International House Hunt

Today from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM we drove around Lyon with our real estate agent, Michel. We only saw four apartments, but we spent the entire day exploring all of the potential neighborhoods. We felt like we were on an episode of House Hunters International, so in that vein, here is a summary.

Our requirements:

• In the city of Lyon (not the suburbs)
• Somewhat accessible for Jörg's commute (his office is about half an hour southwest of the city, so anything east of the Saône (the river on the left of the map below) would not work
• At least two bedrooms
• An older apartment with French character, lots of light, and wood floors ("altbau" as they would say in Germany)
• Must accommodate our dogs
• Two baths or split bath (separate bathroom and toilet)

Wants, but not requirements:

• Balcony or outdoor space.  If not possible, close to a park
• Parking space or easy street parking
• Equipped kitchen (it is normal in Europe to install your own kitchen in a rental)
• Updated kitchen and bath
• Close to restaurants and shops

With this in mind, we set out to look at the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 3rd, and 7th Arrondissements (neighborhoods).

Apartment A (red pin) - a two bedroom walk-up on the 4th floor of an old building.  It was in a decent neighborhood with shops and restaurants only one block from the Rhône.

It is the only one that has web address, and thus realtor pictures, but it was a little alarming that this was all we could get within our budget.

As you might be able to tell, the paint job was a little dated, as was the kitchen.

Apartment B (yellow pin): This one was in what I would characterize as a very fancy part of town on a small street with boutiques and restaurants.  It is just a few houses down from a very large plaza called Place Bellacour.  It had an elevator, which went up to the 7th floor, but when we got off we realized we had to go up another set of stairs to what was going to be an attic apartment.  

This is as far as Jörg could walk.

Expecting a dark and cramped space, we were surprised to find a newly renovated space with a great deal of light from several roof windows.  Yes, the eaves create some odd space, but it was an interesting layout and seemed to have more space than the first.

We would have to provide appliances for the kitchen, but that was true in all of the places and at least this one had cabinets and counters.

We were intrigued by the possibilities with the funky layout, but it was when we looked out the roof windows that we were really blown away.

View from bedroom window

View from living room windows

The last two apartments are notable for their proximity to Parc de la Tête d'Or, one of the largest urban parks in France.

Apartment C (green pin): This apartment was what we had in mind with a traditional older French apartment. It was on the second floor, but had an elevator and had beautiful wood floors and tall windows. It is actually in a building owned by the Catholic church across the street.

Building 3 - you can tell it is a Catholic building by the large Jesus Statue on the corner

Jörg in the living room 

Tiny "kitchen"

View from the kitchen

Added bonus - this apartment was the only one with two bathrooms.

Apartment D (blue pin): The second older apartment was on a lovely tree-lined boulevard with shops and Cafés.

"Kitchen"

Jörg in living room

This one was interesting, and had some charm, but the entry hall had old, linoleum that was curling up on the sides. The kitchen and bathroom were also very basic and dated. The main bonus was an interior courtyard that was completely surrounded by buildings and had a grass lawn for quick dog walks.

Jörg has a furnished apartment for the next three months, but our realtor now knows what we like and don't like and will keep his eye out for the perfect fit once we are closer to move-in ready.