lgabriel73

Congratulations on the new job!!!

lgabriel73

Glad I live in the North, you can get a 3 bed house for 450/500 a month rent.

between two worlds

Congrats englishmaple! That's fantastic!

Good luck with all the final checks etc....

Yes, accommodation is so costly in the south.

How much are studios in your area, vs one-bedroom flats? A studio may be small but at least you would be in your own place, could put heating up! and avoid other issues of living in someone else's house.

NiHao

Congratulations EnglishMaple!!! Can't believe how quickly you got a job and to be offered the first one you interview for - go you!!!

Sorry about the current accommodation situation I know how that can really get you down. Keep looking around to see if there is a better option for you until you are in a position to buy. You might do better where its more a house share (equally rented by all tenants type thing) rather than your current situation where your housemate owns the place. If you could find housemates you had more in common with I think even just that would make it a happier experience.

Again congrats on the job!

Editha

CONGRATULATIONS! That's really good news. I'm very pleased for you.

rebeccajo

Well - that's really fantastic! You must be over the moon!

Could I make a suggestion about your transport issues? Would it be an option to taxi home in the evening instead of buying a car? At least for a while?

I'm only suggesting this as an option till you are more sure of your accomodation and whether or not you will really need a car in the long run. Of course, if a car is on your list no matter where you live, then by all means go ahead and get one sorted out.

rebeccajo

I think a studio would be an excellent way to start out. At least that's how I feel for myself. I'd prefer that to house sharing.

deepcpearl

Can I add my congrats on the job? Well done you! Not too shoddy for, what, 5 weeks?!

Just a note on the heat or lack of it. It may be just a question of adjustment. Did you move from a Canadian apartment? After 11 years of living in constantly heated (overheated) rented apartments in Vancouver and Calgary, I bought a house in the Okanagan. Despite it being the summer when I moved in, I was frozen! In the middle of an Okanagan summer, I had to put the heating on for the first month! I can also remember leaving Canada to visit England in winter, a mere 2 or 3 degrees, and finding it much colder than the -20 I'd come from. So combine the two -- leaving a heated apartment to live in England's climate -- and it's pretty much guaranteed you're gonna have to reach for those extra sweaters for a month or two!

Englishmaple

I think studios are around 650 but I am going to have a look and see.

The crunch point might come when my belongings are delivered from Canada - it's going to be a squeeze altho' my landlord has said I can put things in the loft and in a small box room.

Englishmaple

Yes I've thought about that. But I will be leaving work at 9pm at night and trekking back to a nearby village (about 40 minutes away) - so I think it might be expensive to do twice a week (but I will look into it). I also have to work 1 weekend in 3 so I would need my own transport on Sunday's as well.

I did think about moving to the same location as my place of work but the rents for 1 bedroom there are even higher and I actually like the area I currently live in.

As this area is quite rural I can see me getting a car anyway but I am going to do some number crunching and see where my finances are at. I want to make sure I can keep my living expenses low so that the money I use from my pension to buy a property can be resaved so that I have the chance to have a pension when I retire! No good having a roof over my head if I don't have any money for food to eat!

Englishmaple

Thx

Yes 6 weeks back in the UK - 3 interviews and I get the first job I interview for! So I've withdrawn from the other 2 interviews and I'm going to have a very nice weekend

Re: heat - yes, absolutely can relate. My situation is made worse by the folks who live with me as they like the cold!

Also this week is half term so they've been here all this week ... which has been stressful. Looking forward to some peace and quiet from Sunday evening onwards - until the following weekend. I can manage sharing at the weekend but a whole week is a lot especially when belongings are scattered all over the place, the kitchen is in a constant mess and the windows and doors are open a lot! Oh and the lovely cat is here - whom I like but it sheds everywhere and my eyes itch and the floor is dirty from cat hair, grit and dirt people walk in from (they've been concreting in the garden this week). I also fell on my arse on the driveway as the dirt that had been left there made the surface slippy (and I didn't spot it in time) - and that hurt!

Excuse my vent - it's just not fun trying to cook when one has to clear up the worktop first or sit down to have a meal and try and find a space on the dining room table to put one's plate down!

