first step toward adulthood:

the apartment search!

I have to be out of my apartment, which I share with two other girls from my program, by June 1, and so I attacked my apartment search with gusto. I was very cute, actually; I poured over craigslist.com/paris and circled listings in the English-language classifieds magazine with a red pen. I wrote up a list of questions to ask potential landlords, like, "How far is the nearest laundromat?" and "Does this include utilities?"

(Déjà vu, by the way - if I've already written about this, sorry; if I haven't, let's just chalk it up to my delirium.)

I made four appointments. The first was for a room in an apartment just on the other side of the Pantheon from me. I really wanted my own apartment or studio, but was willing to trade off for location and a lower price. It was a beautiful apartment, and had great views (including the one from my would-be-future balcony). More importantly, it had a washer/dryer and an actual bathtub. The couple was really nice, too, and I must have made a good impression, because although I need somewhere for less time than their other interviewees, they offered the room to me.

The second appointment was for an apartment in the 9th, an area I don't know very well. The place is actually a full apartment, split in two; the front half has a tiny bedroom, a livingroom/diningroom room, a full kitchen (with dishwasher [!!!], oven, microwave, and 4 top range), a big bathroom, and decent closet space. The second half, in the back, is the landlady's private suite of rooms. She'll be in the states this summer, but usually shares her apartment with a student during the school year. The place was really pretty and very cute. Kind of smallish, but more than sufficient. AND it's only on the 1st floor (that's the second to you Americans) and gets tons of sun and faces the courtyard and there are flowers everywhere. I was entranced. I took it. I'm siked. I'll put photos up when I move in.

(The third apartment was more expensive than I wanted, and the fourth was far out, so I don't think I jumped the gun by not seeing them.)

I'll actually be moving in on the 24th of May, nearly a week before I have to, but Operation Let's See If Betsy Maintains Her Sanity With A Flatmate She Can't Stand has failed spectacularly, and so I want to be out asap, wasted rent money be damned.


(Funny story about my new hood: I was walking around a bit after looking at the apartment, and I ran across two butcher shops and a flower shop in a row that were closed. "Strange," thought I, "things don't usually close on Saturdays in Paris." I walked a little further, and passed two bearded, dark-suited men. "Strange," thought I, "it's the middle of the day. I wonder where they're going?" I walked a little further... and tumbled on a synagogue. "Aha!" thought I.)