Home is where you can afford it.

Wednesday
We cleaned out the fridge eating breakfast; we actually made it from Saturday night without going to the store. The first flat of the morning I knew was the one. After breezing through two more just to be sure, I put in an offer for 20 quid less than it was being offered for. The landlord accepted! We think that we actually found something livable within our budget. Granted, we paid the same number of dollars for a month of rent while in college as we'll be paying pounds for a WEEK of rent here, but now we have a view of a Presbyterian cemetery from a second story flat. Here they call it first story and the first floor is the ground level. Despite all my jokes, I'm quite excited about the first place we'll call home. For one, we'll be glad to stop living out of suitcases. First, we have two weeks living with a family friend while our credit checks go through.
Our borough will be Wandsworth, a wonderful little town packed with things to do. Just to the east of us are the edges of Wandsworth common, a gigantic park. It's a huge open green space that takes at least 30 minutes to walk through. Closest to us are the rugby goalposts. Out our door to the west is the beginning of Wandsworth high street. This begs a small history lesson. London is actually composed of hundreds of small villages that were gradually swallowed by the capital as it emerged as an international center of trade and commerce. The high street then is equivalent to the main streets through most US cities. However, unlike the US, the British generally do not have the blessings of loops and freeways. So as certain population centers grow and thrive, modern retailers take their place among the traditional shops and service providers that have existed for centuries without glamorous marketing. Ten minutes down the high street - a very pleasant walk - is a supermarket and an indoor mall which boasts a 14-screen movie theater. And, satisying one of the most important criterion established by Bree, the library is only five minutes away. It seems though that no matter where you are you're not far from one - there's a network of 14 or 15 in Wandsworth, and other communities seemed to have the same. I spent much of the day checking out the community to make sure Bree would be satisfied. It was quite trusting for her to give the green light without having seen the place where we're obligated to reside for at least six months. But we were both weary of the appointments and you have to move quickly or the place can be booked out from underneath you. In fact, someone else was scheduled to see the place that afternoon.
We celebrated by relaxing and doing nothing.