As I'm pretty sure I've posted about before, Hannah is leaving at the end of the month to start a Masters. This has pretty much left me with 3 options: 1) Stay in the flat alone. 2) Find a new flatmate. Or 3) Move somewhere else. I investigated option 3 fairly early on. Knowing that I absolutely would not want to go back to living in a studio, I only looked at prices for T2 or F2 (a one bedroom apartment). I quickly learned that the price wouldn't be much lower than what I have now especially if I want to stay in such a good location. Plus, the owners here are nice.
Option 3 was basically off the table until talking with the owners of my current flat. They had a T2 that was a great price! More expensive than what I'm paying now, but cheaper than staying here alone. Hannah visited it while I was in Aix and sent me pictures. It looked promising. I visited it right away upon my return, and I really liked it. Or so I thought. The next day, I was already thinking of everything I didn't like about it. The layout, the size of the rooms, the fact that it had no storage (we have huge closets and cabinets here), what the windows looked out over (2 were actually *in* the garage area - WTF?), and the fact that I'd have to go through the hassle of buying more things and getting all my current stuff moved over there. Not to mention that I really don't want to live alone. So Option 3 out again.
That leaves Option 1 and 2. Now, I know I said I don't want to live alone, but I'd rather be in this flat alone than in the other one I looked at, so Option 1 will be Worst Case Scenario Option. I'd prefer Option 2, because I'm lonely being here alone. There's something comforting about just being able to say "Hey" to someone as you walk through the door even if you don't have a real conversation. Also, I'd be able to save a good amount of money to go home with.
I'd prefer to have an Anglophone for the simple reason in that they're very temporary here as am I which means that leaving won't be a hassle at the end of the year. That and the setup here is a bit weird so someone who is temporary would be more likely to take the room. In short, you have to walk through my room to get to the bathroom and Hannah's to get through the front door. We put up curtains to give privacy, and Hannah and I are good friends, so it wasn't a real huge problem for us. We took the place because of it's location, price, size (it's big), the owners are nice, and it really is a nice flat. That said, it makes finding and selecting a roommate even harder.
Hannah and I have both been using Facebook to make some contacts for potential flatmates, and there are people who seem really interested. There are a few that I *really* would prefer to live with, but I don't want to flat out ask them if they want the room, because I don't want to scare them off by putting pressure on them to decide right now. And I also still run the risk of whoever says "yes" now, finding something better and backing out. I'm hesitant to ask for a deposit, because the logistics are just difficult for someone abroad, and it's hard choosing a place to live from pictures you see on the internet. And they might not trust me either, because no lease will be signed until they're here and with the owners. Complications complications.
I really want one of the people who I think would be great flatmates to say to me "I want the room for sure. How can I make it mine?" That would solve so many problems.
Good luck with the roommate search. I was always really happy that I never had to deal with real housing issues in France.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, when you say "I don't want to flat out ask them if they want the room, because I don't want to scare them off by putting pressure on them to decide right now", you shouldn't think of it like that, because you're entitled to know what's going on.
ReplyDeleteAnd plus if they get scared off by that, they were never really interested in the first place.
Lots of luck, I know how hard it can be!
ReplyDeleteI agree, you should feel free to tell potential roommates that you're very interested and you'd like a definitive, or some sort of definitive, answer by a certain time. They may appreciate someone prompt. Or you can find some sort of arrangement that works for them.
ReplyDeleteAs for logistics, I sent my first month's rent by paypal to the roommates when I first moved to Poitiers so they'd have some sort of guarantee. I dunno how many people would do that but it's something to think about.
Yeah exactly eileen. Plus shannon, if you feel like you don't have much security with the situation, it's possible the potential flatmates feel the same, as they're contacting you but you're not pushing it forward or asking them to commit, so it's probably they feel like you're not providing THEM with much security either.
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