Sherwood!
I was travelling light. Everything I brought with me to England fit in a suitcase, a back pack and a weekend bag. Knowing I had limited means of transportation and no clue on where I would end up in terms of a place to live, I decided to bring as little as possible.
For the first two weeks, the company would provide me with a hotel room. During that time, I was expected to find myself a home. Unfortunately, given my arrival during one of the busiest weeks in the Nottingham housing market, the first week of term, it was nearly impossible to find a decent place anywhere close to work (in the vincinity of Lenton, the student area). So there I was, on the Thursday before the Sunday and the final night at the hotel, having found no housing but instead all the new office bugs and thus a pretty bad cold. I had the day off to go house hunting, starting to feel the panic.
Having arrived from France the week before myself, my new friend and colleague had offered some helpful advise and pointers to the nearby agents. There was apparently a one bedroom flat in Sherwood that he’d seen and liked, but eventually decided against having found something better. It was being offered by an letting agent just down the street from the hotel, so I went to book a viewing. The viewing was in the late afternoon and the agent was kind enought to drive me there. The house itself was an old victorian building, each floor having been made into a flat. The agent led me up a narrow staircase accessed from a side door. It smelled of old house, like at my godmother’s place in Oslo.
Upon entering the top flat I saw the views to the south. I stood in awe.
The views to the south east, about half of the vista
From the big windows shone a brilliant sunlight, illuminating the entire Sherwood valley in front of me. There and then I made my decision. I was unlikely to find anything better in the few days I had left. I wandered around to see the rest of the flat, which seemed to be in decent condition. The same afternoon I applied for the tenancy on a basis of first come first served. Being unable to provide a bank account (as that would require a permanent address) from which to pay the rent, the company had offered to provide the deposit and guarantee the first month of rent.
On that Sunday I moved in. Sat in the sofa provided by the landlord enjoying the sunlight. I felt relieved.
