A week before I started my course I decided enough was
enough of moving around between friend’s houses and parents of friend’s houses
and finally went apartment hunting.
After spending many hours on various websites looking up apartments (in
Hebrew, go me!) I compiled a list of apartments and phone numbers for the next
day. I wish I could explain in
words how much I was dreading this “apartment hunting day” I had scheduled
myself on my day off from the army.
In order to not pay for the public transportation I was going in
uniform, it was hot, I knew it would be frustrating, from experience I assumed
it would be quite unsuccessful, tiring, confusing, and anything else you can
imagine. To add to things I was doing
it on my own because it so happened that none of my Israeli friends were around
that day to help me, my sister was still in the states, and my other friends
were working since it was in the middle of the week. I figured if I ever made it to the point of signing a
contract I had a few people to call up to sit with me so I didn’t mess up or
get cheated/ripped off.
Before I left Tel Aviv in the morning to set out for my
dreadful day I decided to check online one last time in the morning to see if
anything else was posted.
Apartments are posted and rented daily here to the point where it
doesn’t even make sense to look up apartments before the week you want to move,
or in my case, the day you go looking.
I found an apartment listed not in the neighborhood my sister and I were
looking but in our price range and size.
I decided to go to this apartment first in dire hope that it would sweep
me off my feet and I wouldn’t have to lug myself all around the city in the
heat and try to find all of these other apartments. I showed up to this apartment, which, may I mention, was in
an AMAZING location, and fell in love.
It was about 5 or 6 am Boston time but I was so giddy I couldn’t wait to
call home and talk to Allie about it.
I talked to my mom for a while, biding time until it was reasonable to
wake Allie, while I sat for a few minutes across the street from the apartment
and watched 3 other people look at the apartment as well. In the mean time I pretended like I was
going in the direction of the other apartments to take a look at them too,
because it’s not smart to take the first thing you see. I finally woke Allie up and told her
about the apartment, she agreed maybe I should check out the other ones too
just in case but after about 10 minutes of trying to call the other apartments
as well as figure out where they are we decided together to stop being idiots
and to take the amazing first apartment we saw. I called the realtor back immediately and said I was ready
to sign. I discussed and signed
the contract all by myself and we had an apartment…just like that!
We live in a super cute apartment in an area of Jerusalem
called Nachlaot. Nachlaot is very
much in the center of the city, an old, fairly religious neighborhood that
turning to a more young, hip place to live as well. The neighborhood is comprised of old windy street made of
white Jerusalem stone and it is kind of like a little maze to walk around
inside the neighborhood. We have a
convenience store, neighborhood bar, little coffee shop, and Gelateria right
across the street. This is on top
of the 3 minute walk to the central Jerusalem market, a 5 minute walk to the
center of the city and all the restaurants/bars/pubs there, and a 1 minute walk
across the street to a huge, gorgeous park called Gan Sahker. Oh, and a 10 minute walk or 2 minute
bus ride to the central bus station.
Could it be a more perfect location? I think not. Good find Lauren!
I’m barely ever home but Allie’s doing a great job slowly
getting everything together in the apartment and when I’m home we capitalize on
shopping for furniture and accessories for the apartment.
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