There are a lot of things you learn about a city when you're staying in a home and not in a hotel. I've learned that the eggs are found in the baking aisle of the supermarket and not in the refrigerated section and I've learned that, often, when you rent a flat (what the British call an apartment), it comes fully-furnished, often right down to the silverware!
I spend so much time fiddling with my home — debating new paint colors, perusing CraigsList for new furniture, carting stuff to the upholsterer — that I can't even imagine living in a space that wasn't filled with my own things, where each piece has a story, even if that story is "I found it on the street" or "I got it at Ikea".
Joanna Thornhill, whose home is featured in the first issue of Heart Home Magazine, is a study in how to work around this issue. She admits that it's frustrating but that's how it's always been done. When I mentioned that in the States your apartment comes empty (and, sometimes, in Los Angeles, without even a fridge or a stove!) to a group of London bloggers, there were stunned gasps all around. On one hand they were jealous (they can't wait to buy so they can truly make their homes their own); on the other hand, they were super curious (Where do you find furniture? What do you do with the furniture in your old place if it doesn't fit into your new place?). I'm stymied enough trying to choose a home based on the neighborhood, its proximity to my job or my social life and whether I can work the price into my budget without having to consider if I like how it's furnished. But, like small fridges and driving on the left side of the road and hanging out in a pub drinking beer, it's all in what you grew up with.
Now we're curious: what are the customs in the place you're living? Do you rent by the month, by the week, by the year? Did your home come furnished or unfurnished? How long is your rental agreement for and can you stay in your home if you're happy there?
Image: Joanna Thornhill's revamped space by Sarah Hogan
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When I first saw eggs being sold in a non-refrigerated environment, I gasped and thought "we're all going to die." But my husband said that's the way it's always been done in Tunisia, where he's from. I guess it wasn't too peculiar to him when his mother stored our eggs on top of the fridge instead of inside.
I rented apartments in Yekaterinburg, Russia that, Chelyabinsk Russia, and Ufa, Russia. The apartments were furnished (poorly), and came with dishes, books filling the bookcases, floor rugs, doilies, house plants, mouse traps, etc.
I was glad at the time, because I didn't have cash to lug around all my belongings, and just lived out of 2 big suitcases for a few years.
It would be awful hard to not have any of your own personality in the space long-term,,, but in a place where the style of the apartment isn't really top of mind to the people living there, our over-the-top stylistic choices and materialism here in the states probably looks just down-right shallow and confusing as well.
yeah- eggs are fine non-refrigerated... I don't like mine refrigerated at all, but we do it that way here in america.
Eggs are not supposed to be refrigerated, are they? Room temperature, like in a henhouse? In New Zealand they're in the baking aisle.
I'm in a big rent stabilized apartment in upper manhattan. I will never move. but I love renting an apartment for a month in the south of france. I have added my own kitchen stuff there, and it is fun to pretend for a month that I am french, un-refrigerated eggs and all.
UK landlords can claim back tax each year for depreciation on the furnishings so many prefer to rent furnished.
It's interesting, most of the German flats/apartments don't come funished at all, it's even common that you have to bring your own kitchen.
I like it that way, there's nothing more annoying than a kitchen that doesn't match your demands...
FYI I think the American egg industry cleans or washes off an extra...membrane? that the UK and other places leave on, that makes them safe to leave at room temp. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to store USian eggs on top of the fridge, which is normally even warmer than room temp.
To second Jdad, in Russia most rentals come furnished. You can often negotiate with the landlord over what stays and what goes, but most people prefer the basic furniture, because the infrastructure for moving/buying furnishings is not nearly as developed there. It is also very common for students and young professionals there to rent single, fully furnished rooms in two-three bedroom apartments from older people who live alone.
I rented a fully furnished apartment here in Tennessee while doing a six-month internship. I wasn't a huge fan of most of the furniture, but just like the space itself, you find ways to work around it/cover it up/make it work.
I keep eggs in a basket on top of the fridge. Omelettes are much easier and much better when you start with room-temperature eggs. I don’t eat all that many, so generally I keep a few out and the rest in the fridge, but even that is a bit over-cautious. Fresh eggs will keep at least a week at room temperature, and don’t exactly go bad if you leave them indefinitely—they just dry out slowly. Buy organic eggs, if you want to be safer—they are much less likely to carry salmonella. Also, cooked eggs don’t keep nearly as well—put them in the refrigerator.
Refrigeration only makes the eggs last longer, it's like refrigerating fruit.
Pythia - nothing gets washed off. My friend, who has chickens, gives me a dozen eggs every year for easter. They're no different then the ones I buy in the store (other than being organic and more yummy...)
