Posts tagged “flat hunting”

Two Things — May 24, 2007
There are two things to write about. The first of these is that I recently tested the new mobile web version of the TFL website and it’s really good. It’s got a great user interface for a web based service and i think I’ll be using it from time to time when it’s needed. The second bit of info is that I’m moving into a house with 15 megabits per second web connection. I hope that the antenna is powerful to get up to my bedroom. It’s not hard to test anyway. It’s a top floor bedroom in zone two of the tube which means it’s cheaper to get around compared to living in zone four. There are quite a few shops close by although I need to scout the area properly beforehand. I may rent a car to move the stuff since it’s easier than doing three or four trips on the tube. Flat hunting was fun from the point of view that you can choose precisely where you live but in the long run it’s frustrating due to the fast rate of release and take up of flats in a city with over seven million people. Film students got to the end of an essay last night therefore quite a few were at the SU bar. I didn’t spend much time chatting with them but rather with some other friends. The night was particularly good and relaxed. There is one key reason for this. Summer’s here....
Noise and Liveable Flats — May 13, 2007
It’s only 130am therefore it’s not that late but I want to sleep and there is something that has been hindering this effort particularly strongly for the past three nights. Drunken people with no pitch or tone control when singing using their lungs and voice projection to full pelt. It’s not that I’m against partying but I do believe in making noise during the day or away from habitations during the day. I would love to see the same thing happen in London as in Switzerland. Laws that forbid noise after 10pm. On a second note here are ways future halls and student accomodation may be improved to make a full night of sleep possible. 1. Cupboards that don’t slam. When you’re living by a kitchen one of the most annoying sounds is hearing others close cupboards 2. Solid doors that don’t bang. The main door to the complex is loud. Every time it closes you hear it. The doors to the flat make noise when you open them. 3. Silent locks. The sound of a key pulling the latch is loud when background sounds are inexistent 4. Soundproofed walls. being able to hear what’s going on next door is not always pleasant. 5. Proper windows. When you’ve got idiots outside yelling at other idiots you’ll hear the entire conversation. That’s not what you want. 6. A system of fines rather than bans. People get far more annoyed and take far more seriously a financial loss than a ban. With a ban you may end up in a nice house or flat where you live in better conditions. 7. Smart fire alarms. You’ve got security so if a fire is activated check the area with a heat camera. If there’s nothing out of the ordinary just go and clear the alarm after a visual check 8. Free high quality headphones. Rather than have loud music blearing from every room why not provide students with nice headphones which they can use to hear their music in dolby digital surround sound… 9. A noise fuse. The idea behind this device is simple. If you exceed a certain noise level all power is cut to the area where the noise levels are too high. In so doing disturbances would be far more limited. 10. Quiet furniture. When you’ve got a concrete floor with no padding and chairs with no padding any shift of the furniture results in a lot of noise. Provide a quiet surface and life may be livable. I’m tired of other people’s noise. I’d love for them to become reasonable and start being quiet. Once every two weeks is fine, but not every single day. Not all of us enjoy drinking at night and doing nothing during the day. Not all of us appreciate bad singing either. Anyway worst case scenario I have another two weeks without sleep. Best case scenario. New flat within a few days....
Finding a new flat — May 19, 2007
There are a lot of people currently in need of a new identity due to their university lives coming to an end and I am one of them. Today I went flat hunting and there are a few things I found out about myself. The first of these is that I really don’t want to live in a box room. I went into a room today and it was so small I would soon hate living there. Another truth is that I have lived with one wall to a kitchen in the place where I am living for the past three years. What this means is that when the last person is chatting in the corridor is chatting in the corridor I will hear it. When the first person wakes up and goes to the kitchen and moves things I will hear it. The net effect is napping, as would wildlife in order to survive. I don’t want the landlord living in the same house. There is something wrong with a landlord living in the house, mainly they have authority and ownership. If you throw a party they will come but charge you later for the damage. If they leave all the lights on you will foot the power bill. If they get sky you will also pay the bill. If you enjoy going out then you will not take as much advantage of these things. I want to be further from the living room. The living room is the worst place to live next too. Of course I love being sociable. Had I not been banned from the local bar I would have gone there every day for three years, almost, due to my friends being there. Recently I’ve been out two or three times in two weeks. Some level of passion died in me when my ban occurred. I want to be where it all happens. I want to be closer to the centre of town where I can walk to where things are going on. I want to be free to go out without having the consideration of “can I handle a 45 minute ride on a London nightbus”. There are a number of things I would like from a flat. One of these is having space. I want to have enough space to store my possessions and keep the floor as tidy as possible. I want a clean kitchen and I want some space in the fridge if possible. I want to make friends with those I move in and see that they are living interesting and diverse lives. I do not want unimaginative idiots who think only of getting drunk (to be distinguished from going out every night to be sociable. They’re two different things). I want to be close to a few shops so that I may go shopping and actually want the food that is on offer. I want to look forward to dropping by and finding a diversity of meals I can prepare. I want to be able to lock my door, I want good plumbing, none of that bath dripping down into the kitchen as I’ve experienced. I don’t want a tile floor on wooden floor boards. Wood moves and tiles don’t bend that way. Overall I want to find a flat that would feel like home. I want somewhere where I have a few friends, where I can be social if I want to but when I want isolation and if I need sleep for an early morning job I can. I’m looking forward to finding a new house and the life it will bring with it....
Finding a new flat — May 19, 2007
tomk - Jul 1, 2007...
A Stream of Conscience on Noise and Flat Hunting. — May 17, 2007
As the title indicates I’ve upgraded to the new version of WordPress and I’m trying it now. I’ll have to see what the great features are in this version. I know that they were having some last-minute problems with tags but we’ll see whether they resolved those. Aside from changing browser today I also started looking for an apartment as I am so tired of the noise made by drink fueled students. I’m not against drinking but I am against the noise they make every single day that they are at home. Why not have a bottle of wine between friends and chat for hours. Why does everyone have to lose grip on reality? Is life that terrible for them? Back to the upbeat stuff. Flat hunting as a solitary person is great for a number of reasons, firstly complete freedom. You have the freedom to live anywhere that interests you, without taking other people into consideration. Of course, I do look at everything according to tube lines and distance. The closer to the center I can be better. Another consideration, of course, is to find people whose company I enjoy living with. A good home is a perfect place from which to cope with the struggle that job hunting will be in the next few weeks and months, as they flow by. There are three flats that I am already scheduled to visit and I may look for a few more during the day tomorrow. The more I visit the more informed the decision. The first phone call is always the hardest. I was struggling so much in fact that I forgot about one flat and started sending out two or three e-mails in the hope that through the writing of applications I would clarify within my mind what it is I wanted to communicate. That served me well. Within three phone calls, I had already summoned far more courage and I’ll keep looking whilst I have the time. I need to draw up a list of the things that are important to me for when I get to the flat, to make sure not to forget something that would influence my enjoyment of this new phase in my life. I’ve got till the second but if I’ve got an agreement by the second of June I’ll be much happier. --I wrote this post whilst listening to Chopin. Second time in as many days that I listen to this. A change in personality or expectations? Time will decide....