Are the walls optional, too?

"So, what are you up to this weekend, work colleague?"
"I'm installing a floor in my new rental apartment!"

Cue bemused stares and Jon Stewart-esque utterances of "Waaaaaaaah?"

Yep, over here, an unfurnished apartment means you don't get a floor. OK, not a floor so much, but a finished floor. You get the concrete, but are expected to put in the nice wooden floorboards (or cheap laminate equivalent) and then take them with you when you leave -- because obviously you're next apartment will have rooms the exact same size as the last one. And don't even think about getting any appliances included in the rental: washing machines, driers, are all your responsibility. It makes me feel very lucky that we're getting carpets and a fridge in our Winchester property.

Of course, it makes a little more sense in the Dutch housing market. People are more likely to have long-term leases, and if you're planning to stay put for several years, you want your own things around you. I've lived in enough apartments with grimy furniture, saggy beds, and broken dishwashers to appreciate that. But still, you would have thought that a FLOOR was a necessity, rather than a luxury. I will never understand these people.