The Hunt is Over

What a whirlwind experience! I too have a new appreciation for foreigners looking for an apartment in another country.

The apartment hunt. As you may have read in our last update, we saw a few apartments on the first day with different rental agents culminating with #5 (Don't waste my time) showing us the apartment that we had seen at 11 a.m. with agents #2 & 3 (Ana and "Everything's Pretty"). We had seen sooooo many apartments and worked with different agents that we started naming them. A abbreviated list follows:

Microonda (microwave): This apartment was basically a one room studio with a microwave and sink for a kitchen, a full size bed, and a closet for a bathroom. There was a laundry room in the basement, and a pool somewhere in the building; I think they said it was on the top floor. It was reasonably priced, or so we thought, but obviously too small for two people and the fact that the only method of cooking was a microwave was a "no go" for either of us.

Microhorno (mini-oven) with the Portero Mafioso: We had an appointment to see this apartment at 3 p.m. on day two of the search but the agent never showed up. As it was within walking distance, I went to find a phone while La Gaucha Guapa (note the new name for the person formerly known as "-me") stayed talking to Fernando, the portero (doorman). He was a nice and friendly fellow, but had the raspiest voice and would lean in, with his hands in his pockets, to speak. The two of them chatted for about 20 minutes or so; I later found out that clear, mutual understanding proved elusive. I returned telling Fernando that the agency was confused as to our intentions because we were looking for something right away and the apartment wasn't going to be available until 21 September. Fernando began telling us about the lady renting the apartment, La Española, that was really "una Uruguya" as she emphatically made known. He was endearing and sweet in speech about this lady. The way he spoke of her we thought she was in her early twenties. He knew she was in and thought that she would have no problem showing us the apartment and proceeded to take us to it. All we can say is we were thrown off guard. La Española, excuse me, "la Uruguaya" answered standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, looking at us questioningly, and wondering why we were disturbing her, and most importantly, why the rental agency hadn't advised her about showing the apartment. She was a woman, about la gaucha's height, a little huskier, and blond...I'm guessing 60ish. She eventually gave us a tour of the apartment and began asking us questions, her demeanor easing, yet still a little defensive. She proved nice enough and was checking to make sure that the agency wasn't going to try to exploit us because of our nationality. The apartment was slightly larger than the microonda in the sense that it had a more pronouced division between the cooking and sleeping quarters. It also had a range which would have enabled gastronomic endeavors, but it was quite worn. And it wasn't going to be available for three weeks which would have meant a longer stay at the hotel.

Van Gogh: What can I say? The Van Gogh was something else. The window frames were painted crayon green. The building, we were told, was owned by an architect. We named it the Van Gogh because it had prints of his paintings on the wall. There was even some art in the bathroom sink: You know the scum that collects at the bottom of a goldfish bowl when you have neglected to clean it for about six months... Imagine something like that. I wish I could tell you it cleared when La Gaucha turned on the faucet. We were assured that it would be cleaned before move in, but as you can well imagine, we didn't even suggest we would consider living there.

"Workable": A two-bedroom apartment located in what should be a nicer part of Montevideo. We caught a taxi to make the appointment on time as I under-estimated the distance from the hotel and over-estimated our walking speed. We arrived just on time and met with agent #8, el Blanco (the name of a political party here in Uruguay). Even though many agencies share the same listings, we did find that there are a good number of apartments that are represented by a single agency out of friendly (or clientelistic) relations. We were excited by the advertizement offering a furnished two bedroom apartment within our price range. Upon arriving at the the top of two flights of stairs, we were concerned by the 5 locks the agent had to fuss with to get us in. Meanwhile, between locks two and four, we heard a woman groaning (or moaning?), like a gitana would in flamenco song, without the music... In any case, it sounded painful. We asked the agent about our potential neighbors, but our question fell on deaf ears.
Entering the apartment we were underwhelmed. What could one expect for a two-bedroom place at the price of a nicer one bedroom? The furniture was old, the bed mattress was missing, the kitchen was in okay shape, but looked better than others we had seen (even with the microwave that was supported off the wall with two plastic bars you would use to hang plants off a balcony). But with the sonorous neighbor and the five locks, we declined.

Needless to say, our search was trying at times... but as of this afternoon, it should be over. We made a deposit to take a dream of an apartment off the market and are set to sign a contract between 2 and 4 p.m., moving in the same day, at the equivalent cost of many of the other ones we had been looking at.

The details of our new residence (has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?):

Casa Linda: 8th floor apartment with distinguished living/dining room, kitchen, and bedroom, with a terrace and a balcony. The appliances, a washing machine, range, and dishwasher are "a estrenar," literally "just released," meaning that they are new and haven't yet been used. La GG is thrilled about the new appliances and the breakfast bar that divides the kitchen from the living/dining room. They are enclosing the terrace, where the washing machine is, with glass windows to make it a little more private. They are also replacing some chairs with a sleeper sofa and bench. It is located on a beautiful residential street in Pocitos, a neighborhood in Montevideo, near an old church and close to a bus stop that will make commuting around the city easy. The beach is about 10 blocks away and visible a few steps away from our building at the end of a major street. It is immaculate and precisely what we were looking for. We're thrilled!

We know that this opportunity came to us because of the loving thoughts and prayers of our family and friends.

Thank you!!!!

If you are looking for an apartment in Montevideo, I would suggest the following inmobiliaria:

Inmobiliaria Brindis
Florida 1240 -007
Montevideo, Uruguay
Tele: 903 2525
brindis@adinet.com.uy