{"id":14696,"date":"2022-01-20T17:28:57","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T16:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.book-a-flat.com\/magazine\/?p=14696"},"modified":"2022-01-20T17:28:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T16:28:57","slug":"new-apartment-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.book-a-flat.com\/magazine\/en\/new-apartment-new-life","title":{"rendered":"A new apartment for a new life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alice and her 7-year-old daughter Lou-Ella had two weeks to find their new home. Recently separated, Alice wanted to move while staying in her neighbourhood because it\u2019s where Lou-Ella\u2019s school is. As Lou-Ella would soon be going back to school, there was no way they could stay in the family home but could not live anywhere too far away from her school either. The young mum started her online hunt and right when she started to feel desperate, she found an ad for a two-bedroom furnished apartment in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Find<\/p>\n

It was exactly what she was looking for. A bright apartment a stone\u2019s throw from Rue de Pontoise where Lou-Ella\u2019s school is. She didn’t hesitate for a second and filled out the form to request a virtual viewing. Next, she did what you must never do: she called the rental agency straight away. She wanted this apartment badly. No need to organise a visit. The pictures were sufficient. She knew it was made for her.<\/p>\n

<\/i> Hello. It\u2019s me. You won\u2019t believe it: I\u2019m over the moon. I\u2019ve just found my ideal apartment. I\u2019m signing the lease tomorrow, and we move in next week!
\nHow did I find it? I had been looking seriously for a month and lost hope. I was ready to say yes to anything, I even thought we would have to check into a hotel for a while. But then, this morning I woke up and went online to try my luck again. I was fed up with seeing ads I had already dismissed (they were over budget, too small, too ugly, etc.). So, I treated myself and went onto the Book-A-Flat website, where I was sure to find a selection of beautifully furnished and tastefully decorated apartments. I entered my search: a two-bedroom apartment<\/a><\/strong> in the 5th arrondissement, near the Seine if possible, and the Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Genevi\u00e8ve apartment came out first. It was vacated just this morning: how lucky! It is ideally located as you can imagine: 5 minutes away from Rue de Pontoise and Lou-Ella\u2019s school. But the first picture sold it for me. I was hooked. Look, I\u2019m sending you the link. https:\/\/www.book-a-flat.com\/en\/apartment-paris-18607.html<\/a>
\nI instantly fell in love with it at first sight.<\/p>\n

\"Two-bedroom
\nDo you remember M\u00e9lanie\u2019s small but amazing apartment, where she lived with her mother when we were in high school? This is the exact same two-bedroom apartment, but better! Bright and fully renovated. It has the same two rooms with a living-room on one end and a bedroom on the other, it\u2019is partly open, divided by half a partition wall. Remember? The one that we used to use for the remake of the famous scene in the movie The Full Monty. Which scene do you mean? The one with the garden gnomes that Tom Wilkinson\u2019s sidekicks use to distract him during his job interview! Oh stop, it wasn\u2019t that bad. It got us an A in our cinema class.
\nDo you remember our karaoke nights, when we sang Wannabe while jumping on furniture to copy the Spice Girls? That was at M\u00e9lanie\u2019s.
\nSo tell me what you want, what you really, really want
\nI wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
\nI wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah<\/em>
\nYes, I do and I still sing out of tune, I\u2019m afraid.<\/p>\n

\"Paris
An apartment which reeled in its tenants at first sight<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Find
A 786 sq.ft. furnished rental with two bedrooms<\/div><\/div>
\"A
A fully renovated Paris apartment<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"A
A glass panel to divide the living-room from the bedroom<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Anyways! As soon as I saw it, I had butterflies in my stomach. I was seeing stars (my brain didn\u2019t seem to be able to process the information). I felt totally overwhelmed, my mouth was dry and my legs were shaking. The whole lot. I didn’t think about it twice, and after filling out the form for a viewing request, I wrote down the agency\u2019s address and phone number. I wanted to call them. But it was too early, and I had just the right amount of time to go there before it opened at 9am. I arrived with my application ready under my arm at the very same time as the receptionist. I couldn\u2019t risk missing out! I must admit, they were a bit dumbstruck at first but really understanding and efficient in the end. They contacted the owner who immediately approved my application. I got so lucky!<\/p>\n

\"Apartment
A bright and spacious bedroom<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Living-room
A long bedroom separated from the living-room by a glass panel with a white frame<\/div><\/div>
\"Your
Thanks to the glass wall, the light travels through the living-room and bedroom while also serving to divide the space<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Child's
The child\u2019s bedroom, on the quiet courtyard side<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

No, Lou-Ella still hasn\u2019t seen it but I\u2019m sure she will love it. Anyhow, she will still have her room on Boulevard Saint-Germain at her dad\u2019s. We decided to share custody.<\/p>\n

I must let you go, I need to tell M\u00e9l. I\u2019ll host a homecoming night for the girls next week. You are invited of course.
\n\u2018Bye! <\/i><\/p>\n

\"Saint-Michel
Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Genevi\u00e8ve, where the first Paris University was located in the Middle-Ages, now the central campus of the \u00c9cole Polytechnique, located not far from the modern-day Sorbonne universities<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Panth\u00e9on
The Panth\u00e9on district<\/div><\/div>
\"Sorbonne
The Place de la Sorbonne<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Ile
A sculpture of Sainte Genevi\u00e8ve, Paris\u2019 patron saint, rises above Pont de la Tournelle connecting \u00cele Saint-Louis on the left bank of Paris<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Seine
Notre-Dame and the Seine river banks<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n