seeking their own private apartments (studio, 1 or 2 bedrooms), contact the following agency to arrange private accommodations. If you choose to arrange your own housing, please notify SAI California.

Comforts of Home

If you require Florence hotel recommendations for visiting friends or family please contact the SAI California office and we will be happy to provide you with this information. SAI is able to offer discounts at many hotels in Florence.