the hunt for a flat...

Looking for a flat was such a headache. Firstly, the letting market is really dry right now due to the economy and time of year. Then there are the following criteria we wanted to meet: on a budget, close to school, close to transportation, safe, move in within a week, wood floors. I was actually 110% serious about that last one, more important to me than some of the other situpli (uhh, that's plural for stipulations).

We looked at some nice places, and some dumps

 Then ultimately settled here...

view down the street

 You may notice a photograph of the bedroom is missing. That's because when I took these photos we were still living out of suitcases. I will post more photos once we are all furnished.

Here's what we like about the place:

• within our price range
• wood floors
• close to Victoria line, Picadilly line, and Overground.
• 15 minutes to Dan's school
• next to a giant park with tennis courts, boating lake, cafe and running trails
• next to a 2 mile long nature path that is perfect for running
• quiet neighborhood
• newly refurbished

Here's what we don't like

• basement apartment
• low ceilings (actually I don't mind the low ceilings, but Dan of course does)
• poor cell reception

We really like it here and love our area (Crouch End/ Finsbury Park), I think we got pretty lucky.