Apartment Hunting.101

Well, after seeing 14 places back in June, then another estimated seven back in early December and another 16 over the past 3 days, I'm getting a good idea of how a lot of people live here in Amsterdam. I also remember what a total drag it was looking for a home over 7 years ago!! This time, the place we choose will be our home for at least the next year and ideally the next 3. It's always easier to weed out those early ones that don't make the cut, isn't it? But then you get down to those remaining 2, 3, or more, that have almost everything you are looking for but just don't quite take you all the way there.
We've learned a bit along the way...the big thing would be that toilets are like gold here! If you have more than one, you must be royalty!! We saw a 4 bedroom apartment, and it STILL had only 1 toilet!! I mean...COME ON!!!! I'll be the first to say as American's, we're spoiled to an extent. We're used to a way of living that's, well, referred to as a higher standard of living. Orlando provided us a 4/3, and sure, one of the toilets gets used about as much as "W" uses a dictionary, but there were those rare occasions we had a housefull and each one was "occupado". I guess we just don't like to "hold it". We are told it is just not the "Dutch way" to have more than 1...that they get by...have no problem with it. We are also looking at places that are in or near the city center, so space is at a premium (see previous posts where I dish on that). It would be easier finding 2 toilets if we were looking for a place out in the rural areas, but we're not looking to live out of the city. Also, we must be careful here. When a place advertises that it has 2 baths, that doesn't mean it has 2 toilets. Some rooms you go into and there's a shower, and only a shower. Some bedrooms have sinks in them. Yes, I know I wrote bedrooms, that's not a mistake. Some bathrooms have sinks and a bathtub with a shower head, but no curtain and no way to hang a rod and curtain. Many have full windows right next to the shower or bathtub, so you can clean your body as you entertain your neighbors with it!! We were at one of Radhika's co-workers apartment around Christmas, and their female neighbor was doing a little cleaning wearing a shirt. When she bent over just a little, it reminded me of Tom Petty's album, "Full Moon Fever"!! Some places I've looked at had a window to another apartment literally 2-3 feet from a window of the apartment I was looking at! "Love thy neighbor" takes on a whole new meaning over here.
Another new thing for us is making deals with the landlord. If you like a place, but it is lacking in something, you can negotiate for it. Say...like, you don't have a DVD that plays the European format, don't want to buy a 220v vacuum cleaner, and there's not enough shelving in the closets. Offer a lease that's for 3 years, but with an option to break it after a year with 2 months notice, and you can get those things and perhaps more provided by the landlord.
Well, that's about it for now. More on our apartment adventure as it developes. I'll add a few pics of the ones we have looked at, so you can get an idea. These are for reference, so you photo majors need not critique me on the backlight situations on some of these. Until next time.....