One of the primary reasons for our reconnaissance was a pre-emptive strike on houses. Section put us in contact with a wonderful lady called Christelle Ponsa (known, by us, as the Ponsy Scheme) who would do all the necessary translating and help us find the right house. Since meeting her, we seemed to spend all of our time on the French equivalent of Trade Me, Leboncoin. If we thought the house hunt in NZ was hard, then we hadn't banked on how the French roll with their locations (rentals).
You may recall the time Iain and I visited Katie and Steph in their crazy house in Island Bay, photos here? Well, most of the houses we visited gave that crazy place a run for it's money. Firstly, an unfurnished house mean nothing. Not even an oven or hob, let alone a dishwasher, washing machine or fridge. Once you start going into the furnished territory, the whiteware is ancient and the place hasn't been decorated since the 1980s. Very quickly, I became very despondent.
Now I would say that I am massively picky but some of these places were crazy. Terracotta walls and glittery wallpaper are just a couple of crazy things that spring to mind. Some of the houses were actually great. Good bones, as one might say in NZ, but that's grand if you're intending to buy and then do it up. As a rental, I'm looking for somewhere clean, fresh and neutral, so I can make it my home. Not move in somewhere that is absolutely hideous to look at from the outset.
It was great to be able to bounce these ideas off some of our new friends as they could empathise with our struggle, having all been there themselves. The best advice we got was: don't settle. Something you like will come up so it's better to wait it out. The wait continues.
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| An example of a house we were taken to view.. |
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| Yeah, this was a NO from us. We're not students! |
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| The struggle is real. Fancy though; they have a bidet. ;-) |
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