I believe that in the UK, the law may make it much easier for landlords to get bad tenants out of furnished flats. Unfurnished flats are treated differently in the law.
A neighbor of my parents-in-law was the worst kind of crazy hoarder/cat lady. There was no legal recourse for the owner but to keep paying the taxes even though he was receiving no rent from her. This continued for years until she died.
All the neighbors felt sorry for her and helped her keep the landlord/owner off her back (filling out legal forms for her etc.)
I was glad that she had a place that felt like home to her and I thought it mostly commendable that the law recognized this as a good thing.
But I also was sorry for the owner. After she died the RSPCA had to come in and get all the cats and the owners had to gut the place, which was unbelieveabley trashed.
My husband and I are moving to Barcelona and have begun looking for apartments online. Everything is different than in the U.S. but since we've both lived in different places around the world, these differences didn't surprise us. In Spain (as in most of Europe) it's hard to find an apartment with more than one bathroom, you may find a kitchen with no appliances (you're expected to buy them yourselves and then take them when you go), you will most likely find a washing machine but NOT a dryer (you're expected to hang your clothes to dry). I would hate to live in a furnished apartment because I have very particular taste and would want my home to reflect that.
I was told by a friend who raised chickens that if you DON'T wash eggs, they are good almost indefinitely without refrigeration. But once you wash them, in they have to go. If I could could find a reliable place to buy fresh/unwashed eggs, I would in a heartbeat.
in Iceland it depends a lot on how you find your apartment. There are almost no management companies that have a large number of permanently-for-rent apartments. Every rental I've lived in has either been in the same building as the owner's flat, or has been rented by the owner while they're studying/working abroad.
They come with kitchen cupboards and stove/oven but no appliances, so you've got to buy your own fridge/washing machine (hookups for washers are standard, dryers are not standard). In the case of people renting while going abroad, partially furnished is common, and in the place I live now, there's a lot of furniture the place has "inherited" because it fits with the unusual shape and layout.
If you have a lease, the timeframe to announce your departure is generally 3 months, but I've had some more flexible arrangements that don't require this.
oh, and the eggs are sold in a wire rack in the dairy aisle but not in the fridges. I still put mine in the fridge when I get home.
In Honolulu, most apartments are typically unfurnished. I noticed more furnished apartments in the ad near the university or waikiki (hotel/resort) area. I would never rent a place with no fridge and stove! That would be unusual here and most renters wouldn't be prepared for it. There may be some studios that are light on the applicances but there wouldn't be room to bring your own. There are a ton of guest cottages or house additions with separate entrances to rent, some legal and some illegal (non permitted).
YES EGGS DO NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED. Read this: http://www.chinovalleyranchers.com/egg_faq.asp
@Lefiffy, in France too, people take their kitchens with them. I don't quite understand this. Appliances, sure, but do they take the cupboards too?
All kitchens are not the same size or the same layout. So how would you fit the old cupboards into a new space?
Thought I'd just mention that we British don't call flats 'apartments' - it's actually seen as an americanism to us and rarely ever used.
I just find it funny how the comments alternate between eggs and furnished/unfurnished apartments and everyone is cool with that:) I always wondered about the missing kitchens in vacant eurpean apartments. I mean, talk about trying to fit that in a new space. Hardly seems worth the effort to bring it with you -- or perhaps it's considered rude to leave your kitchen when you move (?)
What? I live in London I'm from the UK. I've rented for a few years and have rarely heard of a flat coming with cuttlery or plates if it is rented out furnished. Unless it is on a kind of per room basis for students. Also although I feel there are more furnished flats than non furnished it is by no means unheard of to rent an unfinished flat. Probably around 60% if flats are offered furnished. Also the majority of flats that are furnished have basic furniture and are not really "fully" furnished.
In Germany, you usually rent unfurnished. In Hamburg, the kitchen has to be equipped with a sink and a stove, but nothing else. If the people renting before you put in a kitchen they don't want to (or cannot) take into their new place, they might try to sell it off to you. (You can accept, but don't have to.)
Leases can either be time-limited, or unlimited, then it's indicated how much notice you have to give if you want to move out. Fpr the landlord it's not so easy to get you out of the flat if you didn't do anything wrong, so I feel well-protected in my flat and know it's worth to furnish it the way I want, because I'll be here for some time.
As for eggs: in Germany they are sold unrefrigerated and unwashed. The best before -date is 28 days after the eggs were laid. After that date, eggs should always be completely cooked (no more softboiled eggs).
