The Quest for "The Room"

Who said that finding a room to rent would be easy? No one did. And if someone had, that someone would be dead wrong.

It’s not that I didn’t start early. I spent some time on http://www.daft.ie/ (the self-proclaimed “Ireland’s Biggest Property Site”) and when I arrived I already had a list of more than 20 places that seemed “nice”, which is quite difficult to evaluate because most of the listings don’t have any photos. My requirements were something like:

• Close proximity to the centre (not more than 10 minutes of walking);
• Rent not higher than €400 per month;
• Internet connection.

So when I got here I was ready to start with the viewings and all that. I have to confess I didn’t start as fast as I could have, but I was still getting the hang of the city, to know where each place is located. And now that I know, it seems that every place is already taken. Or the house doesn’t have Internet (although the listing says it does). Or the description has “males only” and “ONLY PROFESSIONALS” on it (I don’t know about you, but that scares me a little bit). And so on…

After a great deal of phone calls I’ve been able to view 3 places:

1. Great location, good price, but soooo small…
2. Good location, spacious house, but no Internet…
3. Good location, cozy atmosphere, but only available on the 27th…

Number 1 will not alow me to fit in bed. Number 2 is not even an option if I can’t get Internet there. And I still have to find a broadband provider that doesn’t require a 12 month contract (I’m staying for 6). Number 3 seems like the most viable option, but I don’t want to be occupying Sónia’s (my host, and a former participant of the Inov Contacto program – C11) living room for so long. And even if I do decide that I want the room, the current occupants still have to choose me from all the people that want it…

As you can see, this is not easy. I have to change my requirements a little bit. Like looking at places a bit further from the centre, and also considering paying a bit more (which means less beer). Unless some perfect house miraculously shows up…

On the upside, I now have quite a good knowledge of the street names in the city centre.