How common is to look/ask for a furnished apartment in Bern? The vast majority of ads I saw are unfurnished apartments, so I wonder whether I should stop looking for smth furnished... Does unfurnished apartment mean there is no fridge/oven/washing machine?
And one more question: I'll be working in Weltpoststrasse 3015 - what area would you recommend to stay? The closer the better, although I don't mind travelling 15-20 mins by tram/bus/walk. I'm single, the accommodation budget is ~1200-1300CHF per month and the availability of night life is irrelevant.
Unfurnished means exactly that - no furniture. Appliances, however, are generally included. So don't worry. You will have a fridge and stove even if both are small. You will have to buy your own couch, bed, toothbrush, etc.
BUT you will be pressed to find a flat with a washing machine in it. Most of the time you get a shared wash/dry room with the rest of the building and a designated day of the week and time to do your washing.
BTW, welcome to the forum. Tell us a little more about yourself!
I spent a couple of years in Geneva (Paquis) and still remember public washing centers in the neighbourhood. Thought it's only applicable for tenants of tiny studios in Paquis.
BTW, I'm Russian, moving to Bern from Jordan (hopefully in November).
I have a classmate at the University of Bern who wants to move out of the student residence. During her search for a private flat, she came across a landlord who claimed to be living in the UK. The lady insisted on rent but luckily my classmate was clever enough to refuse and since then the lady just ceased communication.
The apartment scamming is not a problem here, the scammers are not in Switzerland, and advertise using photos copied from genuine adverts. The victims are here of course!
You should simply refuse to hand over any money until you have been inside the apartment, and that means it exists! You must also have a proper printed contract, stating the owner's name and address. You can check then if the owner lives at the address!
The law is that any deposit money must be paid into a locked bank account in your name !
Any deviation from these rules should be treated with the utmost suspicion!
There are a few small furnished appartments in Bern, but not many and not cheap. You could always join a Wohngemeinschaft until you find what you are looking for. There is plenty of second hand furniture at the Salvation Army shop at Bümplitzstrasse near Bethlehem-Säge tram stop.
What you could also do is get an unfurnished apartment and get a cot from Conforama. You can carry them in the train they're so light and they cost like 50 CHF. Then little by little buy the rest of the furniture you need.
Furnished apartments usually have rather ugly furniture, believe me.
Depends on how long you'll be staying, but for a short stay a cot, a folding chair and table is enough and you can get all of that for less than 300 CHF at places like IKEA/Conforama. If you stay longer, buy your furniture in pieces, as the need arises.
For furnished apartments/temporary housing/short-term rents I used this website here when I was looking:
Findind apartment within the budget is not usually an easy task, but sometimes you can negotiate a better deal if you are single and especially if you are staying for a longer period... one cant negotiate unfurnished, but furnished usually it works.
About scammers: they are usually not based in CH and post apartment with stolen pictures, usually with prices way under market. I came across a couple when I was looking for an apartment in Geneva.
In Bern try www.armotti.com they rent their own stuff. You could also try some in Airbnb, see if they would rent longer-term outside the platform should you like the location.