Flat-hunting is FINALLY over

Finally, after

• six days of looking though the flat ads on loquo.com for countless hours
• five days of travelling across the streets (and the underground) of Barcelona
• spending more than two T-10 cards for the metro, that is around 24 routes – and consider that this figure doesn’t include connections (line changes), for which you are not charged extra
• viewing 15 flats (más o menos)
• 2 voicemail messages left in my mobile that I cannot access because when I call the number I am supposed to call to listen to them, there is this Spanish chick saying something that I can’t get (probably about how I can activate the voicemail)
• 2 unsuccessful attempts to make an appointment to view a flat: I called them, they only spoke Spanish, we couldn’t communicate and I just hung up the phone
• many-many times of getting lost in my notes (once more I realised how disorganized I can be – a greek phrase that suits me perfectly is: “πελαγώνω πολύ εύκολα”)
• lots of calls to my friends and sister so I could share my worries with them or just hear a familiar voice

I am very close to renting a room. I have actually shortlisted 2 rooms.

Choice number 1: A flat in Sagrada Familia, shared with two girls, one Norwegian, which I met (she speaks perfect English and seems really funny and a very good person) and another French girl. The flat is not great, just nice and the room has a double bed and a window to an interior patio, but looks bright.

Choice number 2: A flat very close to the place I will be working, in a very nice and quiet neighbourhood, with views to Camp Nou, Barcelona FC’s stadium (I can actually see inside – well OK, not the actual field), with a Spanish guy who is willing to speak English. There are actually 2 empty rooms, so there will be another flatmate as well. The room feels like a proper room and the flat is generally better than the first one. The guy stays there only on weekends, because he works outside Barcelona, which one of the things that worries me since if I move there tonight, I will be alone for the whole week. The other thing is that I don’t know what kind of person the other flatmate will be.

So the dilemma is whether to choose the best flat, or the most social flat…

As always, I find it very hard to make a decision. My usual strategy in these situations is to avoid making the decision myself and let an external event “indicate” to me what I should do. In this case it goes like that:

The Norwegian chick follows an interviewing process. She shows the flat to the people that are interested and has a chat with them, but doesn’t rent it to whoever wants to get it first. Instead she waits to see who is definitely interested in the room and then she makes a choice among those. So I will rely on this; if she choses me I am going to her flat, otherwise I am going to the other flat. As simple as that…

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Soundtrack for this post: The White Stripes – Little Room