vagabondage
"But wait," you might ask, if you just read the previous post, "Why are Louis and Emily staying in France? Didn't they visit Geneva in July to find an apartment? Don't they have a relocation agent helping them? Isn't Emily making a decent salary?"
Well, the answer to all of those questions is "yes." However, Geneva has a .2% vacancy rate - yep, you read that right, POINT 2 - so getting an apartment, even with outside help, is a major challenge. In July, we saw 10 apartments, applied for 2, and didn't get either. (Many of the other 8 had the unfortunate characteristics of being located above bars, across from the emergency room, etc). Since arriving last week, we have looked at 7 more apartments and applied for 3. We just got a "no" on one. We're waiting to hear on the others, and on appointments for more viewings.
What might we get for our swiss francs? Apartments in Geneva range from the classic European:
to the 1970s kitsch (there are flowers on those tiles):
to the "in the midst of renovation"; you just have to *imagine* a kitchen in here...
Often, they come "unequipped": i.e. without a stove or fridge. They can also legally be transferred to the renter with no bulbs or light sockets, just bare wires. Good thing we brought a headlamp...
It's unclear how long it will take us to find a place. The market here would drive an economist mad. Prices DON'T always rise because of scarcity; some apartments are very affordable while others are completely outrageous. And, size only sometimes correlates with price. What makes a prospective tenant "desirable" is a mystery to everyone but the owners. All we can do is keep applying and hope for the best.
This is, as you may imagine, a nightmare, especially while I am trying to prepare for classes: in a new job, at a new institution, in a new city, as a new Ph.D. So, if there is a deity you pray to, maybe you could send an extra few words/a goat up there for us. In the meantime, a few pics of our current digs: bedroom and kitchenette.
Well, the answer to all of those questions is "yes." However, Geneva has a .2% vacancy rate - yep, you read that right, POINT 2 - so getting an apartment, even with outside help, is a major challenge. In July, we saw 10 apartments, applied for 2, and didn't get either. (Many of the other 8 had the unfortunate characteristics of being located above bars, across from the emergency room, etc). Since arriving last week, we have looked at 7 more apartments and applied for 3. We just got a "no" on one. We're waiting to hear on the others, and on appointments for more viewings.
What might we get for our swiss francs? Apartments in Geneva range from the classic European:
to the 1970s kitsch (there are flowers on those tiles):
to the "in the midst of renovation"; you just have to *imagine* a kitchen in here...
Often, they come "unequipped": i.e. without a stove or fridge. They can also legally be transferred to the renter with no bulbs or light sockets, just bare wires. Good thing we brought a headlamp...
It's unclear how long it will take us to find a place. The market here would drive an economist mad. Prices DON'T always rise because of scarcity; some apartments are very affordable while others are completely outrageous. And, size only sometimes correlates with price. What makes a prospective tenant "desirable" is a mystery to everyone but the owners. All we can do is keep applying and hope for the best.
This is, as you may imagine, a nightmare, especially while I am trying to prepare for classes: in a new job, at a new institution, in a new city, as a new Ph.D. So, if there is a deity you pray to, maybe you could send an extra few words/a goat up there for us. In the meantime, a few pics of our current digs: bedroom and kitchenette.
posted by Emily at 7:41 PM
3 Comments:
For the long run you might want to try the CIA... yup... the CIA... that's CIA.ch however. It is the pension fund of Geneva State employees (also the GIIS' employees btw) and Geneva state is the biggest owner of apartments here. They have a very long waiting list and might actually have closed the inscriptions. But in the long run (i.e. about a year on average) you can get a very good apt with a very decent price.
Everybody here is frustrated with the situation and basically the first type of people we want to hang high are people from the regies, then insurers and finally lawyers. If you don't have insiders or a LOT of money, you can only pray to whatever deities or tress you believe in, here in Jean-Jacques hometown.
In any case, don't hesitate to contact me if necessary.
good luck
So it wasn't possible to find a photo with Louis in which he was wearing a shirt? Just checking.
(Good luck re: househunting).
Well Dan, as a matter of fact, I'm not sure there has been a picture taken of me since we got here where I am wearing a shirt. It's been pretty damn hot!
Post a Comment
<< Home