After a week of very discouraging house hunting those same things are bumming me out. It is impossible to get where you want to go without going through the middle of those charming little villages and their windy, narrow roads. I've never slalomed between parked cars so much in my life and I'm beginning to wonder if our american-made minivan is going to survive its European adventure. We've scoured the ads, made numerous appointments to view houses, gone into homes which weren't even available yet, and made so many calls we've had to refill the minutes on the phone twice. Yet we are still without a place to call home. Even if we found a place which was perfect there's no guarantee that we'd be able to rent as has been demonstrated to us with landlords telling us that we can rent the place--and then renting it to someone else before the papers have been signed. (I was under the impression that Germans took verbal agreements very seriously, and yet this has happened at least twice) We've found places which are big enough for us, but too expensive or places which are priced right but too far of a commute. Or else we have too many kids. Can't do anything about that one! Supposedly a landlord can't discriminate against you for having a lot of kids, but Ben's made offers on houses only to be told he has too many kids.
Is this the point where I decide that we aren't going to find a place that fits most of our requirements and just get that house on the busy road which smells of smoke? Bribe someone? (I have no idea who'd we bribe, but we're doing everything we can--surely there is something else we can do?)
Maybe I'm just so down because we rushed through our lunch to get ready and go see an apartment--only to get there and be told it had already rented. They're always so very, very sorry, but it's not their problem and no, they don't know what else you can do. I cried. Can't even blame jet lag for that.
In the meantime, I have sent Ben out to go grocery shopping with all the kids so I can blub while taking a hot bath.
I should have beautiful pictures, but we have been non-stop house hunting and all I have is a picture of our milk carton propaganda.
I'm re-considering all right.
2 comments:
You can blame the blubbing on your hormonal pregnant sister. I haven't done enough of it lately--it's so kind of you to cover that for me!! The house will come. You know how people who want to get married so bad sometimes prevent it from happening because they're trying too hard? Maybe you should stop trying to find a house so hard. When it's right, it will work out. Meanwhile, enjoy the last dregs of your first German summer--soon it will be beautiful fall to enjoy. LOve you!
I have to admit our first month in Germany and our last month were really hard (dishonest and psycho landlord, lost luggage, lost son) but in between we really enjoyed it--once you find a place I am sure you will too. It sounds like housing is more scarce there than it was for us in Munich although we did have to pay about twice as much in rent as our house payment in Utah was. Good luck!
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