So this is old news but we thought you'd like the pics if you haven't seen 'em already. We bought a flat! A condo! Which is a basically an apartment! Because there are no houses that young people can afford in Van! And ours is the one with the turret! A TURRET!
We've got the following:
- two-bedrooms plus-small-hideaway for Dan's batcave. He's already planning the fingerprint-entry security system and a door that looks like a bookshelf...
- a home at the grungy and slightly downtrodden end of a VERY funky neighbourhood called Commercial Drive which means we're only minutes away from cool bars, restos, shops. Sure, we're at the tail end and close to the bums and hobos, but hey, that's what the Vancouver East End is all about. Think about Clapham or Camden and then remove most of the really horrible pikeys and gotty teens and leave a few drunks. That's the Drive. But the whole neighbourhood is undergoing some gentrification (not always a good thing, but a good thing for our investment), so it's great. Means that we're near some new adventures....currently, Commercial Drive is home to the annual Dyke March and other such "colourful" events. Wahey!
- We're also about five minutes away from a fabulous park and lake, called Trout Lake. Haven't been there yet but sooo relieved to have some lovely greenspace to bike in...and I shall be expecting muy trout, when we do visit.
- We've got FOUR balconies. Okay, so most of them overlook the busy mini-highway and Skytrain tracks right next to us, but one has a proper view of the mountains and the rest will make for good storage and party spaces. Hey, you can't have everything! ;-) And if you're gonna have to deal with traffic noise, better that you're also two minutes away from the Skytrain. My work commute? 15 minutes.
- We only share one wall with neighbours. The rest is the sky, baby!
We take possession on 20 October, which basically means that we found, offered, bought and moved into a flat in just under 6 weeks. There are some benefits to no gazumping in Canada, but the stoopid fast pace means my stress has quadrupled as I try to navigate us through the first-time-buyer's market in a city that wants to charge $400K for parking spots. I've been having some terrific conversations with lawyers, banks, brokers, real estate agents, friends, relatives...but it's looking good (toes crossed) - and beats our current living situation: an igloo made of boxes. How DID we accumulated so much?The plan is we'll wander over there on the 2oth before our stuff gets moved, and try to paint. Dan, of course, has gone all "Home Reno"-retarded which will be helpful for me in the long run (I hate decorating and just want to unpack), but slightly worrisome in the short-term, when I remind him that we have 1) No Money 2) No Furniture 3) No Time. But hey, that's what Ikea's for, and so we've plumped for buying the same bloody bed we had in England. Tres chic!
As a result of said Reno(aggro)vation discussions, we've been having having some pretty technicolour arguments about the aforementioned paint and wallpaper (which of course, Dan wants to have shipped from the UK, and which is likely crafted from young nubuck, threaded with titanium, cured by young Icelandic virgins and which can be hooked up to the ginormous robot/grid he also plans on building for the flat). I never knew I cared about such things, but apparently I do! Especially when it means it will bankrupt you and we're just about to part with a HYOOOJ deposit and fees....
On the plus side of spending money on credit, we've invested in a posh and louche leather sofa today - we figure our only good investment besides the flat should be the thing we plump our butts down on daily. And through some witty bantering and the discovery that the fab, gay furniture sales guy had lived in London for 9 years, I got us a 10% discount to boot. Nice!
Anyway, here are a few photos to get yer started (ignore the horrid furniture, it was a boys' flat before...) and we'll put more up as and when it transforms into our palais-du-fun. Guest room means you're all welcome to stay next year, once we get settled....
Hooha!
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Hello. Dan here.
Checkout the blue-print I made:
The Dancave is the small room top left with the 7.1 surround gaming system.Now that Medal of Honor is pretty much finished, I have been researching "Smart Homes". With a modicum of cash and some crafty computer hacking, I can wire the flat so that it will gently wake us with a simulated sunrise every winter's morning (using natural-light bulbs), turn off all the lights when we leave for work and automatically dim the lights whenever a DVD is played (bringing them back up to half brightness if we pause to take a leak).
Mwuh-hah-hah-haaaaaa!
