We Moved!

4/22/2017

New Home

We moved! We began our search for a new apartment around December and moved 6 weeks ago! It was a looong and difficult process but now that we're settling in, we are very excited!

Our first year in France was difficult for many different reasons, but one of the big reasons was that we never felt "at home" in our old apartment. We were very thankful for it, but knew from the start it would be a temporary place. We learned very quickly that it can be difficult to live in a studio apartment with our different morning schedules and without having any windows to give us natural light. In a lot of ways, it often left us feeling depressed sitting in a dark apartment for too long. Our 2 requirements for our new apartment were that we wanted windows and a bedroom. We got both!

Throughout these last few months, I've learned how difficult it is to find an apartment in France. The paperwork is extremely lengthly, the finances are very specific, and most apartments are not furnished. Shoutout to William for doing 99% of the work though! I went in to this process assuming it would be similar to the way I am used to in America, and quickly learned I was wrong. Throughout our time in France, we have probably looked at around 10-15 apartments in total and I was shocked to find that 90% of them come completely unfurnished. No bedroom closets, kitchens with only a sink (No counters, cabinets, appliances), small storage space, etc. This was the case for our apartment so we're working to gradually build it up the way we want. (Lots of trips to IKEA!) Will says the French like it this way - They like to own everything in their apartment and work to put it all together.

Our new apartment is about 3/4 of a mile up the river from our old apartment. We wanted to stay close to our old area, because we loved it so much! We can actually see the street our old apartment is on, from our balcony. Instead of living right in the city, our new apartment is on the hill over-looking the city. So beautiful and very easy to get back to the center of Lyon.

We LOVE our new place and both feel that we are "home" at both our apartment and Lyon. Below is the day & night view from our balcony. So breathtaking.

"Home Sweet Home"

Basketball - ASVEL

Will and I got to join some of our friends from church to go to a game to see the Professional basketball team in Lyon. The club is owned by Tony Parker, which I thought was pretty cool. We had a blast!

Spring

Spring is my favorite season and I am definitely enjoying it here in Lyon! The weather is heating up and the flowers and trees are blooming so beautifully.

Will and I have kept very busy the past few months. Between my two jobs, I'm usually gone for 12 hours a day, 4 days of the week. Will works his normal job and also plays basketball. There are two weeks for the Holidays happening right now so I am enjoying the time off and am excited to do some apartment decorating with my spare time. Basketball will end soon for Will and then we'll be preparing for summer trips and adventures.