And So it Goes

 

Next in the list of apartments I’ve rented in the last three years:  this place is in yet another part of Tirana, near a mall called the Ring Center.  A pretty standard mall with the ever-present Conad on the lower level and a short walk from the apartment.  The building was further from the center than I would like but there was still a lot of sunshine in the early part of autumn so the walk was pleasant enough.

The apartment is nice enough though a bit noisy as it’s beside a busy main road.  A good-sized bedroom, the largest TV I’ve seen in any of these places (that remained unwatched during my stay) and surprisingly comfortable bed.

The kitchen “shelf” is way too small and, uh, Europe?  We’ve discussed these shower stalls.

And I had to wash my hair, which clogged the drain, and flooded the entire bathroom.  Because that’s what happens when the stall is open on one side.  Say it with me, Europe – DOORS.

But otherwise, it was a decent place.  I ended up staying there for five weeks with the only other real annoyance being the multiple power/Wi-Fi outages. 

I continued to look for an apartment during that time, choosing yet another site in the hope that I would have more luck.  Somehow, I found that rarest of creatures – an apartment with a tub!  Cue the heavenly choir!  Of course, I want to see this place so I submitted an inquiry for it along with a couple others and … you guessed it.  Crickets!

 I know I attract bugs, but this is getting ridiculous.

I also tried to hook up with an immigration lawyer.  I got an immediate response from a local lawyer and we exchanged some emails.  But after I didn’t receive a proposed date for an appointment, I figured I’d walk to the office to make one in person.  Got to the place, saw the sign for the lawyer … and could not figure out how to get into the building.  Tirana is all about mixed used zoning so apartments are above every storefront.  This means that businesses might be mixed in with the apartments on the upper levels.  But I could not find a sign to actually get me to the office.

The second response I got (a week after my first inquiry) was from a lawyer who sent me some basic information along with an appointment date and time over Zoom.  All that she required was for me to pay the consulting fee before the appointment and she gave me her account number.  Okay.  I figured I could wire money from my bank into her account.

Except my bank doesn’t allow transfers to a foreign bank account.  Okay.  I figured then I could hit one of the many Western Union offices I’ve spotted on my walks.  A couple were closed when they should have been open according to Google.  A couple that were open didn’t do transfers.  Huh?  I thought that’s what Western Union did.  I had the 50 euros in hand, I had the woman’s bank account – what’s the problem here?

The last guy I spoke to suggested I hit a bank.  I went to a branch and the woman also didn’t know how to do a transfer (at least I wasn’t the only one).  She was very nice, though, and tried to look up the account.  It wasn’t with her bank so there was nothing she could do.

I know the logical move is to ask the lawyer how to make a payment (I actually did do that when all she sent me was the bank account number) but, seriously I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO!!  This is her business.  Why should I be doing all this work?

I had to cancel the appointment because of my issues.  I'm absolutely certain I'll have no problem getting another one.  

And, yes, that is sarcasm.

So, let’s tally this up.  After weeks in the city, I still have no apartment, no lawyer, no visa, and no clue.

Then the email that I’ve been anticipating and dreading in equal measure arrived.  My debit card was shipped out.  Now, all I have to do is …

(sigh)

… go pick it up.