The succession of the steps we take makes us advance, little by little if we do not stop. This happens in our daily lives, as well as in life in general. I could tell you the difficulties we encounter on our paths, of course, but we all have them. And we all solve them, little by little... or rather step by step.
That is how life happens. Yesterday, and a few more days, I went through hundreds of ads for rooms in shared apartments that my son will need starting in September. Hundreds of them! It was crazy, reading all of them, comparing, noting down, selecting... They are wasted hours, it was a total disaster - the fight over prices, information and small letters that camouflage the real situation, the conditions, requirements, the location and the network of the platforms that manage most of the apartments and their incredible commissions. It is the monopoly of two big platforms that rent rooms for students that has left us surprised and a little sad because they dictate the prices and also because we have not found any real person on the other side of the screen in all these advertisements. I wanted to talk to a real person, and by chance, I finally found a lady who manages several rooms in one flat. She answered me yesterday afternoon and was very kind - we agreed to meet today to see a room in a shared apartment she was advertising in that city.
Which one?
I think that those of you who sometimes read my posts will recognize it.
Now you know the reason why I bring this Wednesday walk from this place full of tall houses. There is a detail that reveals where I am. The building in the background looks like a spaceship, but it sounds like an opera.
The morning started somewhere at that point. Before the agreed appointment with the lady and room, we had time to find a few real estate agencies and see their offer.
We picked from the map several of those real estate agencies and the search started. I was waiting on the red light and seeking shade. Cool - a display with the temperature at 10 am. In the moment I wanted to take a photo of that display, the green light allowed these guys to enter the photo. 🙄
So, with 32 degrees Celsius on the asphalt, in jeans and sneakers and with a fairly normal and not-so-fun t-shirt, in addition to carrying a backpack, I was taking steps for this walk. We didn't go far from the place where we were supposed to have the meeting. Just two blocks and checking the time we should return.
At least, some green spaces can be found in the concrete jungle.
The buildings took over nature... however, this fig tree is showing some resistance! It found a piece of soil to grow and bring its fruits. I love Valencia for these details.
Oops, I just revealed the location. 🤐
Different details. The building in front of us had interesting tiles on the facade, and the one next to it had a colourful mural.
When we collapsed from the heat and search, traffic, buildings and prices we got in real estate offices, the young man suggested taking a little break... with ice cream!
It was an excellent idea!
Refreshed, with a dose of coffee and ice cream, the time for our meeting with the apartment manager arrived. We were back in the mode of walking, reaching the street where I wouldn't mind living during my studies.
I am a little envious... well, just kidding, because my student years have passed.
We were lucky with the offer, we accepted it for our son mainly because of the excellent location, close to where he will study and the fair treatment we received from the lady. Surely we could find something a little cheaper on a monthly basis but with more commissions, hidden fees, paying for months that he wouldn't live there, etc. All in all, we are happy with the decision we made.
That's it, the task of finding accommodation for the young man is over, for now. I say for now because the number of challenges that await us in the near future will require us to move forward with good organization, a lot of work, the right decisions and tranquillity, hopefully step by step.
And here - we are back at the point where our Wednesday walk started. Just let's find our car in the multitude of others. 😂
