 |
M San's Profile
Came to Japan in August, 2004. European Graduate Student Housing: Apartment Commute: 30 minutes by bicycle to school
|
 |
TB -- Hello! Nice to meet you. Can you tell me a little about where you're living now?
M San -- Sure. Right now I'm living in an apartment. Ummmﾉit takes about 30 minutes to get to schoolﾉyeahﾉit's a good place.
TB -- Have you lived there since coming to Japan?
M San -- No, at first I lived in an International Exchange Center. After 2 years there I moved to my current apartment.
TB -- How was the International Center?
M San -- Before coming to Japan I lived in a dorm. Dorm life itself isn't that bad, but when I moved to the International Center, I wasn't able to choose my location or my room. Also, my room was really dark and small. But, the electricity and furniture were provided, and it was cheaper than living anywhere else. Also, I was able to make friends with other exchange students, and Japanese volunteers also lived there and helped us if we had any problems or questions. That was really great.
TB -- Oh ok, and why did you move out?
M San -- You can't live there for more than 2 years.
TB -- Oh, really? So, how did you go about finding your current place?
M San -- I went to a real estate agency in my area.
TB -- Were you able to find an apartment easily?
M San -- Additionally to the normal difficulties, I met two types of discriminations during my search for the apartment. One was when the landlord clearly turned me away because of my nationality. That was the negative kind, but
then there was also another kind, the kind of GAIJIN OK! Positive discrimination. I think both are discriminations, and that type of attitude gives a bad impression on not only the real estate agency but also on Japan. But finally, I found a real estate agent who accepted me and let me move into a place.
TB -- That's terrible, I really can't understand why some people behave that way. I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. To change the subject a little, what kind of place were you looking for?
M San -- A place in the heart of a cityﾉquiet...oh and with access to trains close by (laughs). That doesn't really exist, but I really like where I live now.
TB -- That's great. How much did it cost to get started up, did you have to pay key money etc?
M San -- They took 2 months for key money, 1 month for deposit, and 1 month commission to the real estate office.
TB -- What did you do about a guarantor?
M San -- I asked my teacher.
TB -- Why didn't you go through your university's system?
M San -- Asking the teacher is faster than going through the schoolﾉthat's all really.
TB -- Any other problems?
M San -- Nope! My friends in the dorm gave me furniture at a really cheap price and yeah, I don't really have any problems.
TB -- That's great to hear. Well thank you for talking with me!
|
