Yesterday I helped Emilie move into her new apartment with her mom, sister and sister’s boyfriend. I have to say it’s a pretty incredible place and I’m a bit envious. The location is great (just a 10 minute walk from the lake towards the center of town), it has plenty of space, it’s on the third floor so she can leave the windows open, and there’s even a balcony. And, oh yeah, the price is a bargain. In fairness, though, her apartment search began a year ago.
It took us a couple of hours to transfer all of her stuff from the moving van to the apartment. For the most part it was relatively painless, but the couch was a bit of a struggle. It’s not so much that it was heavy (which it indeed was – there’s a fold-out bed), but instead the fact that we had to navigate it up a narrow stairway that had two switchbacks per floor. Needless to say, it was an effort that required all five of us and resulted in multiple jammed fingers, pinched arms and scraped legs.
After getting everything moved in we took a trip to a shopping center not far from Lausanne to buy some miscellaneous items (TV, lights, bedding, etc.). The TV purchase in particular was quite efficient – perhaps 10 minutes in total – and served as a stark contrast to the hours of time that I wasted before picking out my new TV last September. For whatever reason, I’m just not able to go out and make a purchase like that so quickly. And in the end, our TVs are nearly indistinguishable…
A unique aspect of the Swiss rental market requires new tenants to buy (and self-install) new lighting fixtures after moving in. (I didn’t have to do this with my apartment by pure chance.) While some rooms like the kitchen and bathroom generally have lighting pre-installed, most other rooms do not. Fortunately, everything is standardized given how commonplace the process is. As a result, you simply have to buy the lights and connect a straightforward plug that’s inside a small hole in the ceiling. Nonetheless, I’m glad that there were others with me who had gone through the process before.
Once we were back at the apartment and finally off of our feet, I finally noticed the best part of the apartment. Since the building is located at the corner where two streets meet (kind of like a “Y” shaped fork in the road) and the living room / balcony are right on the corner itself, there is a great view. Plus, there is plenty of afternoon sun given that it faces southwest. Unfortunately, I left the camera at home so there aren't any pictures to share.
It took us a couple of hours to transfer all of her stuff from the moving van to the apartment. For the most part it was relatively painless, but the couch was a bit of a struggle. It’s not so much that it was heavy (which it indeed was – there’s a fold-out bed), but instead the fact that we had to navigate it up a narrow stairway that had two switchbacks per floor. Needless to say, it was an effort that required all five of us and resulted in multiple jammed fingers, pinched arms and scraped legs.
After getting everything moved in we took a trip to a shopping center not far from Lausanne to buy some miscellaneous items (TV, lights, bedding, etc.). The TV purchase in particular was quite efficient – perhaps 10 minutes in total – and served as a stark contrast to the hours of time that I wasted before picking out my new TV last September. For whatever reason, I’m just not able to go out and make a purchase like that so quickly. And in the end, our TVs are nearly indistinguishable…
A unique aspect of the Swiss rental market requires new tenants to buy (and self-install) new lighting fixtures after moving in. (I didn’t have to do this with my apartment by pure chance.) While some rooms like the kitchen and bathroom generally have lighting pre-installed, most other rooms do not. Fortunately, everything is standardized given how commonplace the process is. As a result, you simply have to buy the lights and connect a straightforward plug that’s inside a small hole in the ceiling. Nonetheless, I’m glad that there were others with me who had gone through the process before.
Once we were back at the apartment and finally off of our feet, I finally noticed the best part of the apartment. Since the building is located at the corner where two streets meet (kind of like a “Y” shaped fork in the road) and the living room / balcony are right on the corner itself, there is a great view. Plus, there is plenty of afternoon sun given that it faces southwest. Unfortunately, I left the camera at home so there aren't any pictures to share.
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