Lulu on the move

Shudder and procrastination. Flat hunting. I've forgotten how to do it.

You see, I've been living pretty merrily for the past year with friends, getting up to all sorts of shenanigans, getting away with all sorts of things that most flats would have me out on the street with an "unbridled party animal" sign stuck firmly on my forehead.

Things like, for example, bringing a party back to the flat at 5am. And letting all sorts of characters camp on the couch. And living right in the city, with carparks. So good. And being comfortable enough with my flatmates to politely, but firmly, state "shut up," when I'm studying for exams.

Actually, I've only done the 5am thing a couple of times, which didn't count as I was already out with a flatmate. I'm not that bad. But I'm pretty bad.

So far I've been lucky with flats; I am pretty easygoing. At least I think so. My only vice is being a bad influence and being a little messy. Some would debate the use of the word "little" being in front of "messy" but standards differ. I'm a very considerate flatmate; emotionally at least.

So now I have the difficult task of finding a cool place. But how do you weed out the unsuitable ones?

Many ads say "no pets," and desire a "non smoker." This is a tell tale sign. They are fussy. I don't blame them, I used to absolutely abhor smokers... Until I became one. But for some reason, this comes across as "straight laced" to me. And well, I've found stoners to be generally cool, easygoing cats. And how do you find those in the newspaper?

I'm a little tempted to call up a flat that says their ideal flatmate would be "Japanese" or "Chinese." Just to give them a shock. I guess saying that kind of thing saves people a lot of time. And ones that say "English speaker preferred" are probably not my cup of tea either. But you should know that I'm cringingly PC by now.

Something I've also picked up in the ads are the well-written, all-details-included, perfect grammar mini essays. These could not have been written by guys, and usually signify the presence of a bossy, 21ish, alpha-female type, which I have come across before. Not a bad thing, but girls like that can be so fussy sometimes. Or maybe (shock, horror) I am an alpha female. But I don't think so.

One actually looked really good, until it said "we are three fun loving girls who are looking for a fine speciMAN." The disturbing thing is, I don't think they were trying to be dodgy. But speaking of dodgy ads, there were a couple of 40ish males sneakily advertising in the "Flatmates Wanted" when what they really meant was "Flat Wanted." To share with themselves and all their "Confirmed Bachelor" glory. That's all I have to say to about that.

Of course, when meeting potential flatmates you definitely need to put on the "weirdo filter," but that comes with common sense. And let me tell you, if I see one fucking didgeridoo I will be out of there, pronto. Unless it's being used for firewood.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this. And I've made myself out to appear remarkably fussy, which couldn't be further from the truth. I just don't want anyone to be remarkably fussy with me, thank you very much.

And I haven't even started on what kind of house I like to live in. (Backyard, window in bedroom, big lounge, maybe a couple of paintings on walls, clean -not tidy- bathroom) I wouldn't generally recommend moving in with friends, but it has worked out for me before. It helps if you've known those friends for several years though. And unfortunately for me, most of mine are still in their comfortable nests at home, or with "serious" live in boyfriends.

I'm totally over this flat hunting business. I hate looking for flats and despite my party reputation I hate moving and would prefer a fixed abode.

I might start thinking about getting my friends out of their nests.