Sean in Bozen
25 July 2006

I finally signed a lease on an apartment. It is very, very difficult to find an apartment in Bozen; I had been doing almost nothing but the apartment search for the last couple of weeks. I was glad to have this done.

By law, you have to file your lease with the government. This costs over 100 Euros in fee stamps. The normal practice is for the landlord and renter to split the fees 50/50.

The apartment is basically an efficiency: a living/bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It's small, but it should be adequate, since I could only bring two suitcases from America and didn't want to ship a lot of stuff. It's on the first floor (meaning one floor above street level; the ground floor is floor zero here). It's clean and bright, and it's in exactly the part of the city I wanted, close to work and right at the edge of the old city.

The windows look out to the east. I can see the Dom (cathedral) not very far away, and part of the Dominikanerplatz (one of the big squares) about a block away.

The bathroom and kitchen were completely redone within the last couple years and have nice modern tile and decent fixtures. The main minus is that there is traffic sound from the street. I would like it a little quieter, but I don't like to live in complete silence. I like knowing that there are other people around.

The apartment is partly furnished, and the landlord and his wife have been really nice about bringing more stuff they think I could use: curtains, bedding, a nice Ikea-style desk and table, and so on. I'm planning to buy a few more inexpensive items from Avanti (a German company which is exactly like Ikea). There's a fold-out sofa, so there will be room when you come to visit.

After I signed the lease, I started carrying all my stuff over from my temporary dorm room around the corner. It was too close to bother asking a friend to drive me.

I was amazed at how much stuff I've already accumulated since I got here. Pots and pans, dishes, spices, condiments, laundry soap, new beach towel, and so on; it all adds up.

I stayed in Rainerum one more night because I couldn't get the electricity connected until I had the lease.