We moved out here for a short-term opportunity in a bad economic climate. We put our lives in storage and packed two cars and drove 1,600 miles not knowing where we were going to live. We spent the first week at a Residence Inn. They were wonderful. I combed listings and we finally found a place to live.
Remember that all of our kitchen, office, bedroom, bath stuff is in storage. We fell in love with a townhome on a nature preserve, adjacent to a major freeway and grocery stores et al. It is fully furnished. Now someone here wants us out because we have a dog (and we have been here without any complaints for 8 months….)
Jim has been sent out on short-term projects before, to Utah once and to Scotland and England. These “gigs” lasted from 6-12 weeks. We have become experts in corporate housing. Orem, UT was crummy, a hastily manufactured situation that was not worth nearly what his employer paid for it. Then we found SACO. SACO is all over the world, not prevalent in the US but we’ve had a great experience in downtown Glasgow, Southwark (London); and I’ve previous experience in a newly-listed SACO residence in Florence, Italy where I vacationed for several years before meeting Jim.
When on an extended assignment I prefer a flat to a hotel room. I like to cook, as you may know from the heading of this blog. Our longest posting was in Glasgow, right off George’s Square and looking into the incredible, must-visit City Hall. Christine was fantastic as manager. The European model is that one makes one’s own bed and food and once a week, the flat is cleaned and sheets and towels changed out. We had a one bedroom flat and Jim had bought a MacBook and we got Skype so I could have e-mail and call home and pay our bills back home and such. I had to buy a real chef’s knife and cutting board but once I found out the UK electric system I was able to make tea and toast, eggs and pancetta, and do laundry.
In London, it was edgier, a larger brand-new condo complex and no interaction with staff. As I was experienced, I dealt with it by cooking a bit and by ordering out with a marvelous service!
Here, it’s different. This is a private deal that we initially had on a short-term basis because Jim’s contract was short-term. Let me tell you why this is special. It’s a turnkey home but it doesn’t just have four forks, knives and spoons, four plates and cups. It has service for ten, usable pots and pans (I’ve added a couple). I always bring my own knives and had to buy a large cutting board. Most of the people who rent this place just want to ski for the weekend, they go to Starbucks for coffee and never cook.
There’s a galley kitchen with good storage space and beautiful knotty alder doors and cabinetry throughout. What tweaks my culinary heart is that there is: a butter dish; creamer and sugar china; more than four place settings of everything; and fantastic appliances.
There are board games for rainy or blizzard days, books to read, even a snow block so one can make snow structures. We came here on a short-term contract and have decided to stay for work, and stay in the area. Perhaps not here, because someone has made it a life’s work to kick us out because we are renting and have a dog. But we always land on our feet. No worries. We enjoy our temporary situation, miss our stuff in storage and look toward the future.
Europe is so far ahead of us in terms of short-term housing options (a week to months) and I’d like to help Americans adapt to that trend. I just know that when I’m going to be somewhere for over a week I want to be able to at least have juice, tea and cereal in the morning. No, I want more. Toast and butter and jam, two eggs scrambled with shredded parm, and two slices of bacon. I’ll wash the dishes. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 