A couple of months after I moved to London a girl that I went to primary school with also made the big move. Having experienced so much hospitality from old acquaintances living here, I thought I would pay it forward and do the same for her. Our reintroduction took place at what seemed like a fairly tame BBQ which actually ended up being a pretty messy night at the pub. So over too many shots an old friendship was reestablished.
A few months down the track and we have moved in together to a gorgeous part of London, Angel (or as I like to tell people, the light blue bit on the monopoly board). However, we've discovered that attempting to rent in London isn't an easy game to play.
Chance: Go back 3 spaces
After many hours of searching the Internet, my housemate found a cute little place near Camden. It was so exciting to have finally found a place and put down the holding deposit for our new home. However, we were quickly disappointed when we learnt that the flat was deemed "unroadworthy" by the council, sending us back 3 spaces and leaving us a little disheartened.
Rolled a double: throw again
So the house hunt began again and luckily we found a lovely flat in Angel. It looked like it was all ours until another person showed interest at the last minute, taking us to the point where we had to put in our best and final offer. Waiting to find out who would get to put their little green house on the light blue square was a nerve wracking process so it was a huge relief to finally hear we won and had a home.
Community Chest: Go straight to jail. Do not pass go-do not collect £200.
But, as in any game your luck can change pretty quickly. As we have not been in the UK 6 months we both required guarantors. Thankfully we both have family in the UK so this didn't seem to be any sort of issue. Unfortunately, we were misinformed about the requirements of a guarantor and mine failed her check as she is retired. My stomach fell as I realised I didn't have anybody else in the UK who could act as guarantor and my options were running thin. It crossed my mind that maybe London and I weren't meant to be and it might be time to run away again. After all, I would have been left homeless if this flat fell through.
Chance: Advance to Go. Collect £200.
Finally the universe decided to throw us a little sugar to sweeten all those lemons. My housemate managed to find us a guarantor in an old family friend who very kindly agreed to act as mine as well.
Our move yesterday came with the biggest sense of relief and excitement as we finally collected the Angel Islington card. Sure, when we arrived the keys didn't work and we couldn't move our stuff in because the cleaners were still here...but at least we've put our little green house down now.
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