house hunting

Even though we arent exactly sure where we want to settle down, the husband and I have been looking at some apartments and houses for sale, just to get an idea of what we like and dont like... and maybe more importantly what this city (and others) has to offer. It has already been a very interesting experience. Last night we went to see a "penthouse" apartment, on the 11th floor of a building. it was a nice apartment, but very Israeli in its layout. The kitchen was tiny, the rooms were narrow, but it had an amazing 80 square meter balcony looking out over the city. Too bad the rest of the apartment just seemed too small and crowded.

i am very american. I want a large kitchen, a separate (or partially separate) dining area, at least two (preferably two and a half) bathrooms and a "master" bedroom big enough for our American queen size bed. This seems a lot easier said than done.... and its not very israeli apparently

We also checked out a two story apartment... which was a pleasant surprise. the owner, a Russian woman, redid the whole inside herself. the outside was a typical 15 year old dirty building, but the inside was nice. there was even a separate dinning room! It wasnt perfect, but it was the first place we had seen that felt homey. we arent nearly ready to buy yet, but it really gave us some ideas as to the kind of place we want.