“At least we have a Piso”

My PISO STORY

Useful vocabulary words:

Idealista- Most used page/app to find a room, apartment or house in Madrid
Habitación- Room
Piso- Floor or most commonly used to say apartment or flat
Gastos- Utilities

 “Visto”, “visto”, “visto”, “visto”, “visto…” Oh yeah, if you don’t know those are about the exact times I contacted owners of rooms in Idealista through WhatssApp and they left me in “visto”. Meaning they saw my message, but never responded. I learned the hard way, Spaniords take forever to respond back to you, and this is because (specifically people who post in Idealista) they receive hundreds of messages on a daily basis. I learned I had to stand out of the crowd. I couldn’t just send a normal message saying I’m interested in the place. No! I had to send a message presenting myself as the best person to be living here.

Hola,

Estoy buscando cuartos y vi su publicación en Idealista.

Mi nombre es Cyd Marie Miranda y tengo 24 años. Soy una chica muy
llevadera, responsable y limpia.

Un poco más de mí, me gusta viajar, los deportes y leer.

Voy a estar trabajando como Auxiliar en el 2019.

Me interesaría ver el cuarto si aún está disponible.

Oh yes! They want all this information I kid you not. Some people are very specific in Idealista and they ask for all of this. I even had encounters where they were looking for somebody that was 25 years old, I am 24 and thought “hmm, that’s close enough, it should be fine” Oh no. They messaged me back saying that I was NOT the age they were looking for. “Hello! for one year? common Spain give me break,” I thought to myself as I got frustrated receiving these messages, but in September owners can be as picky as they want, because they can. Everybody is looking for housing in September.

The first place I visited was in Argüelles, which is a pretty nice area next to Moncloa. Moncola is where all the busses are and I have a long commute to work. Living between Moncloa and my school was the perfect happy medium, but this paced was not where I wanted to spend living the next months. The kitchen was dirty and smaller than a bathroom and the room was a bit of a mess and it was $450. It all depends on what you’re looking for and what were you willing to give up. I wanted a nice location, non-smoker and with “gastos” included (gastos is utilities). The kitchen was kind of important too, more than the room, because I like to cook. One, It would help me save money and two, it’s how you bond with your roommates (trust me I know that now).

The next 2 rooms I saw where great, one was near the Retiro park, and even if that was very far from Moncloa I was going to do it because the place was nice and 395 with “gastos”. It was a great deal. My mistake was leaving it. I left and told the owner I would contact her the next day, because I was going to see one more place. Bad decision. I guess somebody snatched it that same day, because I spent 2 days calling and texting to say I wanted it and the owner saw my messages, but never responded (I was very bumbed about that one).

The next room was not as pretty but it was in Plaza de España, near Moncloa. The only problem I had with it was that it was for 9 people and all Erasmus student’s (don’t hate me, I know they’re fun) but I wasn’t sure I wanted a 24-hour party. I just got out of the building and thought about it outside for 10 minutes and decided to call the owner, because there was no deposit, so I could get another place if I didn’t like living there and guess what! When I called she said sorry, it’s already taken. This one was 380 and no deposit. I felt so disappointed, how could I be losing all these places?

As I kept searching, my time in the hostel was ticking. I made my 4^th appointment to see a room in La Latina and I was determined. I told myself, if I like it I will get it right there and then.

Now, this room was beautiful, nicely decorated and it all seemed ok. To be completely honest all I did was walk around the house real fast make sure I had a bed, a kitchen and bathroom, check, check, check I want it, I said to the landlord. I need a deposit to reserve it for you he replied.

If someone knows me they know I never carry cash with me, but luckily, I was with my amazing friend of 4 days Fernanda. Fernanda is a young spirited 30 year old woman from Brazil that decided to travel across Europe by herself. She took time off from her job to travel and none of her friends had time off to travel with her, so she decided to say “Bom dia Espanha” and travel by herself. I met her at the hostel and we immediately became friends, having Spanish as the bridging language. We went out to eat, went to Toledo and I actually showed her around Madrid. She has a very loving and joyful persona. She was an angel sent to help me in this “piso” journey. A friend that literally accompanied me to 3 out of 4 of my “piso” appointments and had just known me for 1 day.  

Fernanda was there with me as always in my “piso” appointment and she saw I didn’t have any cash at hand. She had seen all my ups and downs during this “piso” journey (as she had presences it all) and without thinking twice she said “yo tengo 100 euros, aquí tienes” and that is where my “piso” journey finally came to an end. Fernanda, if you are reading this, thank you.

Now I live in La Latina with 2 other auxiliaries and an Argentinian couple where we share drinks, laughs and the occasional, but yet very normal complaints about the stuff that is wrong with the “piso” that we didn’t notice in our 3-minute tour of the place. No matter the complaint or we end all our conversations with a “hey, at least we have a piso”.