Getting a New Apartment (I): Tips on How to Choose It
Dear Alice,
Long time no hear! Indeed it was. My apologies for this long passive period. The main reason for this was a very simple one, a reason that required a lot of undivided attention from my side, and that is moving to a new apartment.
Sure, there should be no excuses for this and I do agree with you, still when moving to a new apartment there are a lot of things to take care of, and thus time goes by incredibly fast without even realize it.
The good news is that the process is almost done and so I decided to start today a new series concerning getting a new apartment – the struggles, the joys, the ups and downs, the challenges, so basically everything I experienced in the last past couple of months concerning this subject. Since there are so many things to take into consideration when getting a new apartment I would like to share them with you, and have your opinion on this. So thank you in advance for this!
The first stop during the adventurous trip of getting a new apartment is choosing it. Yes choosing the apartment is probably one of the most important decisions you will make before getting it! Each new decision that will come your way after getting the apartment will be in fact as important as this one (just a small secret from my side). So take your time and do not take any rush decisions. I must say that nowadays buying a new apartment is quite a challenging thing to do. There are a lot of possibilities and offers on the market. In the middle of this tumultuous market, you might get overwhelmed and feel like riding a roller-coaster. Still with an organized agenda and a good strategic plan, you can definitely get on top on things and make the best out of this roller-coaster ride.
So here are my tips on how to choose the best new apartment for you, which should suit your needs:
- Decide whether you would like to live in the city (either in a suburb or in a central part of the city) or you would like to live in the country-side, located out of the city, probably within a reasonable commuting distance from the city. Yes this is definitely the first factor in taking your decision. From my experience I would suggest that you visit a couple of places outside of the city as well as a couple of places in the city.
- Take your time to investigate the surroundings (including neighborhoods, landscapes and noise level), the available means of transportation in the area, the offerings of kindergartens, supermarkets and fresh markets in the area. Also take a look at the possible offerings concerning maybe a minimal number of coffee places and restaurants in the surrounding areas. This will probably be one of the most challenging decision to make. But analyzing the particular surroundings for the particular apartment is the most important thing to do. It may be that these factors differ from one apartment to the other, so analyze all these factors for each particular apartment, and do not generalize too much.
- For me, the best choice was an apartment in one of the city suburb, located in the south of the city. The means of transportation are great, so that I can reach the city in 10-15 minutes (so as to quickly meet a friend for a coffee in the city center), and my workplace in something like 20-30 minutes; the city suburbia has great landscapes, which I can enjoy while strolling or going for a run: the neighborhood is very quiet and green, something that I enjoy very much when I want to relax after a tumultuous week. For me it is the perfect mixture.
- So take your time to decide what is important for you, and be prepared to make some compromises. You will probably not manage to meet all your expectations, as it is normal I would say. Just take your time to analyze, decide, and then stick to your decision 🙂 .
- A house or a flat: that is the question. This is again a very subjective decision, and it depends from case to case. You have to analyze also other factors, as probably the location of the place. The chances of finding a house are probably higher in a suburb near the city, where new houses are quite intensively built in the last years. Still, do consider that a house will require to invest more time from your side for maintaining it. You can also come up with a middle choice, something like a maisonette. In my case, it was a penthouse in a newly built house with a small numbers of flats. This is also a middle choice I would say. It depends on your wishes again.
- New or old place: which one is it? This choice maybe also depends on other financial factors and on the availability, still if you decide to buy a new apartment, it is probably worth it to invest a bit more. It is an investment that will pay off short and long term, and will provide you with some stability in the future, as renting has become quite expensive nowadays, and after all it does not provide you with your own place in a couple of years.
- Decide on the size of the place. Again very subjective, but from my experience, the more the better. I always manage to gather a lot of things over the years. But again not a very big place is something you would wish for, as cleaning it and maintaining it would require maybe more time from your side as well. From my point of view, something between 90-100 square meters would be an optimum.
- Talk to your family, friends, and acquaintances about any possible offers. This is a great opportunity to scan the market, the possible prices, the existing offerings concerning everything concerning building a new place (if applicable, as in my case). It will help you a lot in your discussion with the construction company, and with the seller company. So do scan the market and broaden your horizon. You never know: maybe a recommendation from someone you know would bring you even closer to your new apartment.
- Be prepared to hear a lot of opinions and advice. Take what best fits your case, and in the end do trust your judgements. It is always good practice to have a piece of advice from your family and friends, or from any acquaintances. They might have been confronted with this situation before, so they can help with their expertise. Do listen to their advice, and take what fits your choice. Still do not feel pressured to please anyone, if you feel you do not agree with their opinions. You might have different views on certain things, that is life. So if someone tries to convince you otherwise, just follow your judgement and in the end take the decision based on your and your partner (or family) wishes. After all this is a decision you take for yourself and your family.
- Do not rush into taking a decision, still do not linger too much to choose a place. A reasonable amount of time for coming up with a first choice should maybe be between 3-6 months. Of course this depends from case to case, still I would say 9-12 months should be the upper limit. It is good to be picky and you should be (it is an important decision), but still you have to known when to draw the line and make a conclusion. Waiting too long to find that perfect apartment would just put a lot of pressure on your everyday life.
So good luck and whatever your choose, just be happy about it, and celebrate it accordingly! You made a great job in choosing your new apartment, and you should definitely be proud of yourself. My choice can be visualized below.
Sincerely yours,
madalina
