So, I have realized that getting an apartment when I came to work in Tokyo was a little silly. Why do I say this? Well, because there are so many better options. Also, if you are coming to live in Tokyo and aren't planning to spend the next ten years in THAT apartment, I recommend looking into share houses and furnished apartments (which are often quite small, but convenient when moving).
I didn't know much about these when I was moving to Tokyo, and I was actually hoping to convince my boyfriend to move in with me to save money, so I just went straight for the apartment and bought all the furnishings... and now I'm realizing what a dumb idea that was. Since I broke up with my boyfriend about a month after coming to Tokyo and ended up with the big, lonely apartment with all my stuff. haha
In the end, it would have been better to get a small cheap room in a share house or one of the small furnished apartments with no key money, than to go out and get an apartment (even if I did manage to avoid the key money and several other ridiculous fees.)
Now, for my last few months in Tokyo, I believe... I need to decide how to live. I decided to move into compartment room in a share house, which I talked about before. However, as I was to start working part-time, that was simply the most privacy I could hope for.
The room is not bad, though the house is incredibly cramped and the furniture for the shared lounges takes up so much room that you have to climb over it to reach you door. I will also be sharing two toilets and one shower with twelve other people! The upsides are that it is only a thirty minute walk from my workplace and I don't need to bother with trains (which is really stressful for a country girl like me who doesn't like to touch or be touched by strangers), and that I can save so much money, as the rent is only about $450 a month.
The downside is, when I planned to live there I was going to be working part-time. This meant that, I would be able to work out a time to use the shower and enjoy quiet time alone. However, now this doesn't seem to be likely. If I am to work full-time during the whole three months, it may be better to have my own private room in a place with a better people to toilet/shower ratio. So I have been looking into single rooms in the same company.
The problem with the single rooms is that the price is similar or even more than just staying in my apartment. Too bad I already scheduled the move-out date and sold half my things...
So saving money doesn't look too likely. There are some rooms where I could still manage to save about $200 a month, but I think $100 is probably more likely. While the rent isn't quite as appealing, the idea of sharing five toilets and two baths with seventeen people seems a little better odds of getting in my proper shower time. I swear they must think foreigners don't bath....
So it seems all decided, right? Nope.
If I move to a single room, I have to move further out of Tokyo, which is fine with me except that it means moving away from my workplace. This means, the dreaded Tokyo rush hour morning trains!!! Gods no! To make matters worse, it means I have to wake up earlier to fight over the bathroom and then battle my way on (an off) the train. However, I would have more space and.... sigh.
I might just stay in the small room and suck it up after all.... I can't explain how much I hate the morning train and mornings... I hate them both. x_x
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