Underground, Overground...

I thought I would just check back on my other posts before writing this one (so no duplications) and my little heart sank for myself when I realised that past me, already fatigued from the house viewing merry-go-round, would still have almost another month of trawling before she struck gold.

But, at last, I am happy to report that I have found the mythical golden fleece, the unicorn, the gold at the end of the rainbow which is a room! Bigger than an sheet of A4, structurally holding it's own, in the *actual* area it was advertised in, with a bunch of house-trained adults AND for not-too-far-over my original budget. I felt like high-fiving everyone I walked past once I had won the room. And believe me, i'm not exaggerating. I won that room, like a prize in a TV show.

To say that the process was similar to a job interview is really not far off. By the time this room came up, I was a pro. The pre-selected search alert for anything roughly meeting my criteria 'pinged' onto my phone at some point around 10am. By 10:15 I had messaged, highlighting my availability for everytime outside my physical working hours. By the afternoon a date was set - the following evening. I nervously prepped after work, remembered my manners, my questions, and headed over. Upon looking around I realised this house was a rare find. I needed to let them know I was keen. I innocently enquired "how many more are coming to view?" to which she replied "Well, 500 asked."

Let's just stop and think about this for a minute. FIVE HUNDRED. That would fill a gig venue! It's 10 buses worth of people. And hopefully highlights just how crazy the London rental market is. Luckily for me I made it to the 'second round' - meeting the other housemates. There were 4 candidates on the shortlist, and the date was set for the Sunday. After much debate about protocol, etiquette and what exactly counted as bribery and was I desperate enough to resort to that?; I decided that yes, I was, and did in fact resort to taking over lemon meringue cupcakes to meet the housemates. And for me, that seemed to be enough to wing it, because the same evening they asked me if I wanted the room.

Finally!!! An end to the craziness that is spending your evenings making polite chit chat with total strangers as they show you around their home, either at warp-speed because they have 50 others to get through in the same night, or agonisingly slowly, offering you tea and life stories when all you want to do is get the hell out. Towards the end I felt that I was being picky, that I needed to stop looking for places with a bath, or kitchen workspace, and just go with what comes. But actually, i'm really glad that I found somewhere I was prepared to make small compromises for, and that I didn't settle. To any of you still looking - a good place does exist, so keep the faith! :)

Anyway, i've waffled on enough about that. I shall hopefully be able to provide more details next time (although the title of this post is a pretty big hint!).

In between looking through the homes of London, I have found time to pose like a tourist at Kings Cross Platform 9 and 3/4:

Get a snap of my time spent as an extra on a film set (interesting, but v. boring after the first 30 mins):

Reunite with a mix of non-London friends when they travelled up to Wembley Park to compete in a badly organised, sweaty (but lot of fun!) Color Run race:

I've also started to find some of London's sweet spots. The secret bits which tourists don't get to, because they are too busy jumping on and off tubes and clogging up the pavements taking photos, such as this sweet little mini park, only 4 mins from Covent Garden!

I have also had some really good 'oh god i'm such a tourist' moments; including this photo when I realised that in order to get to a meeting I had to WALK DOWN THE MALL. The Mall is the way to Buckingham Palace, AKA the Queen's house, AKA the bit of London everyone knows. I tried to keep my shit together, and act nonchalant, but eventually excitement took over and I snuck a quick snap:

Finally, I thought i'd finish up with some good foodie bits of interest. After viewing a pretty sad maisonette in Earlsfield, I was dejectedly trudging back to the station hot, tired and hungry when I stumbled across this little beauty:

It could have been mine! As a vintage enthusiast foodie called Mel, this was a joyous find. I didn't venture in, but I will be doing so in the near future. Watch this space for a Melfoodreports, coming soon. And in the same theme, as part of the 'Seriously Mel you need to start making friends' kick up the butt I gave myself the other day; this Monday I went to a new run club event, which then went to a great place in Holborn called 'My Old Dutch' for cheap pancakes. The restaurant only sells pancakes and waffles, and I ordered a yummy one called 'The Aspragus' - which was a savoury affair covered in mushroom, red onion, spinach and cheese. Delicious.

I doubt i'll get too much done over the next 2 weeks or so, as I will be busy packing, paperworking, and trying to make the most of my time in Surbiton before heading off. With a bit of luck, my next post will come to you from the new location, and I can fill you in with my exploring tales!

Mel :)

Homeless and house hunting!

Lovely people, I can hardly believe this week marks my 7th week in London!

When I first started to think about moving I couldn't really see this far ahead - I think I was scared to in case I was back at home in Reading, or living here and hating it. However I can officially say that so far, life is going well in London.

As a quick update, from the last time we spoke:

I'm still going to the Nike shop in Covent Garden, only now I go for a run/fitness drill combo which is altogether a little tamer than the unisex running class. It's run by, and attended by, ladies only, which makes me feel better. As an added bonus we visit a new London landmark each week! I would highly recommend trying to check one of these out, if you are new to London. Great way to meet people, keep fit and see the sights for free.

