* I wouldn't bother with France unless you're willing to drive and waste a lot of time in traffic jams. Annemasse is the exception, but it's pretty sketchy imho.
* On the other hand, living in the countryside can be a good option. Public transportation works better than if you cross the border, and biking to work can be reasonably doable.
* Living a bit further in Vaud, near a train station, is a good option too.
* Most apartments belong to estate companies (régies immobilières), not individual landlords. Contacting them directly is definitely the way to go.
* https://www.scrapeo.com (disclaimer: it's run by friends of mine, you can scroll down and see the websites they're scraping if you prefer).
I will look into those places and that website, thank you very much!
I find that rather odd, any ideas why it is that way? Is there really so few flats on the market? I would think that estate agents would be happy to help anyone find a home...
I have tried to email a number of estate agents and all I got was automated responses. Some in French, despite the fact that I wrote the email in English. They all mostly said the same thing: "Our website has many listings, please look there".
> Bizarrely it can be just as cheap getting an air b&b for a few months at a time.
While that may work, I would much rather stay in the same place.
> Also it is absolutely worth looking in to a place across the border in France, it's cheaper, not that far away, and public transport is pretty good.
Hrm, France is looking very nice too. I guess it all depends on where I find a place first.
> I've been here for 6 months or so, but leaving soon... its really not the city for me.
May I ask why it's not the city for you?
Vacancy rate in Geneva proper is about 0.4%. As usual in such situations, why bother with a foreigner who isn't going to stay long when you likely know friends/acquaintances (Geneva is a small world :) looking for a place?
I'm starting a coding internship in Geneva in about two months and I was wondering whether you would have any advice about renting apartments in the area. For example, should I be trying to find apartments in France, or am I better off sticking with Switzerland. Should I be getting in touch with estate agents in the area via phone? Are there any good sites which contain apartment listings? I will be staying there for 12 months so any advice would be much appreciated.