{"id":6990,"date":"2010-05-17T07:30:22","date_gmt":"2010-05-17T12:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/?p=6990"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:02:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:02:54","slug":"stop-a-la-chasse-aux-apartements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2010\/05\/17\/stop-a-la-chasse-aux-apartements\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop \u00e0 la chasse aux apartements"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"La<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking for a new apartment.<\/p>\n

Right in time for the our national holiday \u2013 July 1st<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Moving Day.<\/p>\n

While the rest of the country will be lounging on decks, drinking beer, and cooking meat on the BBQ, I may be forced into joining mes compatriotes in this \u00ab Only in Qu\u00e9bec <\/em>\u00bb tradition.<\/p>\n

I have no real reason to move. Maybe I\u2019m just a masochist: the thought of joining the 120 000 person tango that we call le d\u00e9menagement<\/em> turns me on. Maybe I\u2019m just in need of a change: the common complaint I\u2019ve had from all my ex-partners is my fear of commitment. It seems as if this fear not only affects my relationships with people but also my relationship with neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

But as I set off to find the place of my dreams, I quickly remember that apartment hunting ain\u2019t easy. In a society drowning in technology, finding a flat should be as simple as hello. Instead, it has only made the population more unreliable than ever before.<\/p>\n

In the old days, if one were offering or looking for a place to live, one would have to write out an advert, and then either pay for it to be posted in a local newspaper or physically affix it to a window or a telephone pole. If the apartment were available July 1st, you would begin advertising it at least 3 months in advance. This process took diligence, perseverance, and zeal. Nevertheless, once started, one saw it through to its bitter end.<\/p>\n

Now, with the internet, I could decide today I want to move, put my place up for rent on kijiji tonight, have an open house tomorrow, and be out by the next day. In fact, last year, I did exactly that \u2013 and now live with my 2 beautiful roommates.<\/p>\n

I have to admit, however, I am marvellously organised. Most Montrealers are not even close to being as sedulous. Online classifieids are brimming with quantity but not quality. Poorly written descriptions, missing contact information, and bold faced lies have become all too common on sites like craigslist and kijiji. 9460 Lajeunesse is NOT near m\u00e9tro Jean-Talon! 4023 Rachel is NOT in the Plateau!<\/p>\n

You send a thousand e-mails and receive no reply. You call someone directly and they answer surprised; as if they didn\u2019t even know they had posted an ad online for their place. You arrive for the scheduled visit and no one is home. I honestly believe people get off on making others’ apartment search as miserable as humanly possible. I have this image in my head of a man sniffing the classified section of the Gazette while jerking off to his fellow citizens desperate online replies to his fake \u00ab 4 \u00bd in the Plateau, corner St-Denis and Mont-Royal, $450, ABSOLUMENT \u00c0 VOIR<\/strong><\/em> \u00bb ad. Graphic, yes. But it is this image which supplies the necessary rage to fuel my perpetual search.<\/p>\n

People have gotten wise to the deceit and manipulation. More and more, I find apartment seekers using alternate media to find the place of their dreams. This month, I\u2019ve already been invited to 5 events on Facebook to help Jenna X. or Mathieu Y. find a home. Twitter is ablaze with desperate calls for housing. Soon you\u2019ll have people shamelessly writing blogs about stipulating the kind of flat they are looking for.<\/p>\n

p.s. Je suis \u00e0 la recherch\u00e9 d\u2019un 3 \u00bd ou 4 \u00bd, situ\u00e9 dans une zone d\u00e9limit\u00e9e par Hutchison \u00e0 l\u2019ouest, Papineau \u00e0 l\u2019est, Jean-Talon au nord et Duluth au sud. Du ou triplex pr\u00e9f\u00e9rablement. Dernier \u00e9tage OU rez-de-chauss\u00e9 avec petit jardin. Loyer maximum \u2013 $700.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

APARTMENT HUNTING TIPS<\/span><\/strong>
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\nGetting rid of your apartment?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n