Home, Sweet Home

Saturday I went into "the City," which is the original Londonium, the Roman walled town that started it all, and which is now the financial centre of the world. Of course, I was there to check out the residential possibilities, and my guidebook talked about "The Barbican," a self-contained community of housing, entertainment, and shops in the middle of the city!

Unfortunately, it didn't mention that the Barbican is really just three skyscrapers built in the 70s along the same lines as public housing in America. Seriously, these were the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. I've seen jails I'd rather stay in. I couldn't even imagine how depressing it would be to come home to that every day, no matter how short the commute.

So I headed north to check out Clerkenwell, except I somehow went south and ended up at the Thames. I really need to buy a compass. Even if I had a good sense of direction, which I don't, London would still confuse me because the streets just zig-zag everywhere. I can't rely on the sun because it's always cloudy, I can't rely on landmarks because the regular buildings are too tall, and I can't ask anyone because I'm a guy. I have no idea how anyone else navigates around here.

(You'd think navigating the tube would be a little easier, but it's not. I wanted to take the District line north, but had to choose between the "eastbound" train and "westbound" train. I finally realized the problem was I assumed an east/west train had two terminals--one east and one west--when in fact this one had seven. Saying "take the District Line" is like telling someone "get on a bus"--you have to specify "District Line to Ealing," "District Line to Wimbledon," "District Line to "Edgware," etc.)

Sunday I went off to Notting Hill and Camden, which were nice after a fashion, but I was definitely starting to feel that all of the "boroughs" in central London look about the same--lots of old architecture, lots of people, lots of traffic, etc. Notting Hill had, perhaps, a few more trees, but nothing of significance. I was starting to think that in choosing where to live, I would settle for someplace with a nice view and a nearby tube stop.

Then yesterday I went through Covent Garden. This is in Westminster (where Parliament and Big Ben are), and is ground zero for the "west end," the British equivalent of Broadway. There were, of course, throngs of tourists, but the whole area had a completely different vibe, and I was definitely piqued. So I looked up rates for flats in that area--from £290 ($570) for an unfurnished studio, to £625 ($1225) for a furnished one bedroom. Wow, that was really reasonable! Then I realized that was per week. In US dollars, that's $2,500-$5,400 per month! Ouch.

More than the price, though, I noticed many of these flats would not be available for 1 or 2 months, and yet were already "under offer." Obviously competition is high in the area. I've already been warned, though, that I won't even be considered until I show proof of employment. That means that once I find a job, then I can get on a two-month waiting list for a nice flat. That should get me out of this broom closet sometime in...September.

I still have the Docklands to check out. I understand it's a seedy industrial area recently converted to residential and high-tech commercial, which sounds perfect. (I was going to go today, but they were calling for severe rain, and until I know what qualifies for "severe" in England, I'm not going anywhere.)