... can be really challenging. Especially if you're that kind of person who's used to the coziness of her own nice apartment that is situated within 10 minutes driving distance to the center of the city and within 10 minutes driving distance from work. Add to this the fact that the apartment is positioned in such a way that, wherever I go and whatever I do at any hour, high traffic is ALWAYS in the opposite direction. So yes, I've been blessed. So far. And yes, this turned into that kind of physical laziness that made me develop an almost symbiotic relationship with my dear car.
This is why, when starting my search for a place to stay, the first impulse I had was to recreate the conditions that I got used to in Bucharest. Which proved to be fundamentally wrong. I soon discovered that this perfect combination of conditions (close to the center, but yet far from traffic jams, big yet not enormous, surrounded by plenty of food stores, with the possibility of easily finding a parking place, etc.) does not actually exist in Milan. Or, ok, it does exist, but it costs 2000 euro/month.
A few facts that I discovered during my search (I have been cheating a little bit, but I guess this is what happens when you're lucky enough to have a former real estate agency owner at your side):
- free parking places DO NOT EXIST in Milan
- some apartments have parking places, but there is a separate amount that you have to pay to rent the parking place as well (and the amount is not small). "affitasi bla bla con posto auto"
- some apartments have garages, but this of course increases the rent accordingly
- you can even rent a garage separately, and it doesn't have to be near your building. Anyway, this is not an option, considering that the rent for a garage ("box" in Italian) in Milan can be compared to the rent of a 1 room apartment in Bucharest
- sharing a rented apartment with strangers is a very common practice but, of course, not an option for me
- "piccolo monolocale" = a tiny matchbox of 17 sqm where you could barely turn around, not to mention preparing a meal
- announcements that look to good to be true are also easy to find, but this is because they ARE to good to be true. Posting a fake announcement with pictures from home decor magazines and a ridiculously low rent is a common practice, and even the websites themselves warn you that you have to stay away from them. They usually mean that the "landlord" will ask you to make a bank transfer of some "rent in advance" and then disappear into hyperspace for ever.
- apartments that I can afford in the city are either 17 sqm matchboxes, either totally empty and unfurnished (no, I do not want to sleep and eat on the floor, and no, I do not want to buy furniture), either situated in bad famed areas where you cannot go in the street after sunset.
Conclusion: thank you God for inventing suburbs and metro. Or... I can always rent a "box" near the Duomo. Imagine how uber-cool would that be.
Now if anyone is ever curious to find a place to rent in Milan and around Italy, here are the best sites: www.casa.it, www.immobiliare.it, www.soloaffitti.it, www.secondamano.it. I would add www.mioaffitto.it but some would say it sucks (I don't agree, though).
Some common (sometimes funny) real estate terms I found in the announcements:
- "grazioso" (gracious) is by far the funniest. How in the World can an apartment be "gracious"?
- "a due passi di..." ("two steps away from..." - metro, bus station etc) - there are ALWAYS more than "two steps"
- "bel arredato" (nicely furnished) - says who?
- "spese condominiali" ("shared expenses of the building") - unless the apartment is part of a villa or something like this, these expenses will always exist, will be added to the rent and are mandatory to pay every month. At first sight you would be tempted to think (judging by how high they are) that they include at least the running cold and hot water, but... no. they don't (I'm still trying to figure out WHAT they actually include)
- "angolo cottura" ("cooking corner") - literally a corner that you're supposed to cook in if the apartment is too small to have a kitchen. This, if by cooking you mean "boiling an egg"
- "cucina abitabile" (a kitchen you can live in) - who would ever want to live in the kitchen???
Allora... cercasi monolocale in affitto, bel arredato, con posto auto, A DUE PASSI dalla metro linea mm2. Obbligatoria la presenza di una CUCINA (escluso angolo cottura), un bagno (puo essere anche con box doccia), una lavatrice, e spese condominiali sotto 80 euro/mese.
La vita e bella!! :))
Love,
La Reina Rana
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