A lonely, unliveable new room... A forlorn dinner in a fast food restaurant... crying my eyes out thinking I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life...
Sounds a lot like my first night in Metz nearly a year ago... But Hélas, this really is happening again.
This time, the city is Toulouse, about as far from Metz as humanly possible. The new language is French... with a Toulousan accent. The lonely apartment is really a studio infested with cockroaches, bedbugs (AGAIN !) and mysterious black hairs and a thick layer of dust blanketing every surface. I opened the fridge, greeted by a scurrying roach and the sight of mold. More friendly roaches are eager to make my acquaintance in the shared shower, which also boasts a mold laden shower curtain. The stench of urine dominates the alley where my apartment stands, looking more dilapidated than I remember only about a month ago. What was I thinking when i signed the contract to this dump ?
Oh yeah... 280 euros a month. Thisclose to down-town attractions and métro stop. And the biggest reason... MANDATORY address, copy of rent payment, and attestation of domicile in order to renew my visa to work in France this year... I had only two days in Toulouse to obtain my work approval and find residence... I did what I could.
Now my skin is crawling and I’m paying for it.
I scoured the internet (which of course is missing from my apartment despite my landlord’s promise.) for other apartments. Hours of searching and phone calls later, I have made no progress.
Everything is either already rented, too expensive, or the contact simply won’t respond.
Why am I sacrificing precious moments with my fiancé, family, and friends... to live here ?
You've sacrificed those things for one important reason: this is your dream. And I am so proud of you for living it. Look at where you are now and what you've been doing since the time of this housing disaster. I love you so much...never doubt yourself.
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