STARTING IN A NEW COUNTRY (Accommodation crisis)

When leaving my country, little did I know about the things that were about to happen. I knew I had a flight ticket, I knew I had planned studies from Monday to Thursday abroad and I also knew that I was going to arrive at a family home in a completely unknown country. This, in addition to fear, filled me with uncertainty because I had no idea who these people were, with whom I was going to start living for the next month. In this case, we had only paid a month's lodging in that cosy Irish house.

Photography by: @miguelarocha (Dublin, Ireland)
Nikon D3300

Upon arriving in the Dublin city, I was amazed by the beautiful reception that was given to us as students. The owners were an Irish couple in their early forties. The female figure was a teacher in an elementary school, while her husband was a personal assistant for people with disabilities, who, a few minutes after arriving, gave us a quick tour of the old house, assigning our rooms and marvelling at the freedoms that we had inside the facilities.
For the first fifteen days, we were in love with life in that house in the Irish capital. When we feel as comfortable as in these moments, suddenly we begin to feel stress, as we remember that this accommodation was only valid for a month, having to find another home immediately.

With the passing of days, the host couple was very helpful in helping us in our unsuccessful search, because, at that time, Dublin was going through a critical moment when referring to rent for students due to the influx of students who continued to arrive in the English-speaking country.
After looking for external opinions, calling several landlords and writing down many contact numbers, we were able to schedule several visits to renting sites where humidity, bad sectors, high cost and poor accessibility made it increasingly difficult for us to search for a place to live for a longer time. After 25 days in the family house, we decided to ask the couple the price of the rooms we were occupying in order to stay there since having done everything through the language school, we did not know the real value of the rent. After a warm conversation, the figure what almost caused us a heart attack, was six hundred euros monthly, per person. Having an idea of our savings, not having a job and little chances of getting another place to rent in less than five days, we decided to stay there while we were still searching for an apartment or rooms. In this way we spent a few months, knowing more people who were willing to provide any information about a place to rent.

Photography by: @miguelarocha (Dublin, Ireland)
Sony Xperia J

After few months I was sharing a house with ten foreigners. Those responsible filled the rooms of the small rooms with beds to generate more income. Fortunately, in that house I shared a room with only my partner, a room that by the way had no lock, depriving us from securing our belongings during long days of work outside. As is evident, the coexistence among so many people in such a small space was going to be almost impossible to sustain and after several discomforts after three months, one day we left that house almost immediately. Situations such as dividing our time in the kitchen. Try to rest while someone has a meeting in the living room, with beers included. Arriving home exhausted by work and that all those people with whom you do not get along very well are gathered in a common room speaking very loudly.

This time being aware of the situation, we were able to get a room in a small shared apartment
or in the city center for a modest price.

The next three months of staying with this couple from India, would be much more bearable. Rules were imposed that everyone could follow without problems and the coexistence flowed until the last moment when we decided to move to a small apartment that was being ceded to us by a couple of friends and in which we stayed for almost two years till we decided to leave the country. Where we actually had a great time and good communication with the landlord, and where small parties and celebrations were not a problem. In this place we decided to create our own rules and finally started to feel that place as home.

This shows that when looking for accommodation in a country that we do not know and where many times we have not learned the language, it can be a bit tedious and possibly seem almost impossible, even more so when we are young students and people see us as unruly guys on many occasions, we must go through quite uncomfortable situations before finding a balance in our lives that can generate comfort. But it is not that complicated if we really try hard and focus on this important goal. Just do not take the first option however good it may seem if you have time to choose. You must also evaluate costs, benefits and difficulties that the house provides. And most importantly, remember that in the end there will always be the perfect place waiting for us as we all have the same opportunities.