Apartment Hunting

How Much Is Your Dollar Worth?
$1 = 8.0035 SEK


On the last episode of CougsInSwedeland...

Well I guess it wasn't really in the last episode because I didn't write a last episode so I guess you don't know what happened last time. Or something. Stupid lazy writer, what else is he doing during the day, jeez.

Anyway we found out recently that we would be unable to stay in the apartment we are currently renting due to the apartment association regulation that an owner can only rent out an apartment for one year only. So we have begun looking for a new place to live next year.

Picture from a Jul (Christmas) bazaar below the cathedral.

We have sent out email inquiries to 50 or so apartments of various sizes and quality. Of course we heard back quickly from all the apartments that are really nice, and way too expensive for us. For your reference we have been paying 5,500 SEK a month for rent. The people who got back to us right away were looking for 8,500 or more a month. Some were beautiful apartments that we would love to live in but really just can't swing right now. We are looking for apartments that are furnished since we really only brought clothes with us, and have picked up a few kitchen type things and an airbed for visitors which may or may not become our bed for awhile.

Fine handmade Swedish Christmas things for sale.

We would love to live downtown in some of the older buildings. We looked a couple that said they were fully furnished, which included a couple chairs, a single bed, maybe a desk, very spartan really. But the hardwood floors were nice. Also note that many old apartments in Sweden do not have closets. I suppose that's why IKEA sells so many wardrobes and bureaus and dressers and sofas.

Pony rides. The little one is an Icelandic pony and the far one has Santa wrap on his ankles.

One apartment we looked at was a huge four room, two bathroom apartment on the river with a great view of the castle. We had responded to an ad posted on a local website for a "unique" apartment with a great view. It didn't say anything about the rent, and in correspondence setting up a time to view it the owner still didn't say how much it was. So we got all gussied up thinking that some pretty well to do types were living there and went to view it. We got there and it was a young couple, maybe our age, artisty types owning the place. It was a gorgeous apartment with a new kitchen and everything. It was furnished, in a minimalist kind of way. Finally we got around to asking how much it was a month and they were asking 15,000 a month, plus electricity. I'd like to say we both had an excellent poker face, told them thanks for letting us look and we were on our way, laughing our way down the street.

This is a goat made out of greenery. Goats and pigs are common Christmas decorations here, as well as little red mushrooms with white dots.

We also took the step of posting an ad in a local paper saying that we are a young professional couple from the US looking to rent a furnished apartment in Uppsala for around 7,000 a month. A couple people have called and we looked at one or two that were ok. Then a couple nights ago we got a call from a gentleman that is currently, or will be soon, living in the US with his family trying to rent a large 4 room/two bathroom apartment right down town with a huge balcony and recently renovated kitchen. He was really looking for someone to rent it and offered it to us for 9,100 a month, a huge discount considering it sounded pretty similar to the 15,000 one. We told him that we were very flattered and thought it would be a great place but we really couldn't do it at this point. But man that was a huge discount.


Christmas tree and little ice rink for kids in one of the main squares in town. This was from the first day this was open and Christmas music was playing. Let me tell you there is nothing like walking around a big town in Sweden to the sounds of Bing Crosby.

We had found a lovely place that was fully furnished but a bit smaller than the place we are now. The owner interviewed us for a few minutes and it seemed that we got along well and made a good impression. They told us they would make a decision that night and call us either that night or in the morning. We really liked it and thought that it would be the perfect place for us, but we have not heard back from them yet.

We are heading back to the States next Tuesday and won't be flying back until after the first of January. Since our lease ends this month we need to move our stuff into Ragen's office until we get back. So we are obviously looking for a place to start January 1. We looked at a place that was OK, it has nice French doors opening onto the balcony and between the living room and hall way. The hallway is a nice lilac color, livable I suppose, but doesn't start until the middle of January. We also heard back from a woman we emailed a couple weeks ago. She has a nice furnished apartment near the train station that was a little more than we think we could pay. She responded to our email saying how excited she was that we were interested in the apartment and she would love to have a couple of Americans living there and that we sound like awesome people. I cannot convey the level of excitement this woman put into her email, and we have never actually met her. Anyway she was in Miami for a little bit and just emailed us again to say she was back and that she would love to have us look at the place. We replied that we think the rent may be a little high at 8,500 and we need a place to start in January (her ad said February 1). She responded by saying that of course the rent is negotiable and she could rent to us for 7, 200. She didn't say anything about if we could move in earlier or not and wants us to come look at it on Saturday. I don't know, we kind of need to figure out something soon so we aren't homeless when we fly back in January. I get the feeling that this girl/woman/kvinna would probably take us as roommates for January. Could be a solution I suppose, it is a nice apartment...

Anyway we will let you know what happens.