(no subject)

[lethargic_man]

Okay, let me try again with a little more context. I am spending three weeks in the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem starting in a month and a half, and have to find accommodation. Either I can stay in a hotel (which I'm not really considering), or I can rent a flat, or I can rent a place in a flatshare. Flatshares are $250–$400 per month, inc. Council Tax and bills (I think); one-bedroom flats and studios start at $650, also inclusive. (I will, of course, at the same time be paying the mortgage back on my flat back in Blighty.)

My question is: is it worth spending almost £9 a day for the privilege of not having to stay in a flatshare with one or more people I've never met before, and don't know what they're like, and have never corresponded with prior to flathunting on the Internet starting now.

I've pretty much decided that I am indeed going to go down this route; I was just interested to see what other people would say.

(OTOH there's another possibility come up of a flatshare in a flat with someone from the NNLS; even if I don't know them myself, the fact they've come on a recommendation from someone I do counts for something...)

Comments

[karen2205]

How expensive would it be to get out of the flatshare & go somewhere else if it all went wrong after a few days?

I might consider going for a flatshare like that, but only if I knew I could get out of it if it was horrible without major financial or social repercussions.

YMMV obviously. I'm not good when I can't get time to myself/don't fancy sharing a kitchen with others, so I place a high value on having my own place.

[hatam-soferet.livejournal.com]

Only three weeks? Dude. Do a flatshare. If worst absolutely comes to worst and you can't stand them, spend all day at the yeshiva and sleep with earplugs. You can live on felafel for three weeks. Shabbats, do the Israeli thing and invite yourself places. The staff like entertaining, for the most part, and you can always snag a meal at Yedidya or Shira Chadasha (and probably other places), where they're all Anglos anyway.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

If you're going to spend all day with new people, learning new concepts, talking in a language that is not your own, you might want a little 'me-space' at the end of the day. I know I would - somewhere I could go to and withdraw, without having to queue up for the bath or fight over the kitchen.

If I went to a place where I didn't know anyone with few chances of meeting likeminded people, I might consider a flatshare.

As for the 'not corresponded' it would depend on how well I hit it off with them - do they have a blog, for instance so you can see what they're like when they're not presenting themselves from their best side? The advantage of flatmates is that they can tell you everything - the nearest supermarket, which buses run on time, that sort of local knowledge; the disadvantages... can vary.

Most importantly, it's only for a short period. If you were considering staying somewhere for six months, the money aspect might swerve me, but for a one-off payment of £100 isn't very much. You might also want to read through your notes and prepare a little for the next day, which won't happen in a majority of flatsharing situations - either they'll disturb you, or you'd feel unsocial, so my personal preference would be to rent a place of my own. Particularly if you can rent from someone you trust.

[hatam-soferet.livejournal.com]

Where he's going you can get by speaking barely any Hebrew. Even the peeps in the supermarkets round there speak English. Heh.

[dhole.livejournal.com]

There's a friend of mine who's been looking for a room-mate for a bit; as a result, he's got an empty bedroom.

It'd be a bit less than $200, assuming that the dates and such work out. It is still someone you don't know, but it'd be a bit cheaper.

Let me know if you're interested.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

A room-mate or a flatmate? A room-mate I'm not interested in. A flatmate... Well, would you share a flat with this guy? (But that's no help, because I don't know if I'd share a flat with you!)

[dhole.livejournal.com]

Sorry; American usage is roommate, rather than flatmate, though it describes the same thing. Which is to say, it is, in fact, a two bedroom apartment.

As far as I know, he doesn't have any particular odious personal habits, and keeps a kosher kitchen. Other than that, as you say, you don't know me well enough to know if my feeling that he's a generally okay guy would match your impressions.

He likes games, if that's any help.