Grim

My first day of apartment hunting was pretty grim. I saw 3 apartments for rent and they were all terrible.

The first apartment was in the 16th near metro Jasmin. I like this location because it's close to the gym where I go and I don't really want to change gyms. At €1150 per month for 45 sqm, I expected it to be in fairly good condition but that couldn't be further from the truth.

The apartment had old, mismatched carpet, was in desperate need of painting, had an old kitchen with no oven, and an extremely filthy bathroom with ancient fittings. Not to mention there was no sunlight and probably wouldn't be any during the day. The only good thing the landlord could say was that it looked over the wealthiest mansions in Paris. Yay, that's important.

Apartment number 2 was in the 12th near Bois de Vincennes. I don't want to live anywhere near there but was curious to see what you get for €840 per month. I got there quite early and there were already 30 people waiting to view it. I counted at least 60 people in line by the time the owner opened the apart for viewing. Pretty much all those in line were students. My budget is up to €1200 per month so I won't bother looking at any of these kinds of apartments again. It was 45 sqm with a disgusting kitchen and bathroom, again.

Apartment number 3 was in Boulogne, 55 sqm one bed, close to Parc des Princes. It was in a very secure, high class building, at the back of the block, away from the road. It was extremely quiet, which is very important, and on the 4th floor. When I walked in I was taken by how much light there was. Huge windows, white walls, and real oak flooring. The bedroom was the same. Unfortunately, the shower room was so filthy, with no light, no fan, no mirror, no cupboards, no shower screen, mould everywhere and the kitchen wasn't much better. It needed completely redoing. There is no way it could be cleaned up. It wasn't livable. At €1100 per month I expected more.

I really can't imagine who would rent any of those apartments. All the bathrooms and kitchens were unusable in my opinion. Even with some serious cleaning I wouldn't spend even one night in those places. Some people seemed pretty eager to rent. Just how desperate are they? We're talking about toilets which were black with dirt (or I hate to think what). I felt sick just looking at it.

I'm viewing another place tomorrow night in Boulogne. It's a great location, close to all the shops I regularly visit, and it's at the back of the building so it should be quiet.

Another possibility is a small one bed, 38 sqm, in Sevres Babylone for €1100. That is pretty much a dream location for me. It's on the ground floor but at the back with a small garden. The woman told me the kitchen and bathroom are in very good condition but who knows what that means. She's reluctant to rent to me because of my foreign income and she said she'd call me back to make a time to view the place. I think that means I'll never hear from her again.