Finding a place to live in San Sebastian

As Jeff noted, we came without a place to live and had to find one quick! How our search evolved is an interesting and strange story, but it is representative of the “VinoConVino” concept – share wine and experiences, even with total strangers, and you will be enriched.

We started looking at places on the web before we left Seattle, which gave us an idea of the different types of options and prices available. We figured out that we would have to be here and see the places, and allow any potential landlords to meet us, in order find the right place. So we started marking certain places as “favorites” and hoped they would be available when we arrived.

A few observations about our timing and the rental market in San Sebastian. First, we wanted a furnished place for August 1. Well, July and August are the high season here, and many landlords attempt to make their money from tourists during those months and rent to university students from September to June. This eliminated a lot of places for us because we wanted something long term. Second, apartments in Europe are different from what we know in the US. Everything is smaller, the bathrooms have a bidet, the washing machines are in the kitchen, and there are no dryers. Third, there are only so many furnished options and we were hoping for one with two bedrooms and at least 1.5 baths.

We arrived in San Sebastian on Tuesday (25 July), and the next day we contacted multiple places to see. We saw one place on Wednesday and had four more places to see on Thursday. We started Wednesday by walking around the city through various neighborhoods to get familiar with them and understand distances. The place we saw that day was a definite “no” – it was old, and had never been updated. We were optimistic that Thursday’s places would be better. The first place on Thursday was better but only by a little. The next was strange – great location close to the beach, but a very odd layout. The fourth place was really nice, but it was not fully furnished – there was nothing to use in the kitchen and no sheets or towels. We quickly calculated that it would cost around 1000 Euro (about $1150) to outfit this place. Considering we have been trying to get rid of “stuff” – buying everything for a kitchen was not too appealing. Still, it was an option . . .

We had one more place to see at 5 p.m. Fingers crossed. The apartment was really nice – good neighborhood, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, decent sized kitchen . . . all good . . . EXCEPT it’s not available on 1 August because the nice Brazilian couple who lives there now (he speaks English and helped translate) aren’t leaving until 26 August. So what are we supposed to do for August??

Here’s where it gets really interesting . . . the landlady offers to let us live in her husband’s office for August. Huh? Um, ok. The office apparently has a bathroom (with shower) and kitchen. We agreed to come back at 7:45 p.m. to go see the office and meet the husband. (He has no idea what’s going on, by the way.)

We returned and all of us – Esti (the landlady), the Brazilian couple (Jose & Michelle), and us – go to the office, which really does have a kitchen and bathroom (with shower). So, here we are, with people we’ve barely met looking at an office that we would live in for a month . . . one of the strangest situations we’ve ever been in, right? Yet, these people are so very nice and sincere and the next thing we know we are headed out for pinxtos and drinks with our new friends. And over drinks we discussed arrangement and terms – in Spanish, with a little help from our Brazilian friends.

So over two days, we walked a total of 24 miles and found a place to live. And that is how you rent an apartment (and an office) in San Sebastian.

Next step . . . reviewing a lease in Spanish! Vino con vino!

Shana & Jeff