Looking for an Apartment

Naomi:
1 Septiembre 2008
Today we have had the pleasure of slowly making our way through activities of our choice: wandering streets and neighborhoods, taking photos of for rent signs, finding a Comida Corrida in which to have a full lunch, and discovering Starbucks under the aqueduct here in Querétaro. Starbucks here has valet parking and is super expensive, much like McDonalds and Burger King. It also claims to be one of the top employers in Mexico according to the sticker on the door.

As we wandered people were extremely friendly and offered to point us in the right direction, even though we were “getting lost” on purpose.

We went to a meditation tonight at 5:30 at a beautiful building we saw one of the first days we were here. We didn’t leave until 9:30. Our host led the meditation, which was wonderful, and afterwards proceeded to connect us to numerous housing possibilities and his phone book. It was really a trip. Barry, an ex-lawyer from NY, introduced us over the phone to his network (including a local Spanish teacher and his wife who is a hairstylist). We have quite a few more leads now. J Plus, a former Fulbrighter we spoke with, invited himself and his wife and me and Jose over to Barry’s Wednesday evening. So there’s more to come.
As soon as I saw Barry’s home from the outside I was in love. Then we saw the ad for the meditation session. After the meditation he showed us his home and it did not disappoint. The bottom floor is mostly a parking space and the meditation room. Upstairs is the main living area with large windows overlooking the cityscape (cathedrals mostly). Also on that floor are the kitchen and a beautiful patio. On the third floor is a sleeping area and a gorgeous roof garden. He said re-did the place completely. It is just what I’m looking for here.
Beautiful Querétaro Arquitectura


2 Septiembre
So today we looked at two incredible apartments (without our agent, from our ex-pat connection) and one that is completely awful. The incredible ones, of course, are much more expensive. They do have everything included as far as telephone and internet services already hooked up and in the rental cost, which is a benefit. And they’re furnished, which would be much more convenient. Jose is already dreading de-constructing our life here since it was so much work in LA. And he’s dreading having to move furniture into a place. So we’ll see. Hopefully our agent will show us some more places tomorrow. So far we’ve seen three with her and only one was even a possibility.
When we looked at the beautiful apartments we ventured into a new part of the centro historico and discovered a new church and a beautiful plaza with an incredible covered walk. The “ceiling” had amazing brickwork to create the domed arches.
Domed Ceiling

We also walked way out of the city center this afternoon and discovered an excellent chicken place. They prepare food to go and we brought some back to eat in the courtyard of our hotel. The mother, Lucia, & son, Carlos, working there were incredibly kind and welcoming. They are local, but have also lived in Aguascalientes, which is north of here. Lucia and Carlos said that Queretaro is booming and growing exponentially. A few days ago we spoke with a mattress salesman (in case we don’t get a furnished place), who said that Queretaro is the only state (Queretaro is the name of both the state and the city) in Mexico that is self-sufficient and sustainable because there are such a variety of industries, including aeronautics, Purina, refrigerators… I’ll have to get back to you on what else is produced here. On the other hand, our new friends who are in Guadalajara are working with kids whose families migrated from the state of Queretaro for economic opportunities (they sell small items at intersections)… so like anywhere, not everyone benefits from the industry boom.
The Aqueducts of Querétaro


Anyway, today we made a vision BAG (instead of the usual visionboard) about our perfect apartment. It was really relaxing to look through magazines for pictures that show what we want in a place and trim the pictures carefully and then arrange them… since we had no posterboard or cardboard or bulletin board we taped them on to a paper shopping bag! It turned out really nice and it was cool to do it together with Jose.
4. Septiembre
I believe in visionboards/bags!
We did it! José set the intention at the beginning of the week that we would move into our place on Friday, and tomorrow we sign the papers and move in! It’s been an adventure looking for places and we’ve seen some freaky places. We were told there weren’t too many basement apartments here in Querétaro, but we bumped into a lot of musty, dark apartments that seemed to be underground. We also saw places that were outside of the city center in gated communities (not what we were looking for) and were not in such good condition. Finally today we saw two beautiful apartments that are furnished, which will be much, much easier. When we saw the first one we thought it was the one, yet I was a little reluctant because there was no outdoor space. So, in typical fashion, I insisted that we go to the next appointment. It was slightly further away from the main plaza, but still in the center. Extremely modern and with lots of stairs, which would prohibit many families from living there… but as we climbed the stairs José kept saying, “This is for us too?” By the time we got to the roof we felt dizzy with excitement.
It is pretty incredible and really combines the priorities we each had:
Naomi= in el centro histórico, so that it is walkable; lots of light; an outdoor space or roofgarden; space for guests
José= in more of a neighborhood; with a parking place; lots of light; trees
And the bonuses: beautiful views of the city; everything is new; a Jacuzzi tub on the roof; the bedrooms seem almost like hotel rooms (hint, hint)
Our Vision Bag


