The Moving Diaries: One Month On

So, guess who is still alive?!

Last time I updated you on the moving front, the post went up the day I moved in. My parents and I did survive moving day, it was probably the least stressful move that I have had. Ever. We headed off to Ikea because whilst my flat came furnished, when I finished uni I made the very smart decision to throw away all of my house-y things (although they were all three years old, so it was probably a smart choice really). Despite Ikea's infamy as a place where relationships are broken (much to the surprise of my 500 Days of Summer loving heart), we survived and I could have bought frankly everything. Following a dinner at Handmade Burger Company (which beats out GBK and Five Guys in my humble opinion on burger chains) my parents headed home and I settled in.

(My living area on move in day, more photos to come)

Whilst I did manage to put together a clicklist, my personal laptop basically rejected the BT Openzone and then on my actual install date the Sky man never showed up. This was followed by an email informing me that Sky had accepted my cancellation of my account. After some feelings and a restorative cup of tea I spent nearly an hour on the phone sorting out a new install date. Which was last week. Which should in part explain the lack of posts. The other is the fact that strangely adjusting to a Monday-Friday job took me longer than I expected. Whilst I'm working similar hours to the ones I worked at M&S, those hours tended to be long days rather than continual and after a week I definitely found myself being pretty tired. I also took full advantage of having weekends free for the first time in a long time. I headed down to Bristol to meet up with some of my uni friends and last week went to Liverpool to see some school friends. Both were a lot of fun, and it was so nice to feel like a normal human who could socialise at the weekend.

(A couple of mirror selfies [remember when you could use these on blogs?!] of what I've worn to work...definitely more to come)

The only downside to this is the fact that getting about five hours sleep at the weekend and then heading off to work is that you get (even more) tired. This all came a little bit to a head on this week where the arrival of my council tax bill which was a fair bit more expensive than I'd expected and my contract which claims I've got a month less at work sent me into a little bit of a stress cry. If I'm completely honest, moving by yourself is kind of hard mostly because you don't have anyone to share the stressy (read: financial) bits with. You also don't have anyone to rant at if you have a bad day, hence the stress crying. So I'm taking this Bank Holiday as a little bit of a break from everything and just having a chill. So far, I've done a food shop and some pilates and made a serious dent in the ridiculousness that is my YouTube subscriptions. And it's been lovely.

I'm also actually writing some more posts so I won't be so silent for quite as long this time!

Amy
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The Moving Diaries: The One After The One

In my last post about my move things were not going so well. Unsurprisingly the landlord, who was one of those people who had never actually visited the property, was not interested in double-glazing the property so I let it go. After suffering through a freezing bedroom and downstairs bathroom at university, I've always promised myself that at the very least I just want to be warm in my future home.

So I got back on the Rightmove/Zoopla train and after a few fails and cancelled viewings I found myself at this flat. Well, I actually found myself on the wrong side of the development because Google Maps led me astray so I had to be walked across by the concierge and probably looked like a proper idiot. However, after a quick look round (it takes all of 15 minutes to view a one-bed flat, even with questions), it seemed as though this one was the most promising I'd seen in ages.

It's in a modern building meaning that the EPC is an amazing B (no clingfilm on windows!), and light really pours through the living area and bedroom. Flashforward a month and a depressing amount of money and on Monday I finally got my hands on the keys. 

Having trooped out to the letting agents office, I had a quick scout around the flat, mostly focusing on teaching myself how to turn the hot water on. I then headed to Argos to buy a duvet and pillows which were surprisingly reasonable but also very awkward to have to carry through a busy city, especially when it's raining. After fighting with my bedding and losing a nail in the process, I acquired some dinner and settled in for the night in my flat with just a duvet and a kettle for company. I'll admit it did feel a little bit weird, but that might have had more to do with the fact that I had almost nothing in the flat-so it felt like a weird hotel room-than any last minute 'what have I done' feelings.

Whilst I do pine slightly for the spacious layout of the previous flat, the previous tenant had lived in this property for 5 years-proof that I probably don't need as much space as I think I do. Plus it'll be a good reason for me to finally reduce my hoarding habit. Really, it's a huge relief to have this sorted and I can redirect my nerves towards my new job (arghh) and the fact that internet providers don't believe in evening or weekend installations.

Amy
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P.S. This post is going live on move-in day so hopefully me and parents have survived Ikea, if posts get a little sporadic blame it on the wifi (or lack of it)

The Moving Diaries: Heartbreak House

(sadly not my new flat, source)

As you may have guessed from some hints in my previous posts, I've been offered a new job. This means I'm heading back to Birmingham, and the world of political policy, which I'm very excited about.

This of course also means moving, unless I fancy getting a train at 6am (which I really don't). I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that moving is one of the most stressful things that a person can go through and I'm already feeling that.

On the plus side, the internet makes flat hunting really easy. Sites like Right Move and Zoopla make it easy to browse through flats with your budget and needs in mind. The former's mobile app is especially good and easy to use. Obviously there are things to look out for; namely the over-zealous use of fish-eye lenses and stretching photos in the hope that you'll be lulled into thinking the flat is about five times its' actual size. I can also feel my blood pressure increasing at how awful some properties are, and that landlords don't think twice about charging people £400 for a flat that doesn't look much bigger than my current bedroom. But I've been quite happily saving properties and trying to arrange viewings in addition to working all of the hours some miles away from Birmingham.

And then I thought I'd found The One. It was in a perfect location; central but quiet with enough greenery to stop you feeling like you were living in a concrete jungle. It had high ceilings with a lot of light and a lot more space than I was expecting. It was towards the top end of my budget but would literally be a fifteen minute walk to work. It needed a bit of TLC after having had an obviously long-term tenant with an interesting interpretation of cleanliness. But on the whole, perfect. I told the agent I'd consider moving forward and then went on a celebratory splurge in Zara.

Then I remembered the EPC. This is an Energy Performance Certificate which is legally required to be shown to prospective tenants as it is a solid suggestion of how much it might cost to heat your home. My dream flat's EPC grade: an F. The second lowest. In 2018, it will be illegal for landlords to rent properties with a grade so low. In denial, I set about googling energy tariffs only to find it would probably cost me more than my parents pay to heat a four bed detached house for four people. After desperately trying to figure out a way for it to be affordable (the internet's not essential is it?), I sent an email to the letting agents saying that unless the landlord was planning on doing some efficiency changes I probably wouldn't be able to afford to live in the flat.

Whilst I'm desperately hoping that I'll get an email back saying that the landlord is in fact planning on replacing the boiler, double glazing the windows and insulating the walls; I somehow doubt that will happen. So if you need me, I'll be refreshing Right Move and trying not to panic about only having a little over a month to find somewhere to live (*nervous laughter*) .

Amy

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Note: If you've recently bought or leased a house with a low efficency grade you can get help from the government to improve its eco-friendlyness; more here