Before I left the U.S. everyone asked me where I was going to live. The answer to this question was that I had no idea! The Ministry of Education of Spain does not provide the housing to the Auxilaries. They tell us to contact the director of our school who may help us find housing. Well I was pretty freaked out about this whole living situation, but I decided that I had no control over it, so just to go with the flow as best I could.
I prepared myself by looking at blogs of past Auxilaries. In Spain, apartments are called pisos. Most people said it was pretty easy to find a piso. There were several sites, similar to craigslist, that listed available pisos. The problem was that my town was so small, it usually wasn’t listed on any sites. I did find a site about a week before I left, so I made sure to bookmark the listings and contact the agency when I got into Cariño.
The first day at the school, Friday, October 1st, I had the chance to meet many of the teachers in the Teacher’s Lounge during their morning break. The teacher that I’m assigned to, Mario, asked if anyone knew of available pisos. Luckily, one of the teachers had a cousin with an available piso. So the next day, Saturday, I went to look at her cousin’s piso along with the ones I saw online and a few others that the agency had available.
I was amazed at what I could get for less than 300 Euros, which is around $420. I looked at places ranging from 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom to 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. All of them had a full kitchen, living room, dining area, and all were fully furnished! When I say fully furnished, I’m talking not only furniture, but a TV, washing mashine, dishes, cookware, towels, sheets, iron/ironing board, cleaning supplies, etc. These places are all amazing!
I decided on the first one I saw, which was the piso of the teacher’s cousin. It is located in a building that stretches along the Paseo Marítimo, basically the boardwalk along the water. It’s right next to the library, which has free wifi, and it’s within 5 minutes walking distance to the school I work at. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and has an extra storage area with lines to hang my clothes. It’s very common to have just a washing machine and to hang dry everything. I’m going to get really good at ironing, haha. Luckily at home I would hang dry many things, so it won’t be too much to get used to. The rent is 200Euros a month, and then I pay the electricity bill and water separately. One other fun thing is that the stove and water heater run on gas. They have these old school cylinders, called bombonas. I have 2 of them. One that sits in one of my kitchen cupboards and connects to the water heater, and the other that is ready to go when the other runs out. I go to a special store to order a new bombona, I leave the empty one on my doorstep, and then they come and replace the empty one with a full one…by the way these cylinders are bright orange!
I’m having a lot of fun in my new place and it feels REALLY good to be settled and unpacked. I really love my location and the view from my bedroom window is priceless. It looks right out onto the water where all the boats are docked. I can look out of my window at almost any time of the day and see people walking along the boardwalk. I really lucked out! Check out the photos of my place. As you can see, the 2nd bedroom has 2 twin beds, so anyone that wants to come visit is more than welcome! (You may have to travel on several buses to get here, but it’ll be worth it!)
Bienvenida a mi casa!
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NICE!!! Can’t wait to come visit!
Haha, is that what they call the gas cylinders??? I had no idea…but I’ve got those in mi casa tambien! Your house is just adorable; it looks so well cared for and cozy. Looks like you could easily do some yoga in your living room. Your kitchen looks really well equipped, too — totally jealous. :)
I call dibs on one of the guest beds!
The washing machine in the kitchen is so cute! (I don’t know why that jumps out at me but it does.) So glad you found a place to stay, and an awesome one to boot!
what a great place! noticed the iron locked and loaded. open bottle of wine in kitchen = you are home. cheers. oh wait, salud!
Looks amazing!! And the view! Wow :)
So happy for you Christine=) Now I know that you have room for me when I come to visit! LOL
YIPEEE for DOS CAMAS!! WILL VISIT!! sweet piso!
YAY, Christine! Way to go! You are an amazing woman- can’t wait to share your stories with the Marina and Miles… you certainly are an amazing role model for them. Stay safe and have fun!!! Love you!
christine your apartment is just perfect! .Looks like you have everything you need. The fact that it’s walking distant to your school is even better. Looking forward to visting you in june. love you always, mom
Sister your place is sooooo cute!!! The kitchen looks great, well lit and open. And I agree, the washer machine in the kitchen is super cute!!! Guest room is awaiting my arrival, I’m so happy to see that you’re all set up and settling in. Missing you, and you’re always in my thoughts. Love you so much!!!
Just saw all the pic’s of your new place. Fancy girl with a guest room haha. The washer machine in the kitchen is hilarious. Would love to visit if I could :)