The Great Cork Apartment Hunt - Prologue - Let the Games begin!
So, on Tuesday my landlord (Well, technically, she's a landlady) dropped a notice of termination of tenancy in my mailbox. Great. Fantastic. Just the kind of thing you need after a day at work that need up with my MacBook Pro being bricked (Yep, you read that right. I upgraded), and generally nothing going the way it should. A Quick check on daft.ie, Ireland's premier real estate website did nothing to lift my sprits. Trying to get anything fit for human habitation under 900€? Forget it! But what could I do?
Sleep over it, that's what I did. Anything looks different after a good night's sleep. Or, in this case, a good couple of hours at least. It was enough for me. And while I generally don't really give much credence to divine influence, horoscopes, destiny, all that kind of hokum, I couldn't really shake the feeling that whatever powers hold sway up there were sending me a message. It had rained heavily overnight, in fact it was still pouring down outside my windows when I woke up. As a matter of fact, it was pouring down INSIDE my windows as well, at least in the living room. The sealant around the south-facing window was overwhelmed by the water and the strong southerly winds. Well, at least I know the drill when it comes to damage control. By the time I had that leak under control, I was already running dangerously late. Grabbed my keys, company badge, and laptop bag, raced downstairs... only to find standing water at the bottom of the stairwell. Yay -.- Anyway, no time to lose about that. Still, I lost it anyway as my new umbrella failed on its first use. So, back upstairs to grab my old rain jacket and base cap, and back out into the deluge. By the time I arrived in the office, the outdoor sensor of my weather station had failed. And to top it off, after I had returned home from work, I had just settled in for a nice, relaxing evening... when the fire alarm went off. I could almost see the entire human pantheon, as well as several generations of my family laughing their asses off in whatever dimension they dwell.
After I had stopped cursing like a sailor, I took stock of my situation. I still have my place until mid-February 2018, so that gives me some breathing space. No immediate emergency. I have a certain amount of money in my savings account, as well as moderate stock and gold reserves I can call upon if needed. And I don't really have that much stuff to lug around. Okay, my books and bookshelves, my gaming PC and my TV, and a box full of memorabilia. Why should I see this as a problem again? It gives me a chance to slim down, and clear out crap that I don't need anymore.
So, I'll take this as a chance, as an opportunity, just as I did with my departure from Apple. Well, at least after the emotions subsided. I mean, if I have to move, I might as well have fun doing it, God knows I've taken some pretty severe blows this summer. Besides, if my landlady throws me out, it's her loss. Good luck finding another low-maintenance tenant for that place ;) Most of all, however, I'll take up a piece of advice that a new colleague in the office gave me: Write about it. I mean, serialised topics always work well on blogs, just look at my Dubai trip reports, the clicks on that were sky-high. Plus, the accommodation situation here in Cork is always sure to get someone interested. So, over the next few months, you'll be able to read all about my adventures in the real estate market here. I'm actually beginning to look forward to this.
So, shall we begin?
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| Home, sweet home. Not for much longer... |
Sleep over it, that's what I did. Anything looks different after a good night's sleep. Or, in this case, a good couple of hours at least. It was enough for me. And while I generally don't really give much credence to divine influence, horoscopes, destiny, all that kind of hokum, I couldn't really shake the feeling that whatever powers hold sway up there were sending me a message. It had rained heavily overnight, in fact it was still pouring down outside my windows when I woke up. As a matter of fact, it was pouring down INSIDE my windows as well, at least in the living room. The sealant around the south-facing window was overwhelmed by the water and the strong southerly winds. Well, at least I know the drill when it comes to damage control. By the time I had that leak under control, I was already running dangerously late. Grabbed my keys, company badge, and laptop bag, raced downstairs... only to find standing water at the bottom of the stairwell. Yay -.- Anyway, no time to lose about that. Still, I lost it anyway as my new umbrella failed on its first use. So, back upstairs to grab my old rain jacket and base cap, and back out into the deluge. By the time I arrived in the office, the outdoor sensor of my weather station had failed. And to top it off, after I had returned home from work, I had just settled in for a nice, relaxing evening... when the fire alarm went off. I could almost see the entire human pantheon, as well as several generations of my family laughing their asses off in whatever dimension they dwell.
 |
| Yep, that's my living room there, in a drier state than on Wednesday. The offending window is the rightmost one on this picture. |
After I had stopped cursing like a sailor, I took stock of my situation. I still have my place until mid-February 2018, so that gives me some breathing space. No immediate emergency. I have a certain amount of money in my savings account, as well as moderate stock and gold reserves I can call upon if needed. And I don't really have that much stuff to lug around. Okay, my books and bookshelves, my gaming PC and my TV, and a box full of memorabilia. Why should I see this as a problem again? It gives me a chance to slim down, and clear out crap that I don't need anymore.
So, I'll take this as a chance, as an opportunity, just as I did with my departure from Apple. Well, at least after the emotions subsided. I mean, if I have to move, I might as well have fun doing it, God knows I've taken some pretty severe blows this summer. Besides, if my landlady throws me out, it's her loss. Good luck finding another low-maintenance tenant for that place ;) Most of all, however, I'll take up a piece of advice that a new colleague in the office gave me: Write about it. I mean, serialised topics always work well on blogs, just look at my Dubai trip reports, the clicks on that were sky-high. Plus, the accommodation situation here in Cork is always sure to get someone interested. So, over the next few months, you'll be able to read all about my adventures in the real estate market here. I'm actually beginning to look forward to this.
So, shall we begin?
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