Looking for a place to call home

Dena and I have spent most of this week looking for a permanent place to live. It's not an easy search. We only annoyed each other a few times, and have still not died in a car accident. Horray!
We have a defined housing allowance, and we're finding that most of the houses/apartments (or flats as they are called here) are either cheap and small, or big and out of our budget. We're also finding most of the places are fully furnished, so we have to ask the current owners if they are willing to put most of their belongings in storage. And, our final requirment has been a close proximity to the downtown area so that Dena can be within walking distance of some stores and restaurants. There are a couple of flats that might have worked for us (if the owner removed their items), but there was no garage, no shed, no any place to put my toolbox and our other garage items. We sent in our list of top picks, so we'll see what happens.
I've been asked by work to get a visa for Russia, so it looks like I might be getting to see a little bit more of the world, and the first of June I'll be heading over to Norway for a meeting. Yeah!
The weather has been a bit colder and rainy the last few days. I guess we're finally gettting to see the real Aberdeen. Rain here is nothing like Louisiana. It's a lot more like what I grew up with in Wisconsin and Iowa. When it rains here, it's a light drizzle that lasts most of the day, not the torrential downpour of tropical southern Louisiana.