It is going to be much easier to have a car there than in the exact center where I first imagined living, because of the parking place, but also because there is street parking, the street is not as narrow or a main street, and it is close to the edge of el centro histórico, which makes it easier to get out to go to other parts of the city. Plus, it is within walking distance of where José will be working! There is a fruit & veggie market just down the block from our new house and it’s in the western part of the center, whereas our hotel is in the eastern part, so there will be lots of new places and streets to explore.
And our landlord left us a fantastic CD of Vicente Fernandez, who is known as the Mexican Elvis. It has been a great soundtrack as we set up our home here.
The Legend Himself: Vicente Fernandez


Jose:
So here we are one week removed from the Fulbright Orientation and we’re back to reality, oops, there goes gravity! No, not really, we’re still floating on air and having some of the best times of our lives. Of course that includes the stresses and anxiety that looking for a place to live can bring. But we flow. And flow we did, right into our new apartment. We are absolutely ecstatic about it. Yeah! We get to go grocery shopping, cook and not have to worry about the hotel cleaning crew waking us up.

I’ll give you an overview of the week’s events leading up to finding our fab departamento*. First we had a great real estate agent, Gabriela, help us in our quest (in Mexico, you don’t pay the real estate agent rather the owner does). Initially in our search, we saw some bleak depoto* that were unfurnished (having to furnish an depoto* would have been very expensive). But we were patient, sometimes making cold calls and venturing off on our own to see depoto* on the otherside of the avenida Zaragosa. Some of these depoto* were basement dwellings with cold marble floors and dated furniture covered in plastic. Most depoto* we saw didn’t even come with a stove or refrig. I was getting a little deflated in our quest until Gabriela called us Wednesday night and said she had two, not one but two fab furnished depoto* to show us. I couldn’t picture what she meant and had my doubts about what fab meant. The next day we saw a depoto* right in the center of town.
Church in the Center

Now let me explain how dwelling places are set up here en el Centro de Queretaro. Most can’t be seen from the streets, instead, you open up these huge locked doors and enter a beautiful courtyard with a huge house with a colonial look (in the past whole families would live in these places). Now they’re set up to be individual depoto* for rent. The one bedroom depoto* we saw on el 5 de Febrero was incredible compared to what we saw earlier in the week. It was completely furnished with red leather sofas, washing machine, appliances, computer desk, tv, etc. I immediately turned to Naomi and said, “This is home…shake?” Naomi wasn’t so quick to shake my hand. We had one more depoto* to see. I smirked thinking that the other place wouldn’t hold a candle to this place.
More Churches en el Centro

We got into Gabriela’s car and drove down Zaragosa to encounter midday traffic. When we got there I told Naomi that it had taken us a bit out of the center of town, and one of Naomi’s requirements were that it need be in walking distance to the center (1 point for the first depoto*, 0 for the second). The representative who was showing us the place didn’t have the keys and we had to wait for someone to bring them (2 points for the first depoto*, 0 for the second). When she did arrive, she had a difficult time opening the gate (3 points to 0). Finally when went inside, we were pleasantly surprised. Huge glass doors opened into a very modern dining room. 3 steps down was a kitchen with all new appliances. There was a half bathroom with smoked glassed doors next to the kitchen. We climbed the stairs to a bedroom with beautiful hard wood floors. (3 points to 1, hmm).
Entrance/Dining Area

Then we walked the next set of stairs to a marble tiled bathroom with a limestone looking sink and a washer and dryer in a small closet. (3 to 2). The next set of stairs led us to a second bedroom identical to the first. “Is this all ours,” I exclaimed to the person who was showing us the place.
Living Space

The Stairs

But, there was more. The next and final set of stairs led to the rooftop terrace with a breathtaking view of Querétaro (oh, by the way it has a jacuzzi on the roof). (3 to 10).
Our View from the Rooftop

We also found out that it was a 15 minute walk to el Centro. And the price was within our range (actually cheaper than the previous place) so the next day we signed un contracto and moved in. The neighborhood is very tranquilo and centrally located so that you can walk practically everywhere. We found a small outdoor market where you can get taquitos and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Naomi's Arrangement of Veggies we Bought en el Mercado

And a few blocks further is the MEGA where you can get everything from freshly baked bread and milk to brand new tires. All very modern (think Target). It was really nice to unpack and buy grocery’s. Oh BTW, the MEGA has a movie theater below for $1.70USD a showing.
La Mega que Pega