Ten People In A Three Bedroom London flat

I grew up having my own room in a house with a front and back yard. In London I found this is not always possible.

I was extremely new to flat/house hunting when I arrived in London. I had the belief that finding somewhere to live was as simple as making your choice from an advertisement, contacting the advertiser and advising the current tenants that you wanted the available room and then, move in. But this is far from the case.

Decent accommodation in London is extremely difficult to find and it is expensive. When you do find something you like you must be prepared for an interview by the occupants to make sure you are compatible with them because you will be competing with around a dozen other interested people.

As I soon found out, living in London can sometimes mean surviving in London and so for a time, I did what many other Australians do and share a room in a flat.

Having always had my own room I was a little hesitant about sharing a room. Having seen some of the accommodation available to me such as a bedsit which is basically just a room (some not big enough to swing a cat in) with a bed, wardrobe, sink, fridge and cooking facilities. I decided to move into a flat share situation because the price was right and I was looking forward to making some new friends.

My new abode was a spacious, modem flat within a five storey Victorian terrace. We had the two top-floors with a balcony offering great views over West London.

It had three bedrooms and six of us were permanent, but we always had visitors or dossers staying so there were at least 10 of us at any one time. People came and went as we each had our own travel plans.

I shared my room with a few different girls during my time in the flat. On my very first night there I didn't know what to do when my room mate changed in front of me. Eventually it didn't matter, we just walked around in our underwear uninhibited.

Initially I thought I wouldn't have the right personality to live with so many other people but I shouldn't have worried. In fact, I think it made me a more outgoing and relaxed person.

The biggest plus for this type of living is that it is cheap. But I also found that when I came home from a hard day's work there was always someone there who'd ask 'how was your day', and if I was feeling down the others would soon have me feeling up again.

I guess I was lucky that I found a friendly household that shared the cooking, bills and chores equally without too many squabbles. At times we socialised together, so I expanded my group of friends by meeting their friends and introducing them to mine.

Unfortunately, there are some problems when living with so many people. I have heard some ugly stories from friends in flat share situations where there have been serious personality clashes. Also, if you really like a lot of time to yourself you probably wont get it as your own private area is just your bed. I've also known some flats to become a little incestuous. There are also some instances where people will skip without paying their bills and you're left to pay them.

Ah, ten people in a three bedroom flat, as one of my Irish flat mates once said 'it was good crack (fun)' and I'm glad I experienced it for the great friends I made while on my working holiday in London.

Sharyn McCullum spent four years living, working and playing in London. She is the author of LiveWork&Play in London & the UK.

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