FrunkSpace

[Frunk]

Hi forum,

It seems this particular sub-forum of TWC is rather dead. It also seems wholly appropriate, then, that I create my blog here. The name FrunkSpace is obviously an ingenious combining of "Frunk" and "MySpace", the former being my long-lived user name (across one or two other forums) and the latter being a social media site that I, unfortunately, am old enough to remember.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

FrunkSpace #1

I've been meaning to create a blog here for quite some time. I've made several in the past which I've always failed to maintain, and there's no guarantee that this will be any different.

I have no idea where to start, so I'll start at right now. The past couple of months of my life have been consumed by a search to find a new place to live. This search began when I was asked to leave the house I had been staying at for a year and a bit. Long story short, my landlord, an older lady and the wife of a friend I made through work, was suffering from depression and needed some space. Naturally, I was happy to oblige this, given that I'd been wanting to find a share house with people closer to my own age for quite some time; essentially, since I relocated to Victoria from Queensland nearly 3 years ago.

So after spending a month with an aunt, who was happy to host me even though I practically invited myself to stay, I finally found a place at the start of this month. Not a bad turn around, I think, considering I juggled an almost full-time house hunt - conducted online, and which was a pain in the backside - with two jobs.

I managed to find a share house in a suburb very near to the city, which is great, because it opens up new employment, study and social opportunities. It's also the first time in my 25 years that I haven't lived in the suburbs. I'm not exactly in the city now, but dozens of shops and a tram stop are about 25 steps from my front door. On the downside, I'm a good 45 minutes by car from my current work, but I don't mind driving as long as I wake up early enough to be on time.

The house itself is a typical, old, Melbourne house, I'm guessing from the 60's, complete with psychedelic yellow-green bathroom tiles, among other quirky features. It's been a share house for quite some time, seemingly, judging by the piles (literally, piles) of old, discarded furniture and belongings left around the place, particularly in the back sheds. The backyard is complete with shin-high grass and weeds galore, and is seldom used by my housemates even for the perfectly good clothesline, since they prefer to dry their clothes inside.

The housemates themselves are good. All in the 19-22 age bracket, two of whom work full time (one in hospitality, so he is rarely seen, but seems nice) while the other is, I think, a student who doesn't currently work. The two who I have mostly seen so far are easy to get along with, having driven them to the supermarket when I moved in and having a good chance to chat. I've met a few of their friends who are nice, too.

As alluded to, they're not the greatest with keeping the place tidy. The landlord is apparently quite lax when it comes to anything bar the front lawn, which is meant to be maintained, even though it currently is not. It's a bit hard to find bench and sink space in the kitchen, and while I've tried to get the ball rolling by doing the dishes most nights, this doesn't seem to have caught on. They have said that anything I'd like them to do or clean, to just let them know, and to be fair I haven't had a chance to have that conversation with them yet. If we can just manage to get the place tidy, it will be a really nice place to live.

The only other thing bearing on my mind is security. The house was burgled several months before I moved in and my room, being at the back of the house, is somewhat isolated. I don't currently have a lock on my door but I've been told I'm allowed to get and install one. I trust my housemates not to go in my room in any case, and a burglar is going to get in regardless of a locked door, but it would at least be something to help put my mind at ease.

There is another remedy, though, and it exists by accident more than design. There's no way to get regular, free-to-air TV in the house, or at least not in my (very large) room, even having tried old school rabbit ears (digital ones, not analog ones). Thus, I've decided to pack my TV up and store it at work, along with all my DVDs, PlayStation, and etcetera. Essentially, there won't ever be anything of great value in my room to be stolen. My laptop will continue coming with me to work, and I'll leave it there if I've ever planned a night out, or know I won't have time to use it at home anyway.

Not having a TV to watch is something I've quickly come to view as a positive thing, as well. I only really ever have it on in the background, unless I'm watching a DVD or something, and part of my goal in moving is to become a bit more outgoing. The city is now at my front door, so I can take the opportunity to explore it; to go do volunteer work; to go exercise more.

Another positive about my new arrangement is that I am not signed to a lease. While I have no idea what implications this has for things like insurance (I'm probably just screwed), I'm not locked into anything, which turned me off a few other places I saw prior to this one. I want to go travelling next year. It's something I've been talking about for years and now is definitely the time. I'm not sure where, when, or for how long, yet, but I'm not keen to spend another winter shivering in Melbourne when I could be slightly warmer in Europe, or possibly volunteering in the Pacific, or the Americas. Yep, now is definitely the time to plan that out.

That's all for tonight. Next time, I'll hopefully write down my experiences of actually looking for a share house, which was actually really quite amazing.

For now, feel free to leave a comment, question, or pearl of wisdom in my commentary thread.