Apartment hunting in Munich (and elsewhere)

We spent most of last week searching high and low for our next address. After hearing horror stories about how tight the market is right now for renters in Munich, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were, in fact, a couple apartments (a) available, (b) in our price range, and (c) not located in the far outskirts of the city.

We were also really happy to find a place with a built-in kitchen. The standard German rental apartment traditionally comes with nothing in the kitchen – no cabinets, no oven, no fridge, nothing. It is up to the renter to purchase and install her own kitchen, and to remove it when she leaves (or to sell it to the following renter). Apartments also come without closets or light fixtures, unlike in the US where these things (and kitchens) come standard. Italian apartments are usually as bare as the German ones, whereas Swiss apartments often come with installed kitchens but no lights or closets (does any country besides the US understand the joy, convenience, and saved wall space of built-in closets?).

Our reluctance to invest in multiple major appliances severely limited our apartment choices in Milan, and somewhat limited them in Munich. On the complete other end of the apartment-stuff spectrum, the fact that we own any furniture at all would have caused serious problems had we tried to rent a place in Limerick. According to the relocation agent we spoke with there, almost all apartments are rented out not only with full kitchens and light fixtures, but they are fully furnished down to the beds, tables, wardrobes and chairs. Although I am happy to use a hand-me-down oven, I can’t say that I was thrilled with the prospect of an apartment containing used beds…