FINDING AN APARTMENT ON ISLA MUJERES

We made it to Mexico. Three days had passed (and we’d done Wednesday twice), we’d spent 35 hours in the air, had been to three continents and missed one flight – but we were here! And it is beautiful.

Once again we found ourselves in the all-too familiar predicament of being jobless and homeless. We decided we wanted to live on Isla Mujeres and with Tate arriving for a two week holiday the following day, we were in rather a tiz trying to work out where to turn.

We secured a temporary residence for a few days, then the three of us rented one of Isla Mujeres’ very popular golf buggies to bound around the island looking for ‘se renta’ signs.

HOW TO FIND AN APARTMENT IN BANGKOK

All in all, it took one week for us to find a home in Bangkok, but it was really tough going. Even the most organised and patient person in the world would find it difficult not to get frustrated and impatient with the process. Pictures and prices in adverts tend to be deceiving, there are language barriers and it can sometimes seem like there is nothing suitable at all.

Prices depend entirely on what your priorities are in a potential living space. Our main criteria were decent wifi (non negotiable for writing blog posts and keeping in touch with friends at home), a location within a five minute walk to any BTS station, a clean bathroom that wouldn’t also be home to cockroaches, a pool with space to sunbathe, and a hotplate and toaster to create some basic meals. All for about 15000 baht a month? Ambitious maybe…