nightmare apartment
Aug. 12th, 2014 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nathaliaI usually don't post a lot because not much happens in my life. The last 36 hours or so were an exception that probably warrant more than one post. I should get into how beautiful Yale is and how Konstanz (at least the university) does in no way compare but instead, I want to write about everything that went wrong.
The apartment is a complete and utter nightmare. It's so bad that less than 24 hours after arriving, I started trying to get out of the lease. The roommates seem like hoarers who have never, ever cleaned in their lives. There's a common area. It's like a living room with couches and stuff but you cannot enter the room because one of the roommates has commandeered the whole thing and put her stuff (of which she has a lot) in there. It's everywhere. Same goes for the hallway leading up to the apartment. That's been taken up by her shoes, all of which are ugly. Everything is dirty and sad-looking. The bathroom is just disgusting and the same goes for the kitchen. I can't bring myself to sit down at the kitchen table because it looks like it has never ever been wiped.
If it were just that, I think I could deal with it. Have a serious word with the roommates, clean everything, introduce a cleaning schedule so as to make sure it stays okay, force roommate who has lots of stuff to move it to her room (not that there is any room in there from the quick glance I had in there). But there's stuff that's broken. Stuff that has been broken for a while now and that I wasn't told about when I looked at the apartment via Skype. It's to such a degree that I believe that the apartment was misrepresented which I'm trying to use as a reason to get out of the lease.
The most horrible thing for me is that the people living here (or maybe previous tenants, I don't know) failed to pay the gas bill and the gas got shut off. The stove does not work. It hasn't worked in three or four months which one of the roommates called "short term". I have no idea what they eat but that in and of itself is reason enough to want to get the hell out of here. I think the fact that the gas has been off for three to four months and nobody appears to really have made an effort to turn it back on does not bode well for the Winter at all. They treated it as not a big problem and it's been killing me.
The bathroom and apartment door not locking and the doorbell not ringing are such minor complaints in comparison that I almost feel bad for making them. I wrote to the landlord and informed him of all of this telling him that I felt like the apartment had been grossly misrepresented and that because of that I wanted to move out by the end of the month. I was very polite, said that it wasn't his fault but the tenants' (they were also the ones who showed me around on Skype but he asked them to, so he's indirectly responsible) but that I didn't feel our contract was valid because of all of this.
He just emailed back and said he'd send his property manager over tomorrow. I'm going to remain firm on my decision to move out even if everything gets fixed because I'm just not happy in this apartment at all. I noticed when walking around New Haven today. I wasn't very happy yesterday, so I thought maybe it was because coming here hadn't worked out the way I had wanted it to and I was disappointed, etc., so today I spent several hours just walking around the city (I've haven't walked as much as I did today in several months) and I was really happy while I was out and about, so I know it's not that I'm unhappy here, it's just the apartment that's making me very, very unhappy.
The roommates keep to themselves. One of them showed me around a little the first day which was incredibly nice of her but I haven't talked to the other for more than a minute. I know her first name and that's it which makes for an amazing environment. Not that I've seen her around much. They never leave their rooms. I try to always announce my presence by saying hi and bye whenever I get in or leave but get no response whatsoever from them. I met one of them in the hallway this morning and said hi and she didn't answer. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with but I don't think that's the best roommate etiquette.
Because I am extremely efficient when I want something bad enough (and I want to move out of this shithole so badly), I've already written tons and tons of emails to people offering to let rooms and then went to see a room this evening about two hours after once and for all deciding that I needed to get out of here. The guy who showed me the apartment was really nice and I'm definitely keeping that one in mind. He said I could move in right away if I needed to and took real pity on me. The only con there is that the room is unfurnished and I barely have any clothing, let alone furniture. I might go see another room a street down from here in half an hour if I get a confirmation via email.
To make apartment hunting way more complicated than it needs to be my phone is not working. For reasons that make sense to only Matze and me we switched phones before I left Germany. He got my iPhone 4 and I got his Samsung whatever. It's really old and really shitty and just plain horrible. I had intended to only use it for a day or so and get a new iPhone but once I got a new iPhone I realized the the iPhone 5 needs a different sim card than the one I had ordered ahead of coming here. And Matze's old phone also needs a different sim card than the one I ordered. So I'm stuck with a German sim card in a horrible phone that refuses to connect to free wifi for a couple more days. Unless you enter a password, it won't work which is just great and means lots of trips home to check my email.
I need to get changed and check to see if any more rooms have become available.
The apartment is a complete and utter nightmare. It's so bad that less than 24 hours after arriving, I started trying to get out of the lease. The roommates seem like hoarers who have never, ever cleaned in their lives. There's a common area. It's like a living room with couches and stuff but you cannot enter the room because one of the roommates has commandeered the whole thing and put her stuff (of which she has a lot) in there. It's everywhere. Same goes for the hallway leading up to the apartment. That's been taken up by her shoes, all of which are ugly. Everything is dirty and sad-looking. The bathroom is just disgusting and the same goes for the kitchen. I can't bring myself to sit down at the kitchen table because it looks like it has never ever been wiped.
If it were just that, I think I could deal with it. Have a serious word with the roommates, clean everything, introduce a cleaning schedule so as to make sure it stays okay, force roommate who has lots of stuff to move it to her room (not that there is any room in there from the quick glance I had in there). But there's stuff that's broken. Stuff that has been broken for a while now and that I wasn't told about when I looked at the apartment via Skype. It's to such a degree that I believe that the apartment was misrepresented which I'm trying to use as a reason to get out of the lease.
