Okay, the whole apartment thing is starting to get a little bit silly, I checked out three more places today and quite frankly, and I’m speaking to you in particular here Frau Müller, the words are not “require some moderate renovation”, the words are “should be condemned and demolished”. And yet, flats all seem to cost around about the same amount, irrelevant of whether they’re fit for human habitation or are like Frau Müller’s little place. And location? Doesn’t seem to play a big factor in rent prices.
Why then did I say “Of course I’ll take it!”? Because as of the end of the month I’ll have nowhere to live. And did I get it, or any of the places? No. I guess there are plenty of other desperate people out there. There’s no real sense of panic just yet (editorial note: blatant lie), but I have started to take note of which bridges around town look dry and protected from the wind and I’m packing the tv last (’cause that cardboard box is big enough to live in).
If you have nowhere to go, just squat for a while. Here (England), landlords basically can’t touch you for 6 months; Germany might be better or worse.
Good luck finding a place. Yes, whether they are nice/ or condem-able, (is that a new word?) rents are sort of crazy in Germany. Last time we got a place there, it was once of those sublets. We got it from a friend of a friend of a friend…
You could come live with us for a while, but it would be quite a trek to work every day.
I’m sure you’ll find something decent really soon.
Forget Stuttgart, AF. You want to play with the big guys in the major league now, right? Think Berlin. Thanks to about 13% unemployment flats and office space come dirt cheap here in the capital. This is the city where paupers (i. e. postdocs employed at the Charite) can afford 96 m2 three room flats with a 12 m2 terrace in one of the better boroughs. Plus, Berlin’s inhabitants are (quite like yourself) famously known for their sense of fashion, polite behaviour, good humour, sense of order and eloquence. Just this Sunday I spotted an up and coming artist with a - as we like to say - Migrationshintergrund scribbling something on the back wall of a public lavatory. Another small incident that illustrates how easily fame can be achieved in this great city. And if everything fails, we got plenty of flights to the UK, no need to ride coach. I have to admit there’s one (and just one) drawback: No satellite reception for BSkyB, so you would have to sell your dish and cancel your subscription.
yup, looking for a place is tricky in Deutschland.
not that I want to play the race card here but, that issue (i think the same applies to any foreigner) makes it doubly hard for the landlord to “choose you”. so, there are times when you really do have to grab what you can get.
du arme. vielleicht gab ’s etwas besser for dich — eine nette Frau geneüber. haha we have to be positive here
*gegenüber
Oh, bad luck, IAF. I second the sentiment of the loyal Berliner, though, indeed, it could be a bit of a commute. My tactic on the foreigner front was to turn up to mosey around with a handy German, get them to do all the talking, pray that the landlord is too drunk or preoccupied to notice the dodgy surnames on whatever form it is that has to be filled in and then watch - with joy - them gulp with oh-fuck-how-do-i-get-out-of-this-one-ness when you turn up to sign the contract and one of the Mieters whips out a Soviet passport. Hurrah! Anyway, good luck.
Look at the bright side…how many homeless bloggers are there? You might sky-rocket to blogging fame with this. “The Homeless Blogger…my life in a box.”
Think about it.
There was that guy who lived in the NYU library for a semester. He was a homeless blogger.
I lived in a lab (no, really) for 10 months after University. They thought I was the most dedicated researcher on the planet because I was always there. Perhaps you could try something similar???
You could doss down with us, but as Christina already noted it would be a helluva hike to work. Hope you find something soon.
wowie!
any further development?
I’m not sure…but I think I read this text before…er…some years before. Am I right or I’m getting mad? (More mad than I already am, of course…) Take care, my friend…and be safe from the cold and snow!
OK, I’m curious what has happened to IAF. Is he:
1) In hospital after being run over by a friendly neighbor (again)?
2) Wondering around outside for the past week after locking his keys inside his flat (again)?
3) Perhaps he picked up a new virus that only uses beer a vector? yikes
4) Selected for rendition based on his insistence for misspelling perfectly good English words.
5) homeless and living in a cardboard box?
I don’t know one is correct but I’m betting that it involved an accident and a random stranger.
I’ve recently come back from staying at IAF’s place (a big thanks again, mate, for letting me stay). Don’t worry, he was alive and still franctically looking for another flat,. Hope he’s found something by now.
He was alive at 11pm GMT last night. However, he’s quite calamitous so who knows what’s become of him by now?
I really think it’s time to call Interpol in and file a missing blogger’s report. IAF, WTF?
Uhm, there is a nice program in Italy, Chi l’ha visto? Who has seen him?, it’s about missing people. I’m considering the opportunity to call them and ask if they look for bloggers as well…
Ok, that’s enough. Ryan, do you still have that pic of you and IAF on the couch together? I’m thinking that would make a great picture on the side of a milk carton at Walmart. Missing person: have you seen this guy lately??
He’s really alive. Honest. I got a text 90 minutes ago.
Isn’t INOAP lucky? If only all of IAF’s readers were as loved *sniff*
Are you cheating on my wife, you bastard?
Good to know he’s not dead. Homeless, maybe, but still alive nonetheless.
What rhymes with orange peel?
He lives!
Well, sort of - not in a home of his own, but over the weekend at the home of Black Forest Girl (so, the Black Forest then) and as of yesterday evening in London (at least for a day or two)…
Glad to hear your not dead, just basically homeless (not glad about that part). Thank goodness for friends that will give you a place to stay.
I’m with 820 - its good that you are still alive, even if slightly homeless. Hope you find a new place to live soon!
Oh, good luck with getting things sorted out, IAF!
Oh, there are far too many comments here for someone with just a dial-up connection and an unfamiliar kezboard layout. Needless to say, however, I’m grateful for all the comments and concern and am sorry I didn’t have an internet connection at the time to reply to them all..
A funny post. I don’t want to add to your heavy ‘comment’ load too much but couldn’t help being horribly reminded of my own landlady, also by the name of Frau Mueller (using UK keyboard). A stiff drink has been downed. Cheers!