20 April 2016
Today is the day we move out of our temporary housing and into the apartment we will be living in for the next 3 years.
We packed up our 5 large suitcases, 2 carry-ons, 2 work bags and 2 small shopping bags of things we needed to purchase (milk, cheese, toilet paper, etc). We were worried about how we were going to get all our stuff from our current location to our apartment. Luckily, UBER now has UBER van. In 10 short minutes our UBER arrived and it was perfect. We were able to fit all of our bags and head over to our new apartment. We left at 12:00 and we had the lease signing at 12:30. Google maps told us it would take 25 minutes door to door. Well, Google lied, it took maybe 15. Well there we are, standing on the street corner with all of our belongs waiting to be let into the building. Jer and I had gone back and forth on if we should bring all of our stuff. I said yes, he said no. I asked the relocation company and they said it would be ok.
At 12:30, all parties had met and we then had to get all out bags from the ground floor to the 8th. The elevator fits two people comfortably, so it took a few trips. I helped with the first elevator full of stuff then started the lease signing process. It was pretty easy. The one thing is, everything is in French. Thankfully our agent was there to help us with any question. Also, I think we signed and initialed more documents to sign the lease then when we bought our home.
After that, an inventory was taken of all the items in the apartment, down to the number of plates, towels and silverware. Of course, it was in French but we walked through the process with them. They also reviewed the quality of the apartment, looking for cracks or water marks. No big issues were noted. We signed the last few items and the keys were ours.
We didn’t have much time to celebrate because I had to go to work and Jer had to go ‘check out’ of the temporary flat. We grabed some pre-made sandwiches at the grocery store and headed to the metro.
I had to go out to PwC which consists of the metro and then the bus. When I got off the metro it said the bus would be there in 5 minutes, 5 minutes passed and no bus. Luckily, PwC was a 25 minute walk from where I was. So I started off on foot to PwC. The way to walk is the same as the bus. I figured if I saw the bus, I would jump on. I made it all the way to PwC without ever seeing the bus.
I worked until about 19:15 then headed for home. This time I did get the bus and then the metro. Jer met me outside the apartment to go to the grocery store to buy something for dinner since the fridge is empty.
We found a Monoprix not far from the apartment but it closed at 21:00. We got to the store at 20:30 and they had started to close up. We rushed through the store getting what we needed. We checked out with 10 minutes to spare but I did not print the label for the green beans, so no veggies for dinner tonight.
We went back to the apartment to cook. With the furnished apartment it comes with almost everything we need, down to plates, bowls and pans. We had a nice dinner and sat outside on our terrace and enjoyed our view with champagne and truffles that I brought back from Switzerland. Words do not give our view justice so I included a picture below.
We then settled in for the night in our new home.
-Kasey
Le tour de walker 