Post #3574116

"Just get AC," the Americans say. Oh ho, if it only it were that easy. Let's say you own your apartment. It's not just a matter of deciding to put in an air conditioning unit. No, you often have to go through the rigamarole of getting a vote allowing you to do exterior work to the building from all of the other residence that live in that building. Those window air conditioners people in the US sometimes use don't work with European tilt-and-turn windows. If you rent, well, too bad for you. Apartments that don't have it probably won't get it and the ones that do are snapped up within a few minutes of listing at a premium price. Those mobile AC units? Well, some people do that, but it's if you have the money to get one and the space to place it, if you can tolerate lugging it around with you when you invariably have to move (as a renter), it's maintaining its spouts (for water) and pipes (for airflow) and getting one of those covers for European windows to make it more efficient, and in the end, you still have to contend with the noise outside because the sound is still coming in, which is one of the benefits of actual AC in the summer, closing the windows at night so you can actually sleep. Apparently, the portable units only cool a few feet, so you're stuck to one room where it's set up when you're at home.