Piso

I am happy to report today that we have found a place to live!  It was not an easy task, so I have written down a few pointers for looking for a piso (apartment) in Valencia:

1.  Find map of the city.  The street names will be in Valenciano and you won’t be able to pronounce them, however, you can point to streets on the map which will make you look worldly and knowledgeable.  Taxi drivers really respect that.

2.  Find someone to help you.  There are leasing agents everywhere, so just give one a call. To do this, you need a phone.   In order to get a phone, you need a NIE (like a Social Security Number).  To get a NIE, you have to finish the VISA process you thought you completed 5 month ago.  The first thing Ministerio del Interior asks for? Your address.  The second?  Your phone number.

3.  Now you are ready to look at apartments.  Many will be pictured on the internet so you can get a feel for them.  But don't get to excited, none of them are actually available anymore.

4.  Meet your leasing agent to view piso #5.  Squeeze four people into an elevator built for two and press "3" which is really the fourth floor because buildings in Spain start with 0.

5.  Sign lease in Spanish.  It would be wise to learn as much Spanish as possible before signing legal documents.  I highly recommend immersion classes because the teacher does not speak English and you are forced to learn quickly.  However, that also makes it hard to understand what the teacher is saying.  So it is best to know Spanish before you get to class.

In the end, we are very happy with our new piso.  I can point to it on a map sometime for you. The only thing we need is internet connection.  We’ve been told to do that online.