Bad Days
For the first time in my life I experienced waking up in the middle of the night, tripping over sweat and thoughts. Bad thoughts.
I can’t sleep because nothing is going right.
And especially Eva is with me.
Like I don’t care if all is happening to me, I can take care of it. But I don’t like if she has to experience this situation. It is something that we can survive without.
Last time this was hard was back in Australia in 2014. Homeless, with no jobs, low on credit, surrounded by tricky people, and with a debt.
But this one is another level, definitely.
In these moments you feel like Inception from Di Caprio, where the world around you is slowly crumbling.
From that night I’ve intensified my job research, remade my CV and Cover letter and started to apply only to jobs that I really care about…
Luckily for us, on the night of the fine all the guys were pretty happy to split the fine because, like us they felt it was wrong. We were in 7, that means 15Euro each and the problem was solved on Tuesday afternoon.
I know that we can potentially go after that, but honestly we got so much going on right now that if I can solve this problem with 15Euro. Also because if we don’t pay the fine within 10 days, we need to pay 446Euro of fine.
August day was structured like this:
- Wake up at 8am, breakfast and job/house hunt.
- Afternoon visit apartments all over town. And trust me in August is not really a walk in the park (31/34 degrees).
- Back home in the evening, we were baked but still able to do some research.
How’s renting house in Barcelona?
Looking for housing is always fun, and became my second job.
I make sure that we have two or more appointments every day.
To do a good research I suggest you visit a lot, as much as possible, and in the beginning even the one that you are not 100/100 sure. You do that, to understand the quality of the apartment in town.
Barcelona is very old, and the building and the house are old as well.
Some of them are renowned but others are kept old, even without lift.
There are two website that I used: Idealista and Badi.com
Badi is from private to private, meanwhile in Idealista there is an agency in the middle.
With an agency everything is better.
- You got a proper contract,
- If something is not clear they are going to deal with the landlord.
- Insurance included.
- Customers’ services, etc…
So why do people still prefer private to private?
Simple, is cheaper.
Example with an agency: we went to see a little studio in St Antoni, nearby where we lived. Nice flat but even before stepping in, they asked me to pay: cover one month in advance, one month as a bond/deposit and 10% of the annual rent as agency fee. You do the math and even before beginning your life you have to take 3500euro out of your pocket.
That a lot.
But as always, you want better? You pay!
The crazy differences I noticed in Spain is the agency fee. In the UK from 2017, the agency can’t charge any more fees to the tennant.
To be fair, at the moment, there are some very beautiful homes in Barcelona due to Covid situation. In Fact a lot of AirBnb type businesses are changing their plan for 2020: from short staying to long staying.
They cost good money, but those places look nice and clean!
They offer a contract until Feb/March, to see what’s the situation like in 2021.
Short term you make way more money.
Monthly they are asking in between 1000Euro and 1400Euro.
Daily previous Covid: minimum 100Euro a night.
You do the Math…
In general if you want to have your own place, you are looking for a minimum 1000Euro a month for rent. ( Bills not included).
Instead if the flat is shared, you can find your own room for 5 to 600Euro with a shared bathroom, and from 6 to 800 with your own WC.
Some of the houses are nice, keepts really well with nice design furniture. Others feel like you want to wear a mask all over your body because it’s filthy.
Btw…
Finally we got an apartment!!! Yes we found a private room with our own bathroom in the city centre. Finally 1st September we are gonna move in.
Another problem solved.
Step by step.