Why I'm currently homeless.

Aside from my first day at school yesterday and a quick trip to [a small town about an hour outside of] Cologne, I have basically been spending my time wondering around/getting to know Dortmund. But, if you remember (or you know, if you actually read) my last post, I have been insanely busy in the week that I've been here! That's because the exploring and wandering around Dortmund has been mostly due to the fact that I've viewed apartments in just about every corner of the city.

Before you get the idea that I'm being insanely picky and therefore not settling on any apartment I've seen yet, there's a few things you need to know about finding an apartment in Germany.

First is that what I'm looking for isn't just an apartment (in German: Wohnung) but instead for a WG (which is short for Wohngemeinschaft, a term that can't really be translated to English, but according to leo  means "apartment sharing community"). This means that other students/younger people live there, share the apartment, but it's not anything permanent. Originally the idea of a WG was for people who wanted a sort of replacement family, they buy groceries together, cook together, eat together, spend free time together, etc. However, most WGs these days stress that they enjoy having a little more independence of each other.

Second, when someone moves out of a WG it is up to the remaining roommate(s) to find a person who would fit in well with the people and the overall atmosphere of the WG. Which means you have to basically interview at every apartment and try your best to be exactly the kind of person they want to move in. These are called "Besichtigungstermine" (viewing appointments)

And third, University semesters begin on October 1 here, which means there are all kinds of new students moving to town and looking for WGs. 

I started looking when I returned to Germany in August. Luckily there is a very well-known website called WG Gesucht (more or less means "looking for a WG"), where people  post open rooms available and you can email them. At first, I was proud of myself for sending 3 or 4 emails out in one day. I quickly realized that that would not do. Not at all. In total, I have sent over 80 emails, received less than 40 responses, of the responses less than half still had the room available and were interested in setting up a meeting time. But a positive response to the first email is not everything. Rooms can go quickly - when someone interviews and fits in perfectly, it's not uncommon for the WG to cancel all the rest of the Besichtigungstermine. I've had quite a few appointments canceled before I even made it to the door. 

So far I think I've actually been to a total of 8 viewings. And they have all either said no or I'm still waiting for a response (I've been on about 4 since Thursday alone). They all have the same story about the amount of interest they've had. One apartment said that almost 60 people were scheduled to come view. So the competition is tough. I've also feel like I've seen every type of WG there is to see. Nice ones, bad ones, really nice ones, REALLY bad ones. As a result, I've also gotten to know the city really well. I know all the different quarters, the stereotypes of each part, and how to get from one to another quite easily. 

Luckily my teachers have all been really helpful and nice about the apartment search. I'm living with a teacher who has a little apartment attached to her house. And trust me, I would stay there, but it's about 30 minutes outside the city in a teeny tiny little town, which doesn't lend itself well to this year's plan of making friends. 

Right now I only have one more viewing left in the schedule for Wednesday, but hopefully some more options will pop up or I will get an offer before it gets too depressing.