I finally did it! Two days ago I packed my life into the back of a van and moved into my very own flat in East London.
For most of my life, (apart from a brief spell at art college), I’ve lived just outside London, in rural Buckinghamshire. Most of my work is now in London, as is my social life, so it’s not like I’m a stranger to the big city. Travelling into London has always been easy enough, but when you start doing it a lot, Zone 9 (yes it really does exist!) can take forever to get to. So last October I started looking for somewhere a bit more central.
To begin with, I had no idea where I wanted to live. I looked at places all over London, quickly realising that my expectations didn’t entirely match my budget. Eventually at the beginning of the year, I settled on East London as the right area for me, and in March I finally found ‘the one’.
So after sorting all the paperwork and signing on the dotted line, I then had the epic task of packing my entire life into a van and moving the 63 miles from Buckinghamshire to my new home in East London.
So here I am, sitting on my comfy sofa in my new flat. I’m still not entirely unpacked. The kitchen is just about there, and the living room isn’t far off. My brand new bed from Dreams was delivered without the end of it, and apparently they can’t send a replacement for over a week! Ergo I’m sleeping on the mattress on the floor for the next week, surrounded by boxes of bed.
On the subject of boxes, I now have the major task of getting rid of what seems like half a forest of cardboard! If there’s anyone in London who wants some boxes, please come and take some! Haha!
I love my new flat. It’s got so many cool features! The bathroom is amazing. I have a deep bath and a monsoon shower set into the ceiling. Even the sink and tap oozes luxury. The kitchen is also rather epic with built in fridge freezer, dishwasher, microwave, cooker, washing machine, and… a wine chiller!!! It’s the little things about my flat that make me happy though, like the soft closing drawers and the dimmer switch in the living room. Oh and did I mention that I have a patio?
So I’m now feeling quite at home in East London, not sure how long I have to live here before I can call myself a Londoner, but I plan on being here for a while.
