Archive for the 'Housing' category

New Theory: Tiki Lounge is Haunted

We have now decided that the poltergeist living in the Tiki Lounge (as we refer to our apartment) has been frustrated beyond belief because we weren’t really picking up on his message to get the hell out!
We didn’t understand that the water that sprays us from the bathroom sink, the floor polish that rubs off [...]

Tales from the Tiki Lounge

Unfortunately, “we gotta get outta this place” has become a frequent refrain from the three adults living in this apartment. (The girls love it here — there is no accounting for taste.)
HIGHLIGHTS:

The refrigerator has two settings: “not cold enough” and “freeze everything in your refrigerator.” I can’t find a spot in between, though [...]

February 2009 Apartment Update

Good news, we have a home when we return to Baires in February…a home for two months anyway!
There is a reason for the two month rental: furnished apartment rents are through the roof here — crazy expensive — and, I believe that travel is going to be way down next year due to a worsening [...]

Where Appliances Go to Die…

…and other evolutionary dead ends in the home.
This place is a wonder of old fashioned technology. Pictured to the left is the light switch/maid switch combo that is located in the bathrooms. One switch turns on the light, the other buzzes the maid in the kitchen. (I’m not sure why you would [...]

Uber Frustrating Temper Tantrum Day

I begin this post with a *monster sigh*
We didn’t think that finding a temporary furnished apartment somewhere convenient to the girls’ school would be too hard, especially with a start date in February — hardly high season. And indeed, we found the perfect place, had multiple communications with the agent, who assured us it [...]

Bamboo Decompression Chamber

It’s time to talk about our new apartment…our new very retro apartment. This bad boy was state of the art — in 1969!!
Each floor of this building has two apartments, an A and a B side. Each side has it’s own elevator, which opens into a sort of private entry chamber that leads [...]

Granite Countertop Rant

I am afraid that I can no longer suppress my strong feelings about granite.
Why in God’s name does everyone use this as a kitchen surface?
I hadn’t had any experience with granite until we moved into our rented condo last year. We had black granite tile on the counter surfaces. It was [...]

Departamento (Apartment) Decisions

You have two options when renting here in Buenos Aires:
Option 1: Unfurnished Long-Term Rental. With this type of rental, you generally sign a 24 month lease and are required to have a garantía. (A local person who provides a guaranty. Said local person must own property in Capital Federal, the inner city, if [...]

Mini Garage Doors for Windows

Okay, perhaps these are not the most attractive exterior adornments for windows, but they work really well!
Click on the pictures below for a better look at the shutter systems that you find on nearly every apartment building in Baires and that I call “garage doors for windows.” The shutters are usually white or [...]

Rent Temporary Apartment–Check!

We appear to have secured a short-term apartment in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires!!! Yahhhh.
The good news? There’s room for Ian (my brother) to stay if he’s over on a late night babysitting gig (I’m not sure that’s good news to him…). The bad news? It’s a bit caro, as [...]