For 18 days the egg can be kept unrefrigerated, after that it should be kept in the fridge - though nowadays it's often recommended to keep the eggs in the fridge right from the beginning, which is what I do anyway, because neither do I want to "reserve" counter space and fridge space for eggs, nor do I want to have to remember when to move the eggs from one place to the other.
Wow, thanks for posting my kitchen! Lovely seeing it up here. As mentioned, my rental flat is fully furnished and as a professional stylist with a love of interiors, it's been a challenge to adapt the space to work for me, without risking my deposit (much more on this in the Heart Home article). Whilst lots of 'fully furnished' flats here do just come with the basics, it's not unusual for some to include full kit and kaboodle - my landlord used to live here until he moved abroad, so as well as furniture and crockery we were even left with vases and books!
I find this topic really interesting - as there are no long-term rental options here in the UK, I personally feel reluctant to move into anywhere totally unfurnished, as if your tenancy is brought to an end (which it can be with as little as two month's notice depending on your contract) it would be even harder to quickly find somewhere else to live with the constraints of lugging round sofas and washing machines in tow! Other European countries seem much better geared up towards long-term rentals, whereas my opinion of the UK market is that renting is still very much viewed as a temporary stopgap until you can buy your own place, rather than a lifestyle choice, despite the fact that spiralling property prices means first-time buyers are now on average in their mid-late thirties!
Oh and I keep my eggs in the fridge, mainly because I've got nowhere else to put them! ;-)
In France furnished apartments are mostly for tourists or people on business trips because the rent is usually higher than unfurnished apartments. But except for some luxury apartments in Paris rented to rich tourists, the apartments aren’t “fully” furnished, there’s no real décor, just the basics.
In unfurnished apartments, you usually have to bring your own oven, stove, fridge, washing machine and appliances. You take them with you when you leave. The cupboards stay, unless you've redone the kitchen (with the owner's agreement) and brought them with you in the first place. Even then, you can usually make a deal with the owner so he keeps them in exchange for a reduction of the rent or some cash.
The rent is more expensive when the kitchen is completely furnished, but even then, it usually means no washing machine and certainly no dryer (there’s no “dryer culture” in Europe).
As for the eggs, in France, you can find them in the baking aisle, or near the water bottles section, or near the fruit and vegetables as they don’t need to be refrigerated. It all depends on the store.
In Estonia there are both types of rental places - with and without or only partly furnished.
I live in Tartu, which is an university town with too little dorm spaces. Therefore majority of rentals are furnished. This means basic furniture - usually a desk, wooden chair, sofa or reform bed and small standalone armoire, no linens, pillows, cutlery and plates or anything like that. Kitchens usually have a table and cupboards + appliances (always oven, usually fridge, quite often washing machine for clothes for bathroom is tiny and has no space for that).
The places for buying usually are either totally bare (mostly new projects), have only kitchen furniture + appliances (most of the offers) or sometimes are also fully furnished.
The rent is paid monthly for a fixed amount to the owner, the utility bill and electricity is usually not included in the rent. The first is often paid directly to the apartment owners union or a separate company that manages the building and electricity directly to the energy company. Cable, TV, phone etc usually are paid directly to the companies offering the services.
It is common to ask 3x the rent price for the 1st month - 1st is the rent to the owner, 2nd is the fee for the real-estate broker, 3rd is guarantee money that you get back when you cancel the rent.
The apartments usually are quite tiny, it is said in the online ads on the realestate homepages if it has a kitchen 6-10m2 is quite common or an 'open floorplan' meaning the kitchen appliances are on a wall inside living room. Usually there is a tiny bathroom with shower or bathtub and united or separate from the toilet. We don't have separate dining rooms and if it's written 1-room apartment then that exactly what it means: only 1 room (kitchen, bathroom, hallway may be included) and no separate bedroom. There has never ever been an apartment with several bathrooms available. It sometimes but not even always exists in houses sold or rented.
In some dorm type houses and older wooden houses the bathroom and toilet may be not included - then either previous owners have built in a shower stall or you have the option and a toilet is at the end of the hallway shared between all apartments. There usually is at least a sink and cold water available. Warm water is always from a boiler in your apartment no matter which type it is. These older or dorm type apartments usually are about 12-18m2 and just one room.
Here in Brazil it's pretty much more common to rent unfurnished places. No stove, no fridge, no cupboards, ppl usually get their stuff with them into the homes. Furnished places are less common and a lot more expensive. Also, landlords rent for at least 6 months, and ususally for a year, and it's been a tendency by their part of not letting tenents stay for more than 2-half 3 years. Who lives rental in Brazil has to move a lot, and every move demands carrying all your stuff (kitchen included) form one place to another! Me for example Ive been living rental for about 10 years now and have moved 8 times!
