I'm astounded. Went to get the keys today. I just took the place because it was close to work and didn't look totally awful. But this place has everything. Microwave, dishwasher, full bathtub. For comparison, the place I'm living at now didn't even have blinds. It's the most stripped down hovel I've ever seen in my life.

But forget about that shit. I'm talking about my surprisingly decent new flat.

I haven't had a microwave since I was flatsharing. It's possible to live without a microwave but...I don't know...leftovers and shit would be easier to reheat with a microwave.

And I've never had a dishwasher. I don't know how to use them. I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Also an alarm system in this place. Madness.

And you use one of those electronic fobs to swipe into the front door.

And there's a lock for the shed for my bins. I...don't quite understand this. How is the binman going to get the bins? And why would I lock the bins anyway? I guess to prevent people going through your shit. Well, whatever.

And there's some sort of guy who looks after the building. There was a Scottish term for this but I forgot it. But...what are they called in the US...supers? What is that an abbreviation for? Superintendant? Something.

Not sure about the area. Saw more black people and Mohammadans than I would like (i.e. more than one). But the people walking around these apartment buildings looked moderately upscale.

But geographically, it's great. Right next to the river. A ten minute walk to the city centre.

How much would a place ten minutes away from Oxford Circus cost?

What the? £585? What must this place look like? Oh right. Some kind of closet-sized shared place.

Here's a place for £2200. That's more like it. Looks pretty decent, though.

Here's another one bedroom place for £4000. Looks pretty swanky.

But yeah, most one bedroom places in that area of London are £2000 - £3000. Who can afford this? But in Glasgow, the equivelent location is less than £550.

So see how it goes but I'm cautiously optimistic. This could be the best place in the UK that I've lived in. Actually, it may just beat the place I had in the US too.

I mean, yeah, that place was two bedrooms. Definitely bigger than any place in the UK that I've lived in. But...for one thing, I didn't even use that second bedroom. It was totally empty. I might have stored some shit in there, I don't remember.

Also, really weird heating system. The oven had a vent on the side that you used for heating. And that was it. So the kitchen would get hot as hell but the other rooms...less so. It was totally inefficient. The kitchen was in the middle of the flat so there's that but it didn't really work well at all. It's apparently how these old tenement houses in New England were/are heated.

Oh, and no air conditioning. You don't need it in the UK but in New England...you need it. I remember thinking that the floor was going to melt.

So yeah, that place wasn't all that great at all. Cheap, though. $500/month or something. That's like £300. Of course, this was 15 years ago.

How much is a place there going for nowadays? Hmm. Not many places available but this place looks similar. Two bedrooms, tenement house, $875. Same area too. This is just the next street over from where I lived. Not sure what the heating situation is. Says "forced air". Oh, yeah. Central heating. That's not what I had. That's a heating system that actually works. No air conditioning, though.

Anyway, moving on Sunday. I have to pack all of my shit tomorrow. I did some stuff today but not much. Although, I never unpacked 90% of my stuff because I didn't plan on staying here long anyway. So...hopefully not much to do. Going to take my blinds with me too.