It is hard finding a place to live in a new city, especially when you are thousands of miles away from that city. I decided to relocate to London and needed to find housing while I was in San Francisco. Here are some resources my local friends told me about and that I have found.

• Non-hotel but hotel-like options: This bucket includes Airbnb or One Fine Stay where you pay per night / length of your trip and take over someone’s place or vacation home. This tends to be cheaper than a hotel but pricer long term.
• Host family: Living with a local family can make moving to a new continent, country, or city (depending where you are currently are) easier and more convenient when they include meals. London Host Families,  Hosts International, and Homestay – more like an Airbnb in terms of UI and pricing – are some examples.
• Subletting: My local friends tell me Spare Room is the best option or Move Flat and Facebook Groups. I ended up subletting a place through a friend of a friend and highly recommend reaching out to your personal network to get a better deal.
• Renting: I looked at this option but most require at least 6 months / 1 year lease so I didn’t deeply explore this route. Zoopla, Right Move, and GumTree (equivalent of Craigslist) are some examples (can also look for sublets).