Being an Adult Stinks (post college funness)

[jng]

Just sort of a rant, but being an adult stinks! Well I guess I chose this. So I moved to Germany, and of course I am in the most expensive city there, in Munich. And I've been looking since July for a place to live and still haven't found one!

The market here is crazy. I saw an ad on Tuesday, called and made an appt for Wed. night and it was cancelled Wed. afternoon because they already found someone! Crazy. So now I spend my mornings phone spamming people to make appointments (same day) to see apartments.

Anyway, so I thought I'd be fun to live in Europe while I'm young. And it is. But I'm getting paid far less (gave up a cushy offer in Boston) and I have to pay in Euros! I just calculated what I would need to move into an apartment and it'd be around $3000 USD. GREAT. So for the first time ever, I have to borrow money from my parents. I haven't done that since first semester freshman year!

To be fair, I spent about $3000 USD in the last 2 weeks traveling in Germany Italy and Austria with my baby brother (at my parents behest), who flew home today.

So the worst part of growing up is finding a place to live and I guess I didn't realize how much worse I'd be making it by living in another country and in the most expensive city. =/

Oy, it's gotta get better after this! Feel free to share any other first apt stories. I could use some cheering up!

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

My first apartment was a two story townhome-style that was on the second and third floors of the building. I had to walk up one flight of stairs to get there. Sometime during my year there, one of my neighbor's 3-4 cats had 7-8 kittens. These kittens were ALWAYS on the stairs, making carrying anything up the stairs a chore. And the kittens constantly peed all over the steps, so it smelled like nothing I've ever smelled in my life. It was DISGUSTING.

When I complained to the management and the kittens got taken away, the neighbor cursed at me through the walls, calling me all sorts of names. It was kind of funny, in retrospect.

She and her husband(?) were constantly drunk and smoked like chimneys. The smell seeped through the walls and could be smelled in our apartment. It was gross.

One day she called me over to apologize for yelling at me through the walls (wasted, of course), and, in the process of trying to hug me missed and fell to the floor. I was glad she missed.

 

[tartsquid]

Agreed. In the months since I graduated I learned that it's much harder to find a job than I thought it would be.

Good luck with your living situation!

 

[Iscariot]

...I just calculated what I would need to move into an apartment and it'd be around $3000 USD...

A year? A month? Need a frame of reference.

 

[WildCowboy]

A year? A month? Need a frame of reference.

I assume he just meant the upfront cost...deposit plus whatever rent is required.

It's pretty typical, especially in expensive markets...I had to put up $4500 to move into my current place ($1500 for first month's rent + $3000 deposit).

 

[jng]

Yeah, that's what I meant. Rent itself is only about 400 Euros. But with deposite, first months rent and a few other random costs, such as the "kitchen cost", it adds up to 2200 euros or $3k USD. Apparently in Germany, it's not all that unusal and that previous tenants take the kitchen (appliances and even cabinets) with them, lol.

Also, I'm not looking for an apartment so much as a room in an apartment. I can't afford a whole apartment by myself and would much rather have housemates anyway since I'm the social type.

tobefirst, sounds awful. Reminds me of where my mom lives though in this condo. People aren't allow to have big dogs, but they do anyway and they aren't allowed to poop on the green, but they do anyway and their owners don't pick up after them and the condo association doesn't really give much of a damn. They just say: we put up a sign!

 

[1020]

I think you're very lucky that your parents can provide you with financial assistance. When you have nothing to fall back on, that's when things get really tough.
Munich is beautiful though. I'm sure it's worth every Euro.

 

[Iscariot]

I assume he just meant the upfront cost...deposit plus whatever rent is required.

It's pretty typical, especially in expensive markets...I had to put up $4500 to move into my current place ($1500 for first month's rent + $3000 deposit).

Much different than what I'm used to. First+last, no deposit. Oh the jolly frozen North, with our candy canes and Eskimos.

 

[leekohler]

Be glad you have parents who will help you at all, not to mention help you live in Europe. Suck it up, keep looking for that apartment and then go get a job. If you like the job, stay in Europe.

 

[7on]

w00t for having an uncle who lets me live with him near KC!

And I just picked up a freelance gig at Walz Tetrick Advertising! W00terz! Hopefully I can convince them to sign me on full time.

 

[nbs2]

tobefirst, sounds awful. Reminds me of where my mom lives though in this condo. People aren't allow to have big dogs, but they do anyway and they aren't allowed to poop on the green, but they do anyway and their owners don't pick up after them and the condo association doesn't really give much of a damn. They just say: we put up a sign!

If it is in the CA bylaws, she could take the CA and the people with the dog to court to get it enforced. Just saying....

Anyway, I never really had the transition that the rest of you have had. I graduated from college, spent the summer working in Scotland, went to law school and got married and moved right after by 2L, and have been living in the same place since. So, my first "post-college" apartment was my last college apartment. I'm always the boring one.

 

[ezzie]

....
Anyway, I never really had the transition that the rest of you have had. I graduated from college, spent the summer working in Scotland, went to law school and got married and moved right after by 2L, and have been living in the same place since. So, my first "post-college" apartment was my last college apartment. I'm always the boring one.

i worked full-time in college and paid my own rent and living expenses every semester except the first two. i started a new job the monday after i graduated (may '05), got married in october '06, and bought a house in december. i've never had a break and i've never borrowed from anyone, but i don't mind.

i rather like being an adult. i think it's fun.

so, yeah, jng. hang in there, don't get discouraged, and appreciate the opportunities you've been given.

 

[edesignuk]

It's a big bad world full of bills and never ending ridiculous problems caused by others stupidity. You may think you're having a tough time, but you've been able to move to Europe just because you felt like it, and now mum and dad are about to bail you out. I think things could be a lot worse!

 

[jng]

Be glad you have parents who will help you at all, not to mention help you live in Europe. Suck it up, keep looking for that apartment and then go get a job. If you like the job, stay in Europe.

I just wanted to hear other's people first apartment stories and I'm sharing my own. I didn't and don't ask for sympathy. No ---- I'm lucky to be here.

To everyone else,
Yes I know things could be worse. But I guess I never imagined finding a place to live would be this difficult!

What I'm hearing from friends is Munich is like New York City, housing is sparse and not easily to find. By the way, I didn't choose to be placed in Munich. With the stipend I could live actually pretty well in just about any other city in Germany. Compared to where I lived previously, a great city in Baden-Württemberg, I am paying at least twice as much for rent and at least 10x more on public transportation with pretty much the same budget.

Like I originally said, I didn't realize how much worse/difficult it'd be to find a first apt in Germany:
- as said above, Germans sometimes take their kitchens with them, so you have apts sans cabinets and appliances, or you can lease the apartment, but you have to "buy the kitchen," or you can lease the apartment as a sublet, but then you have to "dispose" of the kitchen at the end.
- brokers fees here are standard 2 months base rent PLUS 19% VAT, tacked on top of a 1k euro deposit and that's a lot of money up front!

Also my parents aren't really "bailling" me out. I'm going to borrow money from my dad. Had I not traveled with my brother (at their behest), I'd be in decent shape.