Reflection #7
I’m moving to Seattle and I will be staying there for three months. I’ve learned a lot through the renting process, so I want to write it down here.
My internship at Seattle provides two relocation options: corporate housing or lump sum. At first I choose the corporate housing, since I’ve heard that the short-term rentals in Seattle are expensive and hard to find. I hadn’t done much research about it, and I knew that the housing lump sum is really generous, but I didn’t want to spend time looking for housing. Although I made the decision in my mind, I haven’t confirmed my choice in the system yet.
One day I went to play badminton and I met a senior who was an intern there. Overcoming my hesitation, I shared with him my choice of corporate housing and asked for his opinion. Surprisingly, he strongly recommended me to find my own place. The rental price he shared with me was just half of what I expected, and he added me to a Facebook group for Taiwanese people in Seattle for rent. He also shared some tips about the internship benefits.
So I made a post looking for a three-month rental. Several hosts messaged me, and I chose one of the two I liked the most about two months ago. The host couple was very nice, there’s a piano I could play, and it’s close enough to walk to my office! We went over the contract and agreed on everything, but we haven’t signed it yet.
About a month ago, the host told me that the original place was no longer available, but they offered another one, which is newer and has a larger room. The only downside is that I need to take a 50-minute bus ride to the office. They also said that it is totally fine if I don’t want to live there. Honestly, I never thought this would happen to me. I asked the other host, and the other place was still available. Now I had a dilemma – should I go with the original host, or move to the other place where I can still walk to the office? After some thought, I decided to stay with my original choice since I could still access their piano, but we still hadn’t sign the contract.
Two days before I moved to Seattle, the host notified me that they had finalized the contract and invited me to have a look. After realizing that I couldn’t use the piano anymore, and that the other place was still available, I decided to go with the other host. I signed the contract and paid the deposit right away. I’ve moved in now, and the place is really nice.
Now I am sitting at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery (again, but this time in Seattle!), writing this article. What did I learn from this experience?
The first thing is that you should always talk to other people. Although you’re the one who makes the decision, the insights from others could be helpful. If it were not for my senior’s help, I would not be able to save money and find the current place.
Moreover, it is important to discuss things on video calls. Text messages can be easily misinterpreted, which leads to misunderstanding, resulting in both sides not on the same page. And the information through video is way more than pure text. The tone of speaking, the gestures, and the eye contact give you a sense of how others think during the conversation.
Lastly, be honest and collaborative during negotiation. I was taking the course “Negotiation” and reading “You Can Negotiate Everything” at that time, so I expressed my needs thoroughly, and tried my best to emphasize with the first host. The reason we didn’t sign the contract was to keep some flexibility for both sides, the host was moving so I thought it was reasonable not to sign the contract at that time.
To sum up, I used to be too afraid to express my real thoughts, worrying about bringing inconvenience to others. But I found the way to overcome this is to express yourself, and be responsible for the consequences of your actions. This is the one and only way.