I've thrown another jumper on me though!

And it's all probably good for the soul!

Tomorrow they plan to invite a family of 4 around for the day - so I'll probably go to the library and research cars and stay out the way!

Englishmaple

Re: housemates - well possibly. I am actually easy going but I don't like it when people don't clear up after themselves and the cool temperatures are challenging. It's quite a small house really. I mean they have been helpful to me so I really mustn't grumble too much but spending more than a weekend with them is hard. I'm quiet and when they are here the TV is always on regardless of what people are doing. And there's usually half a dozen other things going on as well -- it's um not restful!!

When the call came through this morning on the job offer I was trying to have a conversation with my new boss with the TV blaring on in the background (no they didn't turn it down even though they knew who was phoning - and I ended up walking upstairs into my bedroom to try and finish the conversation). That's one reason why I didn't get a chance to discuss my RSI - I would have liked to have mentioned it to him just in case it becomes an issue - maybe I might be able to mention it when I see him next. But it's difficult talking to someone when you can barely hear them over the noise in the background.

They are nice people but just um thoughtless? Or maybe I just need to be a bit more flexible and less uptight?! It's just when you are going through all the changes that i've gone through the last couple of months - I crave quiet!

between two worlds

I SO relate to this! Would feel the same. Hence wondering if the extra expenditure on a studio might be well worth it....maybe even nearer work so a car not necessary??? Tho I see above you say you do like the rural area, so would need a car...

I guess in the end it's weighing up what expenditures most contribute to reducing stress and making life better quality....

difficult!

Englishmaple

Just looked at taxi and buses - so a 4 weekly pass costs 78.50.
One way taxi fare home for 9pm shift end costs 35 pounds.
I will be doing a late shift twice a week.
I'll also be doing 1 weekend in 3 (so about once a month I'll need transport home on a sunday).
I think it adds up to a lot of money per month on transport.
I also looked into trains - but the journey takes 1 and 1/2 hours (!) - due to the way the service runs. And it's 22.90 one way.
The return bus fare per day is 6.90! which is absolutely crackers too!


I think I either have a choice to:

1. Move to the city where my new job is located
or
2. Buy a car

I'm favouring the latter because I don't want to move to the city I will work in - rentals are more expensive, buying is even more expensive than where i am (it's a cathedral city!) and I like the town I'm in and I've made connections with people here already (it's a very friendly place) - so it would be a wrench to move and I don't love that city enough to want to move there. There are room rentals there but a lot of them are monday - friday rentals (it's that kind of place!). Plus this is a fairly rural location so having a car would be useful.

But I do need to figure out the accommodation thing. Maybe I'll see how the first month at work goes and then reevaluate. The work I'm going to be doing is of real interest to me but it is in an area of social services that can be stressful so it will be pretty apparent if I can't find a quiet space to decompress at home!

I don't know when the UK school year ends for the summer but that's the challenge - when the landlord is working (he's a teacher) he spends all the weekdays with his girlfriend at her house but when its the weekends they come here. And usually I can stand it for 2 days - I quite like their company if not their habits! And they are very kind. But its messy and noisy and that's hard at times - I always end up cleaning the floor and everywhere after they leave because otherwise it wouldn't get done and the cat hair really aggravates my eyes and throat.

But come the summer I think they plan to spend more time here ... and I don't think (particularly after this whole week with them) I can manage it .. but I'll see how the next month goes. (And I'll look out at rented studios too!!)

I do feel bad moaning - there is lots to like about them too but I think I'm a little less tolerant than when I was younger ...!

deepcpearl

I soooo hear you on the difficulties of sharing your living space - not easy at all. Keep reminding yourself it's a means to an end.

Just a suggestion: What about joining in with the concreting work in the backyard for an afternoon? If you're a part of the noise- and dirt-making, you won't notice it as much, it would help relations between you, the physical work will help reduce the stress, you'll share in the satisfaction of completing some DIY, they might even give you a break on the rent for your help! So many good reasons to join in.

And, heck, if they still p*** you off, you can bury them under the cement!