What Sophie Said

Finding a place to rent can be a bit of a nightmare. Finding a room to rent in London is on another level. It’s definitely stressful and it’s definitely fast-paced, so almost a year after moving I thought I’d try to share some tips. There are places out there. It can be very easy to panic as places move quickly and the process can be overwhelming, but people are always on the move and there are options out there if you keep calm and look properly. Know what you want. Do you want an extension of university life, living with people who are also going to be your friends, or do you want a quiet place you can head home to after work or socialising? Think carefully about the type of environment you want to be in. Visit multiple places. So many places look ok online, but the reality can be a different story. I saw places that looked about triple the size online, I went to a house where the other three occupants smoked and left beer bottles everywhere, I went to one house tha...

Slap on the wrist for Sophie, I didn’t press publish on my March challenge post! So now I’ll combine the challenge and results in one, which is great because it was a big fat success. The challenge was to properly begin our house hunt, narrow down our options, and put every effort into finding somewhere to live. For a bit of background, Andy and I lived together for two years whilst at university, then made the sensible choice to both move back home whilst we job-hunted after graduating. I started my job in September, then Andy his in about November. And whilst we fully intended to then find somewhere to live, life gets in the way a bit sometimes and the weeks rocket by. Anyway, just over a month or so, enough was enough. We were ready to have our own space again, and my parents said they could tell I was frustrated by having less independence, and that I should really get a move on and push forwards. After that decision had been made, it was like things were put on fast f...