Month into 2012 and time is flying! Already us girls have been Brighton citizens for three months. Hard to believe that, seems like yesterday we were totting our backpacks along the seafront in amazement of this new land.
All of us have now settled beautifully into our jobs. Were not even the new girls anymore, which is nice to have someone else playing that role instead of us. We know have friends and endless nights of going to pubs with our new friends building some great relationships. Work is much easier when you know the menu and understand what the customer is asking you. (Finally we have come to understand the accent and most of the slang that used to confuse us!)
Trish has found a job at Riddle and Finns. It is an upscale resturant in the south lanes that she seems to be enjoying. Either way, a huge improvement from the short term job she had at Dig in the Ribs, or as we call it Dirty Ribs. So things are really coming together.
This month is bringing about alot of unexpected change for us.
Beginning of Januray we were enjoying a rare night in with all four of us,(usually someone is working nights) getting all settled in for a chick flick with an incredible spread of junk food. I decided to check my email (always got to keep up with the rents). There was a message from our landlord.
Earlier in the week our frezzer stopped working. However, we dont keep alot in there and it took us awhile to figure out something was wrong. However, Christie was the poor soul to open the frezzer to a mix of soggy cardboard and rotten meant and unthawed pizza. Not a good smell. Once she recovered from dry heaving we email Sarah to tell her of the issue. Sarah, who is usually quite helpful....told us its probably a fuse, to go get a new one, and youtube instructions on how to place it in the frezzer.
Really?? Really?? What may be a simple task for the average person, would be a disaterous mission for us girls. Thankfully it was Jake to the rescue! Stefs friend Jake who is also an electricion was a wonderful canadiate for the job. Lets face, girls still need a man in their life to do the simple things we could not be bothered doing.So, he came over to look at the frezzer. (dont worry we cleaned it out before he came, were not THAT lazy) Embrassingly enough, it came unpluged....so he plugged it back in. Oops. O well, we still would never have figured that out..so...Thanks Jake!
Figuring it was Sarah inquiring about the frezzer I opened it up.
Karina: Gasp! Holy Shit!
Girls: What?!
Karina: Turn off the movie!!
Girls: What?! Whats doing on?!
Karina: Were getting evicted.
The email was our official two months notice of eviction. We were to be out by March 18th 2012. Sarah lives in London with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend got a job in Brighton and needs a place to live. Boyfriend trumps the Canadian girls, so here we are. Remeber however, when we first got here and got the place we had to deplete our savings to give the 6 months plus damage deposit upfront. We were orginally paid up till May.
Obviously this was a huge blow. So what do we do? Burst into tears of laughter. Of course after only two months we would be kicked out of this amazing apartment by the seafront. It was to good to be true. Then the giggles continued thinking of how were going to get our stuff to the new place.....I guess we will carry our mattress down the street one by one. It was wonderful to laugh and cry about the sillyness of the situation. Once again, We Will Figure It Out.
Being the girls we are, we got to work....pulled out the contract, figured out how much we would get back, and logged onto gumtree to find places. No use waiting around. However, this living situation is a tad more complicated then the first time. Christie is undecided when she is living...shes going back in July for a wedding and Big valley but hasnt decided if she'll come back till christmas or stay in Canada. Trish's boyfriend Taylor is coming to Brighton to join us in the next couple of months. So Trish would only stay with us till he came then live with him. Me and stef are in for the long haul.
Those are alot of factors to consider. Its going to be a 6 month lease, but has to fit four of us, but be affordable for the three of us when trish leaves. On top of that, we want the place to be as cheap as possible for we came here to travel not to live in fancy digs. This place we paid up front, but now that we have an idea of what we make (which is not alot) the price of this place aint great either. As well, we want a place by where we work....ideally in the same location as where we live now.
So we tossed around alot of ideas. As well, this is not a great time to be looking for places....not alot of gumtree, which are private sales. So we resorted to an agency. Agency def have more to offer but they usually charge you 150 to 180 pounds per person for their time. Me and christie and stef looked at about 4 or 5 places. All of them were OK but not great. Then one night, we were walking to the local watering hole (Lion and Lobster) which is the next street over from our place. On the cornor was a sign, THREE BEDROOM MASIONATTE 1100 pcm, FOR LET. We got the number.
At the pub we discussed the possiblity of letting trish and taylor live with us. They would have their own room and if the place is big enough, that would mean cheap rent for us. Christie set up the appointment and me and her viewed it the next day. The place is PERFECT! Theres a single room of better size then the room Im in now, and a double room of good size on the first floor. This leads into a good size living room. The bathroom on the first floor is big, bigger then our now with counter space and a large tub. Down the stairs in the basement is a small kitchen but with all the appliances and next to the kitchen is a large double ensuite. Thats right, with a private stand up shower and sink and toliet. The best part? The living room leads onto a patio! From the patio you climb fire escape ladder to the roof terreace! Summer bbq? I think so.
As well, this place is one street over from where we are now...so moving day will be less ridiculous. Dont worry, Ill take a picture of us tracking our matreess down the street. As well, we were able to get the place in a months time so we dont lose any rent. For Sarah needs a months notice from us. (Which I think is kinda snarky since she screwed us and already has a tenant, but what can you do) So now we have a better place then the one were in now, cheaper rent and bills because it will be split 5 ways, and the same location by the seafront. We could not have asked for a better situation.
We settled in beautifully to british living. We have our favorite local pub (lion and lobster) to which we can enjoy a beer after a long day at work. Random furniture with antiques and paintings on the wall. Fireplaces crackling with dogs sleeping by, serving our favorite british ales. We have made amazing friendships with our co workers who ask about our day, help us when we need it and share some laughs on a night out. Even the shopping at Primark is cheap...6 pounds for a nice top. Well within our budget.
Were even staying true to our commitment to travel. Funds are low so we are careful about our money. Def dont eat out or shop like we did back home. We booked our trip to Dublin and Amsterdam. Stef and I also booked our trip to Rome for easter to meet up with my parents.
Of course, classic us...we may have left the Dublin booking for St. Patricks day a bit late. Our flights were dirt cheap...20pounds a person but when we went to book hostels EVERYTHING was booked for the 16th and the 17th. Of course! Its St. Patricks day in Dublin! However, fortune smiles on us. Rob who we backpacked with for a bit in October came to our rescue.
There will be 7 of us. Us four girls and our friends from Canada, Rob, Holly and her sister. Rob found us an apartment for us to share in the heart of festivities! Affordable and sure to be a great time. After Dublin, we fly to Amsterdam to continue our vacation. Me and stef are staying for a couple of days and the rest are going to Amsterdam for 5 days. We are all very excited!
So, there is the long over due update on our lives. As you can see, Brighton agress with us. It was hard work to get where we are...but it was worth it.
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