NewYearsEve. Flat-Hunting.

I can’t believe I’ve been here a week already. It’s been a busy one.

Monday, New Year’s Eve, was quite an experience… Nothing like watching the ball drop on TV along with the Dick Clark countdown. The city had to shut down several Tube (Underground Subway) stations due to the mass crowds of people. We exited the Tube at the station as close as possible to the London Eye on the River Thames, location of the fireworks display.

It was a very random night. We didn’t really plan anything. We pushed through thousands and thousands of people to get a decent view of the firework show. People were drinking champagne on the subway, dancing in the streets, and just being crazy. The atmosphere was amazing. There’s nothing like ringing in the new year with fireworks in Europe’s largest city, surrounded by over a million of your closest strangers.

**New Year's pictures in this album: http://evansville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028410&l=a3

FLAT-HUNTING. (flat = apartment)
Due to offices being closed both New Year’s Eve & Day, Wednesday was the earliest I could get to the Bunac Office to do my Orientation. It was very informative. And very overwhelming. I’ve only been here a few days and I realize I’m not expected to get everything done in that time, but geez I have a lot to do. Open a British bank account. Fill out tax exempt forms. Update insurance policies. Write individual cover letters for each potential job. Send CVs (resumes). Set up interviews. Research housing options. Set up mobile phone number. Register phone online. Register Tube pass online. Yadda yadda. Etc. etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying all of it. But anyone who thought I was moving to London to delay the “real world” is sadly mistaken. If anything, I’m jumping into the real world with two feet (and in another country)! Yikes!

. . .


My two Minnesota friends and I have been using gumtree.co.uk and a number of other housing websites in hopes of finding a flat. We’ve viewed 4 this week. Since we don’t have jobs yet, it’s difficult to decide where to live. We’d hate life if we had to commute 70+ mins to work everyday!
We’ve had no luck so far:

Thursday: Finsbury Park (northern London)
- We found this flat for “3 friends” on the Bunac bulletin board. The flat was old-smelling but spacious, and apparently decorated in the late 70s. It was cheap cheap cheap and we were considering it. We weren’t sure about the neighborhood, and we decided we would make the trip again after nightfall just to see how safe we felt. We were walking back to the Finsbury Tube Station when we saw a cute little pub. We decided to pop in for a refreshment and discuss the flat we had just viewed. We asked the bartender (30-year-old male with spikey hair) his opinion of the area. He said he wouldn’t live here. Turns out he commutes 30 mins for work. He said the area is fine during the day, but it has a high crime rate. And we said “oh, what kind?” expecting to hear “vehicle theft or petty crime.” He said “Mostly knife and gun crime.” Eeek. He said “I don’t even feel safe walking home at night.” That was all we needed to hear. I guess God sent us to the pub for a reason that day. We ran to the tube station before it had a chance to get dark.

Friday: North Clapham/ Stockwell (south of the River Thames)
We found this 2 –bedroom flat on Gumtree. It was being “let” by a woman named Modupe. We got lost several times on the way to see it. The neighborhood was practical but not exactly “warm.” The flat was fine, but not quite what we were looking for. It also smelled like curry and dirty socks.

Saturday: Camden (central London near Regent’s Park)
We met another Bunac-er, Ross, and he found this 4-bedroom apartment. It was great. The day we viewed it, the landlord and her husband were there, cleaning and painting. They were putting in a new washer/dryer, new carpet, everything. Downfall: it was a minimum 6-month lease. Ross is the only one of us four who is staying the full 6 months. Bummer. Off to hunting again.

Sunday: Fulham (west London near Baron’s Court)
We had high hopes for this flat after speaking with the landlord, Richard, several times. We thought it was lovely. However, it was about a 40-minute trip by Tube to central London. And, it was a bit above our price range. We were hoping we could negotiate a bit, but he had other people lined up to see it…. People who can afford his asking price and who aren’t recent college grads dealing with a 2 to 1 exchange rate ☹.

So we’re still hunting. Discouraged, maybe a bit, but it’s only been a week.
Wish us luck.

**Pics from Chinatown at night. Moon under the Water Pub. Random funny British things. Etc.: http://evansville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028682&l=11e4d&id=5040037