We may have a flat...

goodness gracious folks! it's been a stressful start here in the northeast. we are currently residing in temporary accomodations at an astronomer's house. it is a less-than-ideal situation because we cannot unpack and bret and i are in separate rooms. however, we are grateful that we are not out in the rain.

england and the US are similar in many respects of course, but there are lots of details that are completely different. here is a list:
1. one must pay 6£ a month to have a bank account.
2. one must pay 150£ to have a background check done if you want to rent a property
3. one must pay a council tax for renting in a property; 50£ a month
4. the routing number of a bank is called the sortcode
5. the checking account is called the current account
6. the 24 hour clock is used; not so much am and pm.
7. eating out at a restaurant is almost twice as expensive as in the US. that's right, a little sandwich (or 'butty') at a cafe is 5£ (10$).
8. yellow lines are not used to designate opposing traffic. white lines are used for both.
9. groceries are delivered to the house for a small charge (this is extremely wonderful)
10. many times a house will have a washing machine, but no dryer. and let me tell you, clothes does not try in 100% humidity.
11. there are no laundromats. none. it's not that we haven't found one. it's that they just don't exist.
12. most flats do not have closets. one must buy a 'wardrobe'...(special note: we have put in our 150£ application for a flat. a miracle: it has little closets!! but no fridge, dryer, or washing machine...)

Let me delve further into point number 12. yesterday, bret and i went to see two flats. they were quite a long walk, so we were hesitant from the start. but we were not expecting to receive so much unfortunate news. first, we get to a brand new flat- so new it's not finished.

then we go see another flat. it is in much worse condition- no fridge, unmatched piss-poor furniture, a hole on the attic, and mold on the walls. it's terrible, but it's finished. we ask how long it would take to get the flat after we have put in our application, and he said: 10-21 days!!! that's right. I don't know how it could take that long to check if someone has paid their rent in the past.

The prob is that our temp housing is only in place until Sept 30- so basically, we need new temp housing starting sunday. on top of that, add the background check time, and we're looking at the middle of october.

needless to say, we were very discouraged yesterday. luckily, bret's boss invited us to sunday dinner (really lunch, but it's a big wholesome English meal) and then we went shopping to Ikea.

God we love that store. We picked out all our furniture and budgeted, which put us in better spirits.

Today, however, we have really had luck. First we got our bank accounts hassle free. And then we checked out a cheap flat right in town that we really like. well, of course we'll have to get our appliances (the fridge will be the size of my armpit, as will the washer/dryer- they can come all-in-one here) but as I mention, there are closets!!

only thing is, the carpets are green. not funky astroturf green- I'm talking granny green. needless to say that the cool red couch that bret and i were planning on getting is out of the question. it would be horribly garrish. black would look too office building. white is a possibility- but they get dirty so quickly. although...we can get those ikea slipcovers...hmmm...