As regular readers would know, I notice things on my walks around inner city Sydney, like this.
In the past few months, there’s been a cluster of concrete art around scaffolding in my local area. They must have excess, so they cast it into fun shapes. i noticed some of the ‘older’ ones have been chipped away, perhaps removed by the true property owners? Who knows… But for you enjoyment:
Red head – I wonder if this invalidated the no parking sign – I know if the arrows get grafitted over, it counts, and you can park freely til the council replaces the sign.White skull, YOLO – similar to the one on the parking signAs my father calls them: Baklava…Guns are common – there’s one near my church, been there many years. Should get a snap.Bigger armsThis is ubiquitous AUssie (as Lucinda Sans will attest). The goon bag (wine bag)Not a step further. a REAL foil wine bag in the recycling (which, is NOT recycling…)Not concrete, but getting creative with the hoarding (which I saw hand painted by a 60yo man)
Remember, I share a post about things I’d like in my future home? Well, now that I’m looking for a rental, some of these might be ‘for real’ soon enough. Though I think the fireplace is highly unlikely in inner city Sydney apartments…
From top right: out of our price range, quirky and a building I almost bought in, sunshine, and a potential cross breeze
Here’s the list I drafted with the BF
sunshine: my dark loft is just too dark. Sunshine makes me happy
train station proximity: we both prefer trains to buses, and my work is on a train line
2 bed or 1 bed + study: the premise for moving from my place to our place is to gain some space (or a location I can escape the snoring!)
crazy: the bf’s way of saying x-factor or character. Something that makes the place better than ordinary
car space: the bf’s car is lovely, and street side parking has already resulted in some damage
grocery adjacent: given how good I’ve got it now, I know I’m unlikely to enjoy such an easy walk to all the shops!
secure: my current neighbourhood isn’t known for it’s safety! The bf wants to be sure we feel safe
storage: I’m used to a full height pantry AND a linen closet, and then a storage niche. I’d like to be sure I can relocate all these items easily into a new place
big kitchen: we currently trip over one another when cooking in his U shaped kitchen, so it’d be great to have something more open
cross breeze: the bf’s rental had a great summer cross breeze, that beats any fan. I don’t like the chances of finding the same again, but it’s something to be mindful of. And I would love a bathroom with a window, but realise they are uncommon in inner city apartments
air conditioning: I think that snuck onto the list when I wasn’t looking. Tut tut. And we’d talked about double fans (when we combine ‘stuff’)
easy to move in/out: yeah, no body loves moving, but this isn’t our ‘forever’ home. If it’s easy to move into, it’s easy to bring groceries home…
The bold options are the non negotiables and a starting point. The rest will act as a guide. But, guiding as they may be, places go FAST in Sydney, so we might need to up our ante. I started looking on Monday morning, and when I called Tuesday morning, the place had two offers and they wouldn’t consider more applications, or show it again. Talk about fast! They didn’t even list an inspection time online (which is usual). Anyhow, I did ring her, offer to drink with her (it was in context) and otherwise befriend her – cause there’s no harm in building rapport!
This was going to be the end of the post, but then we looked at two properties (one is pictured above). Both are in warehouse conversions, but in neighbouring suburbs. Both happened to be on the building’s top floor (3rd or 4th story, not super high) For my thought process, I’ll share these with you:
Daytime property viewing
Positives
lots of light, especially downstairs
good kitchen storage & gas cooktop!
a linen closet!
a block to the train (and opposite my close friend’s house)
2 bathrooms
both bathrooms have windows (light + ventilation)
exposed wooden beams upstairs in the bedrooms and bathroom
beautiful wooden stairs and entry
vacant – could move in anytime
air conditioner in the bedroom
cross breeze possible downstairs
within our discussed budget
Negative
midget sized wardrobes – due to
sloping rooflines
small bedrooms
a bit of a walk to grocery store
no window coverings
no power, so couldn’t check light fittings (known to be bad in this building)
Evening property viewing
Positives
HUGE generally
new kitchen with drawers
new bathroom
more wardrobes than I could imagine ever needing
new wooden floors in living areas
warehouse conversion
close walk to a shopping centre
lovely leafy neighbourhood (I’ve always said ‘I want to live here’)
Negatives
just ‘a bit too far’ to the train station
may be dark (we’ll go back for a daytime viewing)
priced a little higher than we budgeted (but not above what we could afford)
small bathroom
no dryer provided (yet)
difficult to access washing machine taps (just a one time bother)
carspace less safe
small bedroom windows
So which way will we go? Or will we abandon both and look at some more? Either way, I’m sure to share photos of my new home in due course! Oh, and pick which one you think I prefer…
