The Great Apartment Hunt

The first couple of weeks the kids were in school I spent my days wandering the neighborhood around their school with the idea that we would find an apartment within walking distance.  I was trying to find the parts of that area we liked and the parts we didn't like, and as it turns out we didn't like most of it! Much of the area around their school feels very residential and quiet. In our apartment in the 9th arrondissement we are used to having a boulangerie on every block, not to mention a butcher, green grocer and grocery store all less than a block away from our front door. They have these same things in the 17th, except they are much less prevalent and so more spread out. What can I say, we were spoiled there!

Our (former) boulangerie.

Why don't we stay in the area where we currently are then? Because every morning on our way to school the train pulls up with people literally smashed against the doors - and then we have to try to fight our way on. Because it's so crowded it takes longer to get to school and it is unpleasant the entire way. Not a great way to start the day for the next 2 years.

The number 2 line - not as crowded in the middle of the afternoon!

The good news is that I had been able to identify a couple of pockets of the 17th which seemed to be just what we were looking for. Both areas were centered around market streets and decent metro lines. The next step was actually locating a suitable apartment in those particular spots.

Finding an apartment on our own had proved a bit difficult thus far. I spent lots of time online pouring through ads and sending appointment requests. I barely heard back from anyone. It could have been because I had transposed a digit on my new french phone number when filling out the contact forms, but not much changed even after I corrected that error! After seeing one apartment along with another 8 or so other people and barely deciphering the agent's answers to all of their questions, I decided we were in over our heads and we needed help. Some friends had recommended an agency. I called. She spoke english (a New Yorker originally). Sign me up!

We relayed to the agency our criteria and picked a date to go hunting. The way the agency worked was to schedule all of the viewings in one day. We dropped the kids off at school and the agent met us with her car. The first apartment wasn't bad, but looked as if it had been furnished by someone's grandparents. The next was in the exact location we were interested in, but the apartment directly faced the post office across the street. I spent too much of my life working in a cubicle to spend my time in Paris watching others work in cubicles. Another was in the second location we really liked, but there was a giant mushroom growing on one of the bedroom walls. Another was too far away from the school. Another felt as if it were in a cave....

Out of the 9 places we looked at, there were a couple that we actually liked! Not perfect, nor in the areas we had identified as "desirable", but they were good options. After thinking it over we reached a decision on what would be our first choice. It was a quintessential Paris apartment with a fireplace in every room, beautiful moulding on the ceilings and chandeliers for the lights. It was beautiful. I loved it! ...and we didn't get it. Turns out the owner had accepted another offer the same day we put ours in. Unfortunately we didn't learn that until several nail-biting days later. Luckily our agent held our #2 choice on the line and they waited for us (they had another offer, but for only a couple of months whereas we want 2 years).

...one of the many fireplaces in the apartment
that was not meant to be.

When I thought about where we would be living in Paris, a 60's high rise was never what came to mind, yet here we are! The building is ugly enough that I am not even going to post a picture of it! But - this is what we get to look out upon every day:

The view from the living room window:
La Tour Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe

Sam thinks it's pretty cool too.