New Flat

So the 12th Jano and I went shopping for flats in Helsinki. We were not too optimistic as this time of year (but really when isnt?) is a bad time to look for flats... students coming back and so forth the flats go pretty quick. We found out the relocation agency uses the same websites that are available to the general public and of the flats listed, there was not much that was nice... and.. having to deal with a pet... most places don't allow pets. (speaking of which, mine just pooped, and it stinks...)

So anyway we sent the list of places we'd like to see the night before and just hoped for the best. We arrived in Helinki and found out she had 8 flats to show us. We were really suprised because that was more than she said she would show. The flats ranged in price from €950 to €1250. Our original budget was €700-900 but we later raised it to €1000 to increase the number of places to choose from.

We saw quite a lot of flats... some were smaller and in the center.. some were large beautiful flats with "American" style kitchens, nice bathrooms but further from the center. I was leaning towards living in the center as I think it would be fun to live amongst all the action and - I had hoped for a short commute to work or to be able to even walk to work. Jano was leaning more towards something further away and a bit bigger. I figured we'd butt heads quite a bit in the decision.. but in the end, we both agreed on the same flat.

We choose the one in the center. It is in Punavuori which is a very nice area. Its about as center as you can get. Very close to the train station, work (walking distance!), shops, the sea.. etc... etc. The building itself I think isnt that pretty (compared to the other buildings) but the view is wonderful

This is the view outside the living room.. really cool.. to the left (out of view) you can see mechanical cranes at the sea ..










This is the living room window... What is neat is that there is no fourth "wall" in this flat.. the back wall is almost entire window which is quite cool. I did not take many pix as the online ad for the flat had many pictures but they took it down before I could grab them. Once we are moved will put more pix up.

So now I just need to get the 2x month rent for the deposit, 1.2 months rent (for the first month and 1 week since we move early)... and the nice thing is that the renter owns the flat and did not use a Realtor to help rent it. If he had, then we'd have to add another months rent + 22% VAT for that fee... yuck.

Soon we will have to decorate it... we shall see how that goes as Jano and I have different taste.. but I'm sure it will work out fine :O)