I live in Cardiff, Wales and our flat is fully furnished, as was the one before this. It's okay but the sofa is hideous. Our flat came with some cups and cutlery and whatnot but we don't use it. It also came with rugs, curtains, lightshades and even some stuff on the walls. It's not to my tastes really but as a young couple who move about often, it works. Also it's nice to have a bit of challenge when it comes to making the place feel like home. Almost everyone I know lives in rented and all their flats are furnished.
Eggs in the fridge?!? I've never put them in the fridge and they seem ok to me.
@Stylist's Own - First off, I loved your flat in Heart Home. But what do you mean there are no long-term rentals in London? Unless you are flat-sharing, I have never seen a flat going without a yearlong lease...
My flat is furnished, but minimally so we are able to express ourselves. Definitely no dishes our cutlery, but definitely a washing machine but no drier. Some places have pots and pans, but not good ones. One of the biggest things that I have noticed about flats in London vs the US is that landlords are much more likely to allow you to personalize the place more - painting, etc.
in Portugal it's more common to rent unfurnished, stove & fridge (& sometimes washing mashines) are there in (let's say) half of the cases, in others you even have to get the water heating equipment, the "rest" of the kitchen is all there. Furnished places are most common for students and tourism.
Usually, landlords rent from 1 to 3 years (with possibility of new contracts), and many people live in the same rented apartment for years.
I lived in one for 4 1/2 years.
p.s. Portuguese go both ways with their eggs :P Personally, I don't like to put them in the fridge
erm: washing maChines
My sister and I own a rental that we inherited from our parents. It's a duplex (aka a semi-detatched) and my sister owns the other side. We provide oven, fridge, dishwasher, laundry washer and dryer, but often the tenants bring some or all of their own appliances and then we have to store the extra set. Sometimes the tenants will keep the fridge, but put in the garage for extra food storage.
The kitchen comes with cupboards - they are permantly attached to the structure and I'd be VERY upset if the tenants ever detached them LOL I think that Americans do a lot more built in storage than is common in Europe (closets instead of wardrobes - that kind of thing). When I look at European kitchen design, there's a lot of freestanding storage.
In Denmark we don't have built in storage for clothes in apartments. You need to buy a free standing closet or chester drawers for you clothes at least in the standard city apartment which is a 2 room - not 2 bedroom but 1 living room and 1 bedroom = 2 room apartment. Bathrooms are usually between 11-16 sq foot (I used an online meassurement converter I mean 1 m2) but I have the luxurious size of 25 sq foot (2 m2) so I don't have to sit on the toilet to shower - yes they do exist! This is standard for apartments in Copenhagen. Bathrooms do tend to get a little bigger when you live in smaller cities. I grew up in a house with 1½ baths and 4 bedrooms but this is a house my parents built themselves in a surburban neighbourhood
In Italy, most of the apartments I have seen were furnished. My apartment came with nothing (really...no cupboards, no dressers, no shelves, no appliances...NOTHING) and I stupidly listened to my landlord who said that most Italian apartments came that way. It was sad later when I found out all of my friends had pre-furnished apartments (or at least storage space).
Eggs in Italy are almost never refrigerated. In fact, they usually only sell in packs of four or six, which means you are expected to use them immediately after purchase. The biggest difference I guess is that Americans purchase eggs to last more than a week or two in the fridge. Italians use it as soon as it is purchsed.
In Australia eggs can be found in both the fridge or the baking aisle depending on the supermarket.
Our apartments come both furnished and unfurnished, at the will of the landlord (furnished usually for short stays, but sometimes just because the owner left their stuff there). Furnished usually costs more.
You're not allowed to paint or change any fittings or do any other kind of renovation without the landlords written permission (almost never granted). Even drilling into the wall could mean you lose the rental bond you pay at the beginning of the lease. The real estates here are real sticklers and try to penalise you at every oportunity. Pets are usually completely ruled out, so there is a culture of lying to your landlord and finding friends to mind your pets when you have an inspection (Inspections require 2 weeks written notice from the landlord).
They must be equiped with some working way to cook (some small units there are no bedrooms, one tiny bench in the room for a 'kitchen' with a toaster oven and enough room for a bed and a cupboard only) and laundry will be shared between the units or you have your own. The owner must provide either an outdoor line to hang clothes on, or access to a dryer.
The laws do change between states, I'm in NSW.
It's interesting, most of the German flats/apartments don't come funished at all, it's even common that you have to bring your own kitchen.
freestanding closet
I'm wanting to move to Germany and on Craigslist I found several listings in Munich and Hamburg that say fully furnished. They are homes for rent with beds, tv's, and pretty much everything. Is it all scam?