London - back to reality (for now)

Sunset at the London Eye

Another overnight bus (hopefully the last!) from Edinburgh and I arrive in London on the 3rd of January with no home and no job. It's quite a horrible and daunting feeling and I am lucky to have some lovely friends volunteer their couches to me while I find my feet.

Searching for a flat was proving to be a bit of a drama - I had been emailing from Hamburg for over a week and found that most people were looking for a longer term lease than the 3 months I will be here for.

The first one I went to view was eye-opening..........so much built up dirt and grime, I was pretty sure you would have to wear Havi's to walk on the carpet or shower.

The second one was a live in landlord who told me that there would be "no doing the business" on her property.


The third one...... I would say the owner was a "collector"...........good luck finding the sink or lounge among the piles and piles of god knows what - although the collection of glittery, plastic flowers in the room for rent were quite lovely.

The fourth one had an interesting housemate - after arranging the viewing via email, I texted on the day to alter the time slightly which was agreed to - then took a phone call from her about an hour later and had to listen to a lecture on why I did not reply to her message (that came through while we were on the phone) and how could I not reply to someone I was supposed to be living with..........gosh.




Fifth time lucky - a nice room, good price, decent location and what seems to be a lovely, young Italian couple - fingers crossed they are what they seem!

Finally my own room!

So now to find a job.............I have completed the tedious and time consuming process of registering with 7 different temp agencies - who each insisted on me rewriting half my CV into THEIR template and sit THEIR Microsoft suite testing for up to 3 hours...........they will also insist on my referees (all employers over the past 5 years - no choosing who you provide) completing THEIR form.........I really hope I have references left at the end of it!



The salaries over here have also been quite a shock - very low compared to Australia with some roles only paying around £10 per hour. Hopefully something will come along soon so I can start to focus on my social life!