The original plan was to move house before I got too pregnant to deal with the 2 flights of stairs we have here, plus we were keen to have some outside space. However, after looking at a bunch of different places, making an offer on one (which the owners first rejected, then came back to us when they realised it was a good offer and we rejected - offers are pretty standard on rental properties here) we finally decided this place was too good to leave, so have signed on for another year. The stairs are a bit annoying, but one thing I realised after looking at almost 20 places was that stairs are part of living in London! Either you live in a Victorian conversion or mansion block with stairs (finding a good ground floor place is hard and lifts are very rare) or you live in a house like ours with internal stairs...so after tossing up all the pros and cons, we decided to stay here. Both of us being able to walk to work is pretty amazing in London and not something we should take for granted! Plus we have Regent's Park just a few minutes away, lots of tube lines close by and one of the best high streets in London. All that and a great house with loads of space - even if it's spread over 3 levels! I will just keep reminding myself that the stairs are great exercise...
In other house news, our tenants in Melbourne have decided to move out when the lease is up at the start of October. Sad news for us because they have been great tenants (but have now bought their own place) but also good news as the rental market in Melbourne has gone up so dramatically in the last 3 years, we have listed it again (on the recommendation of the agent) with an almost 50% increase. First viewing is later this week so our fingers are crossed that we find some more good tenants. Home sweet home in Melbourne -
