Before moving to England, 22 year-old Racquel knew how expensive London living was, however, she still imagined herself in a studio apartment in Zone 3 or 4 where she'd be able to walk out her front door and step foot onto the bustling streets of a city bigger than she had ever experienced. Oh, how wrong she was! What I got when I settled into London was nothing like what I'd expected, but at the same time, it was everything I didn't know I wanted. Instead, I would set up shop in a relatively affluent, picturesque and leafy village called Chiswick for the remainder of my UK stint.
It became VERY evident that I would not have the funds available to afford a studio flat and I was okay with that. I knew that I'd likely be living out of a shoebox with 3+ other people in a flat older than my parents and- despite this being the complete opposite to the wide-open space I was accustomed to and four bedroom house I grew up in- I was very much open to the experience. That is what I was in London for, right? To have new experiences and to exist completely out of my comfort zone. So, as soon as I landed at London Heathrow, my Mum and I spent every spare minute we had on Spareroom.com, filtering through rooms to rent in Zone 2-5 at 600 pounds per month.
I viewed two properties and Mum and I ended up writing Pros and Cons lists for each.
The first property was a newly renovated stand-alone house in Zone 5's Isleworth. Pros for this property included a larger than normal brand new bedroom, a fully renovated shared kitchen, bathroom and living room, a backyard, and it met my budget of 600 pounds per month, all bills included. The cons - I'd be living with four other people, the only close by means of public transport was a regular bus service, it was right next to Hounslow (which isn't the safest location in London), and it was in Zone 5.
The second property was an older, smaller, cosier flat on the second floor in Zone 3's Chiswick. The pros associated with this property included only two other housemates, a short 7-minute walk to the High Road, an Underground station and bus services close by, a 10 minute walk to a train line, a 12 minute walk to work, the property was in Zone 3 and the suburbs of West London (such as Hammersmith, White City, Putney, Fulham and Shepards Bush) were all easily accessible, the location was known to be incredibly safe, and there was plenty to see and do nearby! The cons involved being just outside of my budget at 650 pounds per month all bills included, being a sub let (meaning my name was not actually on the tenancy contract- and that rubbed me the wrong way a little), and the room was quite small and quite old in comparison to the Isleworth property.
When it came to choosing a place to live, it was obvious to me that the Chiswick flat was the best option. It was a walk to work (so no pesky Oyster card fees), it was closer to Central London and so many social hubs contained in Zone 2 and 3, I had easy access to the Richmond route of the District line going directly into Central London, and I would only have to share with 2 other people (and the housemates were lovely!). Yes, it was older and not as spacious and more expensive, but I figured that the money I saved from not needing to take public transport into work every day could go towards rent. The shoebox living? Well, I had been expecting that.
After taking a second inspection of the Chiswick flat- located in the suitably named estate of Chiswick Village- I signed a document put together by myself and my new housemates stating the terms of my sublet tenancy, I paid the deposit, and after farewelling my Mum at London Heathrow as she headed back to Brisbane I moved my one suitcase of possessions and few shopping bags full of essentials (like pillows, a duvet etc.) into my new-to-me double room and began my first living-away-from-home experience in this cozy, leafy, safe and picturesque district of West London, Chiswick.
Kommentit