Apartment seeker

October 8th, 2009

“You were the last of the people who we are allowing to look at the apartment. First we have to come to a decision, and then we will tell you tomorrow what our decision is.”

In the world of apartment-seeking in Dresden, the one who is in possession of an apartment is king. There is no shortage of young people in Dresden who are looking for an apartment, just as there is no shortage of qualified workers looking for jobs. There have been two apartments that have set themselves apart for me from the others. However, both of these, unfortunately, have not been able to give me the security of a “yes” or a “no”--they both need more time to make a decision, and, more importantly, need the agreement of the roommate(s) who were not present at the first meeting. This requires (in both cases) interrupting my fall vacation around Germany to re-visit Dresden and both apartments. And when they are not available on the same day? I am not sure.

The last group that I met, however, is giving me this security—they will let me know tomorrow... tomorrow? I do not even get to really think about it myself. With only one night to decide whether I thought our lifestyles were too different to spend 8 months as roommates? They definitely have a different lifestyle than my own, and concentrate themselves on different priorities—this could lead to disagreements. I could not see myself becoming best friends with these kids, although I could see myself entering into a comfortable living situation with them, really depending on many factors. One of the roommates studies business engineering or something like that. He is a former Fulbright teaching assistant (small world), who was placed at Ohio State for a year. The other is studying something like mechanical engineering (I am not positive). Both seem to find drinking important, which could be an area of contention—will I end up needing to drink to socialize with my roommates, if we indeed end up roommates? I feel like I might end up falsifying, or forcing an identity that is not my own to fit in to this living arrangement. Would I hold out for long? Could it be an interesting experiment?