I’ve lived in San Diego and thought finding housing there was hard but it’s a cakewalk compared to the hell that is finding an apartment in Amsterdam. I’ve considered leaving the city at times because finding somewhere decent here that’s also affordable seems close to impossible.
Best: Porto, Portugal. Sure houses aren’t that luxurious but most are solid. I had two great apartments and two less good places but in general, finding a place was relatively easy (through friends) and the places were affordable. Of course Porto has become more expensive the last few years.
Manchester, UK. Because in another country I had spent 3 weeks in a hotel while looking for a place, I looked for a place online with an agent. The room seemed ok (mind you, in the UK housing is so expensive that you are almost forced to share a house). I arrived late at night, totally rained out so I signed the paperwork and went to my room. The day after, I started to really see the state of the house: my window was not attached to the walls, it was held up by a lot of foam. And it was broken so the room was cold. Bathroom was full of dirt and the ventilation was full of mould. Kitchen was the same and the living room dusty. I got into an argument with the landlord and after two months I managed to leave. While the housing market in other countries is bad, the UK one is explicitly one of exploiting renters.