Hello Anna, 

I was pretty much in your situation and I know exactly how do you feel. Looking for a CHEAP room is not easy in Geneva; but it is not impossible either. As for the family ads I can't really judge but from my experience you have to be careful of such ads because 90% of them - if not more - are scams. Your best bet would be to look for student foyers. There are Foyers for ladies only and these ones are quite cheap but you have to convince the management to get in since you are an intern not a student. My advice is to call them up and ask to speak to the reservation manager. If you send an e-mail you will not get the answer you are looking for as most foyers do not take e-mails seriously. Also try to convince them that you will pay a security deposit to show that you are serious. Please check the followings:-

1) http://www.foyerinternational.ch/ (Girls only)

2) http://www.justinus.ch/accueil/index.html (Best option) 

3) http://www.cstb.ch/ 

4)  http://www.mandint.org/en/accommodation-new (General Accomidation) 

5 http://www.johnknox.ch/en/ (A bit over your budget but it is close to UN headquarter) 

I hope you will find the above-sites pretty much helpful 

Good luck 

I would try the "Cite Bleue" or the "Ciguë" (better) as well. 

good luck! 

Have you tried the classifieds on this site ?

Ciguë is good but I noticed that they are very difficult to deal with while you live overseas, you must be in Geneva or know someone who lives there so he/she can finalize face-to-face with them on your behalf but if you just communicate with them via e-mails then it is useless as they are quite unresponsive! 

Thank you for the links, I hope they still have a room available

Yes, I posted an ad there as well

Dear Anna Chiara,

I think you are italian like me. I'll move to Geneva as of the 1st September and intern at UNEP too. I am currently in your same situation. If you want we can help each other find something or, if you agree, we could look for an apartment to share.

Do not hesitate to contact me.

Giorgia

Hi all,

I'm looking for something similar in Geneva too. I've just finished my Masters at Cambridge University and will be in Geneva from 13 September to 31 October. I'm looking for a room or someone to share an apartment (which might be cheaper). I'll be doing an internship at UNDP for the period.

Do let me know if you are interested.

Thanks!

Neil

Hello to everyone, I'm kind of in a similar situation haha but little further. I propose also a Search in Sharehome.ch, that worked for me. 

I'm coming to Geneva in one month and I'm staying for an academic exchange program till February.

Good luck and hope to meet you all.

Chiara,

You may try this website which offers cheap accommodation against services (or not ...).
In case of lease, students have to pay a fee, though.
Rooms in the city center seem to be no longer available, otherwise it's in the countryside.

http://www.ensembleavectoit.com/geneve.html