The House Hunting Mission

Having a job is all well and good, but no accommodation comes with the lectrice position.  So, over the summer I have been searching online for somewhere to call home from September.

Looking for an apartment in France whilst being based in England is definitely not an ideal situation. Although the internet provides the opportunity to see flats up for rent, and to meet other people looking for flatmates, I knew that the best thing to do would be to go out there and look the old fashioned way. After much um-ing and ah-ing over the financial cost of train tickets and a night in a hotel versus the benefits of seeing some places, I bit the bullet and fished out my debit card. Having 4 potential house viewings/flat mate meetings, I thought it would definitely be worth it. After all, I need to use the student overdraft while it’s still there!

Potential # 1 – house share of 9 people, most of whom already living there for at least a couple of months

I arranged to meet Olivier, someone already living in the house, straight off the train. At the time, this seemed like a good plan in the sense that I was not left to wander the streets of an unknown town, looking for an unknown house.  I changed my mind once I got there.  I realised that Olivier had no idea what I looked like, I had no idea what he looked like, and to there was now a tipsy train station tramp stumbling towards me. As I dialled Olivier's number, I was ready to dash if the tramp’s pocket rang. Luckily a nice, clean and sober man answered, and he greeted me before taking me to see the house.

I didn’t get the best feel for the room which would be my bedroom. At the time, I didn't really know why this was, other than it it was right next to the living room. However I remembered the next day that I didn't actually see a window in the room. Funny how subconsciously your mind recognizes these things. More importantly, it was a bit too far out of town, and with the tram stopping at around 9pm every night, I could foresee problems.  Not to worry, one down, two to go.

Back at the hotel, I met my ex-housemate Peter, who said he’d join me in Valenciennes. I was so grateful for a friendly face in a town which was still unfamiliar, yet would soon be my new home. I logged into my emails to check up on the people I was meeting the next day. A fourth potential had cancelled, but I wasn't too bothered about that one, potential number two emailed to confirm our meeting (yay), yet potential  # 3 now posed a problem.  He was trying to make up a group of 5 people to move into a great house, but had emailed to say that the house he had his eye on was now gone. However, I still agreed to meet him, just so I had a back up option for the apartment of potential #2 the next day.  

After a meal out with a lot of lovely French vin rouge and a sleep, the real day of house hunting began.

Potential #2

 I had printed out googlemap instructions to find the apartment, and after locating the first boulevard we needed to walk down, Peter and I strided off triumphantly. In the wrong direction. Although we did eventually realise our mistake, we still couldn’t find the place in time for our meeting, so I gave in and rang the landlady of the apartment. Luckily, she offered to come pick us up from where we were (example number one of the French generosity - there will be more to come I am sure). The apartment itself was in a great location, 5-10mins walk from the town centre with a Carrefour supermarket 2 minutes away. The last place I lived in France was a 3 mile round trip to the nearest mini supermarket, so this was certainly an upgrade on the convenience front. I had a good feeling about the place from the moment I walked in, even though the kitchen was tiny, comprising of a sink, draining board and two hob rings, with no cooker or counter top. My bedroom is also tiny…but it does lead out onto a balcony (who cares if it’s overlooking a car park…tarmac will only aid sunbathing!) Despite all of this, my positive feelings about the place dominated the bad and I decided that I was happy with to compromise space to go with my gut instinct.

Potential #3

Although I was convinced that I wanted to take the apartment,  and potential #3 was still sans maison, I still met Jules. We sat in the square having a Monaco (shandy with grenadine in…try it, you’ll love it) and talking about the house share he’s trying to sort. He was a lovely guy, and I felt really bad having to tell him I’d probably go with the other apartment. However, he was very understanding, and said we should catch up again in September. So, although I did not gain a housemate, hopefully I now know someone else in Valenciennes.

All in all, I spent £99 on the return Eurostar ticket, 50 euro on the hotel room, plus all my food, drink and extra train tickets, but it was definitely worth it to have gained an apartment, and potentially someone else to know in Valenciennes. Mission accomplished.