settling in london

After our little break at Lucy's is was time to hunt for jobs and flats in London. We stayed at a hostel for almost a week while we went to flat viewings, handed in CVs and worked trial shifts. Mai already had a job secured with the ”geisha bar” in the city centre so I decided to aim for the Soho area. The first day I handed out CVs, I got  a call from a free house pub to offer me a trial the next day, after which I was put on the roster full-time. Sweet!

Finding a flat was a different story. Rent is unbelievably expensive but Mai and I were keen to share a room to keep costs down. We were looking at places between £400-600 a month (cheap, I know right?) for the room but there wasn't much out there. We found a place in Fulham that appealed with Aussie and kiwi flat mates and spoke to guy on the phone. He pretty much gave us the room based on the fact that we were Australian. That's one of the first times my nationality has worked in my favour while traveling! You beauty! Mind you, it was a rip off but it was only for 2 months which worked out perfect for us. Plus, it was true London living, sharing a small flat between 9 others.  Unfortunately we forgot to take a photo but think of a ladder leading up to double bed above with the living space below and a set of drawers. It was probably the size of a typical Australian laundry. We had a great time in our 'antopidian' flat though, everyone was lovely and despite the lack of living space, the different work schedules meant that you got a lot of time to yourself anyway.

The hardest thing about finding a job in London was picking which one to keep! I was offered about 4 different jobs, but  in the end, I semi-full time shifts at the Adam and Eve pub in Soho. While living in Fulham, we used to walk past this newly opened little café called Manuka Kitchen and when we went in there for coffee one afternoon, the owner offer me a job!  So on weekends, I would help out at Manuka. It took about 5 minutes to get door-to-door, or bed-to-door. :)

So in the first week, we had fairly secure jobs and a place to live. That wasn't so hard now was it?