(Source)
It is hard to believe that it is nearly the anniversary of two years of me living in London! In some ways it feels like I just moved last month and in other ways, it seems like I have been living here forever. My current apartment in the North London borough of Islington is still quite nice but I am not looking for a more central place and a few of my criteria has been updated as I am moving in with my boyfriend, eek! 🙂
Since this hunt is consuming so much of my time and I am now becoming quite familiar with the pcw calculations (many London flats are listed in their cost per week, not the monthly rent) or the rough conversions of square meter to square feet on floor plans, I thought I would share a bit of this with you. And to make it more fun these are things we are the top five things we are looking for in our new apartment search, illustrated by pictures of live listings:
(1) Two Bedroom – This is an easy “must”. We both have two bedroom apartments now and with the amount of family and friends who come to visit having a place for them to sleep is essential. Plus, I really need the extra closet space! (source)
(2) Location, Location, Location – We are looking for apartments around Kings Cross / St. Pancras train stations which I would describe as Central London but technically once you go North of the main road in the photo above, the A501, it is considered North London. (source)
(3) Natural Light- London is dark and dreary more than half the time so an apartment that is bright and airy with a ton of natural light is a must. After looking at quite a few flats I think floor to ceiling windows / sliders are really going to be key. And as a point personal preference I am not a fan of brick walls or black doors / accent walls – give me all of the white walls in this new apartment search and I will add art and rugs to give it color! (source)
(4) New Fittings / Furnishings – Pretty self explanatory, I should think, but for me they are especially key inn the kitchen. For instance, a 10 year old dishwasher is bound to break and in most flats the washing machine is also located under the cabinet in the kitchen (though no dryer). I would like to have it new and covered up like the one above. (source)
(4) Two Baths Rooms, one with a Bathtub – As I mentioned, I have a two bed place now but when people come – especially a couple or my parents – any more than two people sharing a bathroom gets to be a lot, especially with morning showers. Plus I love a bath. And a bath bomb. And an epsom salt soak. So yes, a bathtub is necessary. (source)
(5) Open Floor Plan – To make the most of the space we have I would love to have a space where the kitchen and the living room flow together. Some seperation in the space would be nice like the apartment above but I love this type of fluid floor plan. (source)
And the things we don’t want, well, there are a few of those two. I was going to find photos but there is no need to specifically call out what might be some other people’s dream homes so I will just list them out. No apartments on the Ground Floor or Lower Ground Floor (aka basement) as they are quite noisy. The layout has to be logical – one home had the access point to the only bathroom through the kitchen and the main bedroom. And we do have furniture so we are not looking for a completely furnished place.
What do you think of the key criteria in our new apartment search?
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Lauren says
Oh! For some reason I thought your boyfriend lived in New York so this is great news! Congratulations!!
Tammy says
Best of luck in finding a new apartment with your boyfriend. This should be a fun experience. Hey what about a 3 bedroom apartment. Master bedroom for you and boyfriend, 2nd bedroom for guest and 3rd bedroom can be a walk in closet for you to fit all of your clothes and shoes. Late to the party. Hope I helped. 😄
Fran says
Ugh, apartment hunting. Wish you all the best and hope that you get one you really like.
Just finished going through it myself and was so sad when a few I thought were going to be perfect based on the photos either were seriously not perfect or they were already taken when I got there.
Cindy says
Never, ever, ever would a ground floor apartment work for me nor a sub basement one. I always remember walking by those in NYC when I was apartment hunting and the broker kept on trying to convince me that it was such a better deal.
While that aspect was certainly true and quite substantial given NYC rents, the loss of privacy and potential peeping Toms really creeped me out so there was no way I was going to even consider one. Stick to your guns.
Happy hunting.
Elizabeth says
BIg move, congratulations. You deserve someone really terrific. So happy for you.
Good luck with the search, especially now pleasing two people can make things a bit more difficult.
Location is key as is thick walls and hopefully no one above you who is really noisy. Looking forward to hearing about what you find.
Jeannie says
I can’t believe it’s two years already. I feel like you just got there. Totally love all the blog posts about London on your foreign travel. Good luck finding a new apartment I know how hard that is. I think your criteria is great. Look forward to hearing all about your new place when you find one.
Mary says
Sounds like a great list to me. I never can get enough sunlight and from looking at your blog I know some days are a little dreary so the more the better.
I too like an open floor plan it just makes everything seem more spacious. Good luck with the hunt I know it’s not easy.