The most horrible thing for me is that the people living here (or maybe previous tenants, I don't know) failed to pay the gas bill and the gas got shut off. The stove does not work. It hasn't worked in three or four months which one of the roommates called "short term". I have no idea what they eat but that in and of itself is reason enough to want to get the hell out of here. I think the fact that the gas has been off for three to four months and nobody appears to really have made an effort to turn it back on does not bode well for the Winter at all. They treated it as not a big problem and it's been killing me.
The bathroom and apartment door not locking and the doorbell not ringing are such minor complaints in comparison that I almost feel bad for making them. I wrote to the landlord and informed him of all of this telling him that I felt like the apartment had been grossly misrepresented and that because of that I wanted to move out by the end of the month. I was very polite, said that it wasn't his fault but the tenants' (they were also the ones who showed me around on Skype but he asked them to, so he's indirectly responsible) but that I didn't feel our contract was valid because of all of this.
He just emailed back and said he'd send his property manager over tomorrow. I'm going to remain firm on my decision to move out even if everything gets fixed because I'm just not happy in this apartment at all. I noticed when walking around New Haven today. I wasn't very happy yesterday, so I thought maybe it was because coming here hadn't worked out the way I had wanted it to and I was disappointed, etc., so today I spent several hours just walking around the city (I've haven't walked as much as I did today in several months) and I was really happy while I was out and about, so I know it's not that I'm unhappy here, it's just the apartment that's making me very, very unhappy.
The roommates keep to themselves. One of them showed me around a little the first day which was incredibly nice of her but I haven't talked to the other for more than a minute. I know her first name and that's it which makes for an amazing environment. Not that I've seen her around much. They never leave their rooms. I try to always announce my presence by saying hi and bye whenever I get in or leave but get no response whatsoever from them. I met one of them in the hallway this morning and said hi and she didn't answer. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with but I don't think that's the best roommate etiquette.
Because I am extremely efficient when I want something bad enough (and I want to move out of this shithole so badly), I've already written tons and tons of emails to people offering to let rooms and then went to see a room this evening about two hours after once and for all deciding that I needed to get out of here. The guy who showed me the apartment was really nice and I'm definitely keeping that one in mind. He said I could move in right away if I needed to and took real pity on me. The only con there is that the room is unfurnished and I barely have any clothing, let alone furniture. I might go see another room a street down from here in half an hour if I get a confirmation via email.
To make apartment hunting way more complicated than it needs to be my phone is not working. For reasons that make sense to only Matze and me we switched phones before I left Germany. He got my iPhone 4 and I got his Samsung whatever. It's really old and really shitty and just plain horrible. I had intended to only use it for a day or so and get a new iPhone but once I got a new iPhone I realized the the iPhone 5 needs a different sim card than the one I had ordered ahead of coming here. And Matze's old phone also needs a different sim card than the one I ordered. So I'm stuck with a German sim card in a horrible phone that refuses to connect to free wifi for a couple more days. Unless you enter a password, it won't work which is just great and means lots of trips home to check my email.
I need to get changed and check to see if any more rooms have become available.
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no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 01:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 01:51 am (UTC)Good for you for trying to get out of it. Now way should you have to live that like. No gas? No locking doors? And the filth? I'm not the neatest person but I keep all my mess in my room and don't let it impact others.
Glad you are liking New Haven though. That's a definite plus. :)
no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 02:00 am (UTC)I'm sorry about the roommates from hell. At least you got out?
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Date: 2014-08-13 06:17 am (UTC)Though with regards to the keeping to themselves thing, maybe they're just really introverted? That's part of why I live alone, because I am and the last thing I want when coming home tired is to have to interact with MORE people. I'm always afraid of someone getting angry at me because I spent too much time alone that I'd rather not be in that position.
no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 02:25 am (UTC)In general, they always lock their doors here. That's something I've never encountered before when living with roommates and it doesn't foster an atmosphere of trust and friendship. I've been doing it because they do it and (most importantly) because I don't have anywhere to leave my passport yet and I'm really worried about it being stolen since the apartment's front door doesn't lock and I'd be screwed without a passport. But I've seen that at least one person in the new apartment don't lock their doors, so here's hoping that I'll see nicer, friendlier times.
no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 04:56 pm (UTC)I hope you can get out quickly!
With the unfurnished room you could probably get a cheap futon fairly easily, or some furniture stores offer rentals.
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Date: 2014-08-17 02:08 am (UTC)I've never heard of rented furniture, that sounds pretty awesome!
no subject
Date: 2014-08-13 08:45 pm (UTC)Re: IPhones. When my daughter got a new one, the SIM card was free. Of course, that was with buying a phone and a 'contract' of service with AT&T. I'm not sure what you're planning on doing, exactly, but you will get a new SIM card with a new phone. You'd just have to take the info off your old one, either manually or put it on your computer (pictures and contacts and things) an then transfer it to the new phone. But yeah - SIM card isn't really your issue, it's are you planning on getting a contract with AT&T or Verizon or whatever so you can turn your new phone on and use it.
Good luck on all counts!
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Date: 2014-08-17 02:10 am (UTC)I don't want an AT&T or Verizon phone because those terms usually run for two years from what I can tell and I'll only be here for a little under one year and I don't want to keep paying for a service I will no longer be using. That's why I bought the phone and the sim card separately.
no subject
Date: 2014-08-14 09:14 am (UTC)At least you like the city itself, so here's hope that the time at Yale will be a pleasant one, despite the problems.
no subject
Date: 2014-08-17 02:12 am (UTC)ANd the apartment thing got sorted out, so I've relaxed and can enjoy my stay here even more :D