The house hunt still continues. I don't know if you are familiar with Battle Royale or The Hunger Games, but trying to find a houseshare in London is a similar concept. I feel like i'm doing battle with every other human to secure a bed space (paying obscenely for the privilege, I might add.) I figured that the cost alone of living in London would mean you at least weren't scrapping around for places, but I thought wrong. Looking for somewhere to live has become my full-time occupation (other than work of course). Each morning I psych myself up to the daily grind of obsessively checking spareroom.co.uk to see if there are any 'hits' to my ad, or if something meets my search list. Then you have to hope they make contact (or respond to you if you ask). It's not just a 'hey, when are you free to view?' either - oh no! That would be far too simple. No, instead you have to submit a dating-profile-esque description of yourself, trying to convince them you are the absolutely best candidate (aka PAYING housemate) to fill the room. Then, and only then, do you get the honour of what is sometimes only a 10 minute slot, to view the house, ask questions and see potential housemates before the next one is in and you are back out on the mat wondering what just happened. The fun doesn't stop there either, because then you get to wait and see if you are the 'chosen one.' This, of course, is assuming that the room matched it's description, was in the right area, and wasn't subject to very deceptive photography which made a shoebox look like a palace.

Frazzled, me? Ok, I know I haven't really sold that. But seriously, it's tough out there. The best advice I can give is to know what your areas are, you price is, and your non-negotiables, and then cross your fingers and enter the battle zone. Perhaps with a colander for a hat*. Good luck, brave warrior.

*Don't actually wear a colander to a house viewing. These things are tough enough, don't give them an extra reason to vote against you.

I've spent the last 3 or 4 weeks looking, and i've been to about 5 houses. Some have been a little indulgent with their upselling, while others have just been close but no cigar. But I won't be defeated! Luckily I don't have a definite date to get out by - i'm staying with amazing friends who have made the move a whole lot less stressful by putting me up. However, I would quite like to be out of their hair now, and making it on my own.

So - in terms of other specific London things, I have been out and about trying to enjoy the capital as much as i can. I've seen great sunsets on Waterloo bridge across the Thames, i've eaten at lots of lovely restaurants and cafe's, i've eaten been for drinks on a boat-pub! (literally - a pub on a boat). I also got the chance to go to a fashion exhibition with a friend, and tick off some touristy bits (platform 9 and three-quarters at Kings Cross, i'm looking at you). When I knew I was leaving behind my hometown I asked people who had moved to new places what their best advice was, and a lot of people said 'just embrace it' - so i've tried to do that, and for the most part that has really paid off. It can be easy, both in a familiar and a new place, to just want to retreat and not do anything - it takes more effort to be sociable and go out - but the rewards are worth it. So, since I have been here, I have tried to say 'YES!' to more things. So far this has included going on a friend date with a girl I met on spareroom, meeting other ladies at the run club, being an extra on a film set (true story - they needed someone in fifties clothes to be part of the background) and many more. It goes without saying that you do need to apply a level of common sense before agreeing to anything, but on the whole I think it helps you to get out there in a new city.

Some specific London advice to help with this that I wish i'd known before arriving is - check out meetup.co.uk - it has really specific networks so you can find other people that share your interests. Also, TimeOut is a magazine they hand out free in London - every 2 weeks i think? This tells you what is coming up to do in London, for free, or for cheap, and where all the gigs/theatre dates are. These are amazingly useful, definitely try and get your hands on the mag, but if not they have a FB page/website/app. Similarly, SkintLondon and Londonist are similar and have apps/websites - always worth a look to see what might be going on in the coming week you can get involved in.

I also feel like i'm settling in at work more. I'm no longer the new girl (whoop!) and am becoming more part of the furniture. I'm also slowly learning my way around certain areas (namely the places i'm off viewing houses in, due to going so many times!) but also where the good shops are, the best sandwiches etc. Having said this, I do still have some stuff to learn. Whilst trying to get to Wembley for the Color Run with friends (it was great, would recommend if you don't mind looking like an Andy Warhol painting in progress) - i couldn't get through a tube barrier because my Oyster card wasn't working. "But I topped it up this morning!" I said to the lady. However she insisted that it had no money on. By the time I sadly trudged off to the machine to top it up (again) - certain they were scamming me, my friend had come back through the barrier. "Did you tap it again on the screen to transfer the money onto it earlier?" He asked in innocence. "No - did I need to?" I replied. "Ah, balls. Yes, you did. Now you have to pay all over again." - HOW ANNOYING. So, basically, once you have paid to top up your oyster card, it doesn't actually *top up* unless you press it against the button again. So, I ended up paying £20 for just £10 worth of credit. "It's a mistake you only make once" my friend tried to console me with. What I didn't have the heart to tell him, however, was that i d topped my oyster up about a week before too - without tapping the screen. So, perhaps for me it's a mistake I needed to make twice. :) At least I can tell you, and stop you from following in my footsteps!

So....that's about all i've ben getting up to so far. At the moment i'm very much 'eat, sleep, house-hunt, repeat', so my life is reduced to a small window of time between coming home from house viewings and going to bed.

Hopefully next time I come on to post, I will a) not have given up completely on finding a house-share, b) might actually have somewhere new to call my pad, and c) have some life back to go and enjoy.

:) Mel