Looking For a House

1.27.08
Looking For a House

Some random thoughts on looking for a house here in Phnom Penh:

So we began our hunt yesterday by visiting a place above a small bar. It was OK - it had 2 bedrooms and a spacious living room, but was missing a kitchen ("I can get you fixed up with a kitchen, no problem" said Alex, the bar owner.). It was a bit discouraging, especially since our friend Sarah, who had been visiting apartments all day Friday said it was one of the best she'd seen...

But like so many of these other details, we're both comfortable knowing that we are going to have to trust God to lead us to a good place to live. We've been thinking about the different aspects of our future apartment, and are trying to balance the following:

1. Cost: Places here in Phnom Penh range from $50/mo (as was the case for our Tuk-Tuk driver, Borat) to over $3,000/mo in one of the upscale buildings. We're hoping to find something around $300...

2. Location: we're hoping to find a place that's walking distance from Naomi's office, so that her daily commute exposes her to as little Khmer driving as possible.

3. Rooms: we'd really like to have at least 2 bedrooms so that we can always have a place to offer to visiting guests. BUT, this is not a non-negotiable at this time. Plus, our friends can always sleep on our couches... and guesthouses abound in the city.

4. Community: our apartment could either isolate us or immerse us into Khmer community. As I type this, I think this may be THE most important consideration. I have been hoping in the weeks and months leading up to this move that this time, we would really get involved in the local lifestyle. Hmmm... more on this later.

OK that's it for now. It's time to head over to church for our first Sunday in PP!

-josh