After months of ambiguity — of not knowing when we would be forced out of our house by our landlord’s financial woes — the time has finally come. Our landlord has sold our current place and we are having to relocate to another house. Though there are things about our current home we will certainly miss, we are actually pretty excited about our new house!
During this state of limbo, when we found out that we might have to move, we began house hunting again. And let me tell you! House hunting in Tanzania looks quite a bit different from what we are all used to in the U.S.
In my dreams, house hunting would look like this: either search the newspaper adds, search the internet, or even drive up and down cute neighborhoods watching for “For Rent” signs. After finding a number of favorites and seeing inside, we would consider the lay-out of the house, the size, the location, the yard, the cost, etc.
Of course we still considered each of those things here as well but those are not the first things we looked at.
First, we had to find the houses that are for rent. They don’t usually (almost never) have “For Rent” signs in the front window and there is definitely not a website of available houses. Most of the time, we learned about a house through a friend or acquaintance as word spread that we were searching. Sometimes, we would even just walk up to the gate of a vacant looking house and ask. It was actually quite amazing how many houses started coming out of the wood-work once we started inquiring about them.
We usually knew within seconds whether a house was going to be a good option or not. We thought much less about the lay-out and much more about whether the place had plumbing yet. Less about the style and more about how much of a fixer-upper it was. Here are a few of the many houses that we looked at. We were not trying to be picky… and there were great things about many of them! But, there is a lot to consider when choosing a new home.
Most of the houses we saw looked a lot like this, but usually more run-down and in great need of repair.
Due to the influx of gas companies in town lately, there were also quite a few brand new or almost-finished houses, like this one. Most were flashier than what we’re looking for, and also out of our price range. This house had a great layout. But no yard and… well, it was VERY GREEN!
This downtown apartment had a whole lot of potential. It had awesome courtyard and an enchanting rooftop terrace overlooking the town. But the amount of work to be done on it was quite overwhelming.
Something about this house felt magical — an old, neglected, gorgeous house. But it lacked plumbing and many other key things. The amount work to be done was huge and it was way out of our price range. So, it still sits neglected.
Another recent construction aimed at the gas companies, this little house sat in the middle of a palm tree village on the edge of town. And though we liked the location, it felt too flashy sitting next to mud huts. Not too mention… their asking price was exorbitant.
This was a great house. Beautiful and not too much work. But it felt a little too big for the two of us. And, again, was too expensive for our budget.
It was hard not to feel discouraged as we searched…. Until we came across this house:
This is it! Our new house!!! It was one of the only houses that met all of our criteria. Great location, good size, and within our price range. And though it needed a good deal of work the landlord was willing to do the most important renovations before we move in! We called it the Pi Theta Phi House at first because it was painted the colors of my college Social Club! And though my blood will always run Orange and Blue, I never envisioned living in a house those colors; but, thankfully, the landlord has already repainted the outside a more neutral color.
We are so thankful to have found this place. We are planning to move in this week once the paint dries, and we are very excited finally feel more settled! More pictures to come!
