Flats

On Tuesday we headed on south to Blackford to look at a flat for 366 a month each. There I met my flatmates, Sophie and Caoimh (this is pronounced "Kwe-ov"), for the first time. We toured the flat and it was very nicely decorated with good sized rooms. The area was really nice and it was right across from a lovely church. We walked away feeling really optimistic about it since it was the first flat we'd seen and set high standards. However, I was feeling a little shifty about it because the area was extremely residential and there was only a small grocer nearby. It was a mile and a half from my campus and even farther from Caoimh's but it was really close by to Sophie's King's Buildings where a lot of the physical sciences are.

Next we walked over to Dalkeith in the area of Newington to look at another property for 366 a month each. This one had shops right across the street but they weren't really any you'd want to go into and it just felt a bit dodgy. I thought it might be an up and coming area because just looking up the street it felt a lot nicer. This one too had good rooms but the stairwell was dirty and with the surrounding area (Mama got bad vibes) we pretty much decided no but kept it in the back of our minds just in case.

For our last flat of the day we headed back over to Morningside to see another flat for 400 a month each. But the moment we looked in, we knew it wasn't worth that much. The floors were all uneven (they were covered with carpet and as you stepped you could feel the floorboards move up) and the kitchen was the size of a pantry and the fridge was in a closet! We walked out immediately and walked back over to Blackford to look at the area around the property again. I still felt uneasy about the distance so we kept our appointments for Wednesday as a backup and decided to think about it. My mom and I headed back to our flat in Tollcross and the more we talked about it, the more we knew that flat wasn't what I wanted. My whole reasoning of coming to Edinburgh was to be in a central place where I could walk to shops and restaurants and be near everything. Being a mile and a half from my classes in Blackford, I knew I wouldn't walk anywhere, especially with all rain. All I would do is go home, get in my pjs, and do nothing for the rest of the day. I spent all night fretting and didn't fall asleep until after 3.

Wednesday morning, Sophie and Caoimh met at our flat and I shared my worries. We went to our first appointment with an open mind. Our first flat was in Marchmont and it had three large bedrooms, a large kitchen, a large living/diner, a family bathroom, and one room had an en-suite. In Britain, properties must be HMO (housing for multiple occupants) in order for three or more people with different last names (aka unrelated) to live together. To make a property HMO we were told you need firedoors on everything. The kitchen is internal which means it has no windows and is in it's own little room with a door off the hall. I loved this flat even though it was a little expensive for everyone. I budgeted 500 pounds a month for my flat and flat related bills. I wasn't sure what the others would think. This one was just a few blocks from the Meadows and shopping and restaurants. The location was so quiet and perfect. It was right across the street from a high school (haha hopefully no marching band practice in the mornings like at the high school near my house!) and the only big downsides were that it had single glazing (meaning one window pane instead of two which can mean it'll be colder and louder) and there was only a washer. No dryer. When we saw the flat, the tenants were in it because they thought the appointment was at 12 when it was at 11. It turns out one of the girls was the daughter of the landlord so while we were standing outside talking she came outside and answered a few more questions we had.

We couldn't stop talking about the property as we walked a half mile over, still in Marchmont, to our next viewing. The place was nice but it was up a few flights of stairs and the kitchen was pretty small (even though it was attached to the living/dining room), as was one of the bedrooms. It did have a separate WC (water closet aka toilet) which I liked but it was 400 too and if it was between that 400 property and the one we'd just seen, I knew I wanted the other.

There was a nice little cafe next to that flat so we sat down and said what we were all thinking. Everyone loved the first property but I was anxious because it was a mile and a half from Sophie's campus which was exactly what I'd been complaining about before. It was a little over a half mile to my classes and about a mile to Caoimh's (it was 2 miles from Blackford). But she loved it too because of the area. I knew I would take the en-suite for 430 and the girls would get their rooms for 385 each. To make it work, I've decided to not get as fancy a phone as I was originally thinking so I can save about 15 pounds a month of that (maybe more). We rushed over to the letting agency and put down a holding deposit. Since I'm an American and don't have a UK guarantor (basically someone in the UK who will pay for you if you don't pay and be responsible for you and you need one if you're a student/under 25) I have to pay my whole rent up front. It's annoying a little bit but at the same time it's nice because I'll then know exactly how much money I have left once I pay my university fees.

We did have a panic moment while at the letting agency. The agent told us he thought the landlord would only do a 9 month lease, so ending in June. We told him we needed 12 and have twenty minutes or so of suspension, he said he'd do "eleven and a half". So our move out day is the last 'official' day of my programme on August 31st. So we've got our flat! Yay! I'm so excited! We move in the 10th of September. On the 2nd, my mom and I are leaving our Tollcross flat for a bed and breakfast in Newington. She leaves on the 6th so I've extended my stay there until the 11th. On the tenth I'll get our keys and start moving stuff over to the flat. Then that weekend Sophie and Caoimh should move over. I still didn't get much sleep last night but this time it wasn't because I was anxious, it was because I'm so excited!!

Today, Mom and I were tourists and went on an open top city bus. I finally took a lot of pictures of the city which I'm about to post on my facebook for viewing. We also bought some pillows because I find the pillows in this flat terribly uncomfortable and I was wondering if that was why I couldn't sleep. We'll see tonight!

Until next time!