Compras de apartamentos

For you Gringos, that means I’ve been shopping for an apartment, and I can tell you: It’s exhausting!

The rental market is very different here. An agent helps you to find the right apartment and then they get a commission on the terms and length of the lease.

Most rental ads are posted on Facebook, but a few are also found on GringoPost.com, a very popular website here for expats. The ads posted on GringoPost are MUCH more expensive than the ads posted on Facebook, and I’ve learned that if I write in Spanish when inquiring, I might get a better price.

Landlords want Americans to rent from them because they have fewer problems with them. They are quiet and they pay the rent on time, for the most part. But many people also seem to think that Americans are just oozing money from every pore, so sometimes you can get “gringoed.”

I love my current apartment. I pay $500 a month and includes everything: water, electric, Internet, and the “alícuota,” which is what we call the homeowner’s association fee. But there are also forty dogs living just across the river very close to my building, and they bark ALL NIGHT LONG. There is nothing that can be done about it.

And then on top of that, some neighbors on my floor who had been traveling for several months have just returned: and THEY ARE LOUD. They enjoy having long chats with other neighbors in the hallway, which just reverberates into my apartment. Sound really travels in these buildings as there is not a lot of sound proofing and NO ONE uses carpet here (thank god). But I can literally hear every word they are saying. I’ve asked them repeatedly to either go in their apartment or shut their door, but they just don’t seem to understand how loud they are, or how rude they are.

On top of that, some crazy American Gringa who is friends with them has inserted herself into the situation and knocks on my door several times a day to tell me that, “They are just loud,” and, “They have always lived in a house and are new to apartment living,” and a bunch of other nonsense that sounds like this to me: “This is just how it is, so I guess you’ll just have to get used to it.”

Um, no.

She showed up at my door again the other day and when I opened it, there she was, arms crossed, angry look on her face, standing 10 feet back. She says, “I’d like to invite you to tea at my house this afternoon.”

WTAF?

I said thank you, but no.

Americans. Oy.

So, lots of reasons to move.

But, for the reasons I just mentioned, I don’t want to live in a building full of expats. The only way to really immerse yourself is to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. I want to live with mostly locals, so that is what I have been looking for.

I’m looking in El Centro–the Historic District–where there is a TON of stuff to do but it’s also a bit noisier and the spaces are old and funky and often smell funky too.

I’m also looking in my neighborhood, near the Mall del Rio, because it is peaceful and a bit upscale and not far from El Centro.

I’ve also been looking in Misicata, which is on the way to Baños. Baños is this lovely little dog town about 10 minutes from my house that has the most amazing natural hot springs, which I frequent about once a week. Those are mostly homes, not apartments, and they are mostly unfurnished. Here, that means that you will have to buy the fridge, the dishwasher, the oven, the microwave, and all the furniture. But the rent is much, MUCH cheaper if you do that. It’s also more in the “country,” where the bugs–including the spiders–are a hell of a lot bigger.

This townhouse was nice though. It had a view, and a large terrace where I can put an inflatable hot tub, which is the closest thing I’m going to find to a bathtub. Bathtubs are RARE in Cuenca, and the American in me is so not happy with this. I need my relaxing soaks! But it also had large, barking dogs, one of which left a giant perro turd right in my parking space next to the apartment. So, probably no.

I really want a terrace. I love my outdoor space and have been growing a small potted garden with peppers and herbs and strawberries and such. I SO enjoy my time on my patio that I hate to give it up.

I’m finding that if you get one thing–like a washer and dryer–then you won’t have another thing–like a bathtub–so it truly is a give and take, a balancing of some things for other things.

But I’m sure I’ll find the right place. It just might take some time.

If you’re curious, here are pics from some of the places I have looked at: