luzula

I have a new home! \o/ I have unpacked all my stuff and found two flatmates, both of whom are a bit younger than me (I'm 36; they're 21 and 22) but I have good feelings about them so far. (My mom said "so, you've decided to have kids after all?" Ha ha, Mom. They are adults, thank you very much.)

Here is the view from my window:

Isn't it lovely? We're high up on a hill and you can mostly only see trees--it's like we're not in the city at all. Well, we're in the suburbs, so I guess it's not the city center anyway. (If you're an American, "suburb" does not have the same connotations in Sweden as in the US--it's not a sprawl of one-family houses, but mostly multi-story apartment buildings. People with money live in the city center, poorer people in the suburbs. Except for the rich suburbs with villas, which also exist.) I am actually relieved to be living in a rental apartment again instead of an old quirky worn-down house. These are houses from 60's and 70's, from Sweden's so-called "million program" which was a social democratic project of building a million new homes in ten years. Which succeeded, and they're all very rationally planned, and down in the communal yard there are things like a bar to hang your rug over while you beat the dust out of it. Which I used today! \o/ People like my mom kind of wrinkle their nose at these apartment houses, though, because she thinks they are ugly and also poorer people live in them.

Also today I went to swim in a local lake with an acquaintance who lives in one of the houses you can see out the window. It's good to have a neighbor whom I know already! And I tried the local pizzeria and found it good.

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jjhunter

Congrats! I'm so pleased for you.

rachelmanija

How beautiful! I love that there's a lake you can swim in.

jesse_the_k

That's lovely. Is the style of your building similar to those seen through your window?

So swim in the summer means skate in the winter!

Is there a market within a easy stroll?

luzula

Thanks! : )

Yes, that's an advantage for sure! Also lots of woods to hike around in.

My building is lower (five stories) but much longer. It's up on a hill, though, hence the view.

The lake will freeze over if we are lucky, but the west coast has mild winters.

There's a market within walking distance, but it's not very good. But there's another one at a tram stop along the way I ride home from work.