Luxembourg - more random questions

[PalomaBlanca]

Hello again Lux ladies. We seem to be edging closer to our move to Lux. I have some questions re: apartments from the things I have been looking at on www.athome.lu - lots of places seem to have (wtf) communal areas downstairs with washing machines. I guess this varies from place to place but the following questions spring to mind:

• Does this tend to be a space provided to put your own washing machine etc or are there yucky communal machines?!
• I read a hilarious blog about the same concept in Switzerland where people had an allotted time to do their washing. I really cannot imagine this! Do you know if it tends to work like this in Lux or if you can do your washing when you feel like it?! No doubt subject to some curfew or another.
• Are you supposed to hang around waiting for your washing to finish or do you leave it and come back to it?

This is, funnily enough, probably the thing that is putting me off Lux more than anything. DS is 1 year old and we do about 4-5 loads a week, always at random times! I really cannot imagine having to wash my smalls in front of the neigbours! It does seem to be the norm for most of the flats I have seen online though.

I've never lived in an apartment here but I did ring up about one when we first came and they said it was normally a space provided to put your own washing machine rather than a communal one.

My in-laws had that in Switzerland as you mention but I don't think that's the case in Lux although I can't be certain! Though there would no doubt be a curfew and possibly you might not be allowed to do it on a Sunday...

I wouldn't think you'd have to hang around waiting...

Why don't you call up for one of the ads and ask about the washing issues?

You do have to get used to a more communal lifestyle here - for example we have a house but the garden is tiny and linked up to all the neighbours' gardens, plus the houses are very tall so everyone can see you whenever you are in the garden. On the upside this has given us a great community life and our children can always see when the neighbour children are available to play :)

But you're unlikely to be washing your smalls in front of the neighbours - people won't all be in the laundry at the same time, and they wouldn't really be interested in looking at other people's washing anyway!! and it might give you a chance to meet your neighbours too.

Thanks a lot Weta. I will phone up some places to get more of a feel of exactly what this entails. I agree it would be a way to break the ice with neighbours. We are just somewhat disorganised when it comes to washing I guess... I just put a load on now :-) I guess as long as you could nip down, bung a wash on and then come back to it when it´s done that is not so bad. Ideally we would much prefer to rent a house but things seem a little beyond our budget.
Thanks again.

You can always tell your neighbours how much you admire their smalls :)

I do think it's important to keep within your budget, but I would keep looking at houses too, sometimes you can find a bargain... when we first came we rented one in Gasperich that was older style but nice, and didn't cost much more than my friend's apartment in a posher area.

We have been in Luxembourg a long time. We now live in a house but when we lived in an apartment there was a communal DRYING room that was used by rota but by only a few people.
Washing machines were either inside the individual apartment (it is not unusual for it to be in the bathroom with an electrical dryer stacked on top). Our washing machine was in our (box) garage that was in the basement.
We have had friends who have lived in apartments with a "washer room" where you had your own place to install your own machine.
I have NEVER heard of a shared machine.
Ps the word box refers to an individual garage with an opening to the outside. Many apartments have garages in the basement with allocated spaces or even a box with an up and over door if the owner of the space has paid for that when the apartment block was built.