There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

Now, the decision: where do I want to live for at least the next few months, and potentially for the full 18 months of my assignment in London? I visited a number of neighborhoods with two friends this weekend, and then spent a good six hours today with a relocation specialist who showed me a few other neighborhoods and flats within each of them.

Now, for background, I'm imposing a somewhat arbitrary limit on what I will spend on housing. It is approximately the midpoint of what my firm's mobility team said I should expect to spend (high end) and what a few other expats who have lived here several years recommended (low end). I would very much prefer to spend less on housing and have more money to travel throughout Europe and explore. However, I will not live in a slum to make that happen.

The biggest decision in my mind is whether or not to do a flatshare. I could no doubt afford to live on my own, and there is something to be said for that independence. Having my own place precludes confrontations with flatmates, late night noise when I want to sleep, issues with guests from out of town spending a few nights crashing there, and other factors. However, to afford my own place, I'm likely going to be in a slightly less central area, with a slightly longer commute. The relocation guy showed me a few places in Bow Quarter, Islington, Camden, and Surrey Quays. Of all the areas we saw, I'd be leaning toward Bow Quarter or Surrey Quays based on commute time, proximity to social life, and other factors. If I decide to live on my own and enter into a lease via an agent, he'll arrange viewings of a number of properties in the area, take care of all lease paperwork, and help to set up utilities in my name before I move into the property. If I follow this path, I'll probably do a day of viewing flats in Bow Quarter and a day in Surrey Quays, select a property, and let him work his magic from there.

For several hundred pounds less per month, I could live in a flatshare. I'd have a less formal lease, one or more flatmates, and potentially live in a slightly more desireable area. It would be a bit more of a challenge for others to crash when visiting from out of the country, as there would be flatmates to take into account. Likewise, I'd have somewhat less privacy, sharing common areas with one or more others -- either in similar situations as me, or as students. It would provide me the opportunity to move to different areas throughout my time in London to experience multiple neighborhoods by living in them, but would also potentially require me to move against my will sometime during my initially agreed-to 18 months, as opposed to having much less of a chance I'd need to move unwillingly from a location I lease on my own.

Yesterday, I viewed a flatshare that's about a 5-minute walk from the Angel tube station. It's in a fun, lively, somewhat crowded part of town, but two streets back from the main street and in a somewhat quiet area. It was newly furnished, and the kitchen was spacious. My flatmate would be the owner -- a 20something real estate insurance broker who had posted the availability of this flat via a running club here in town. However, there was no dining or living area -- just a small table in the kitchen and whatever living area I set up within my bedroom. It'd be a great place to crash for £675 all-inclusive (council tax, utilities, etc.) but far short of a homey feel, a place for dinner parties, or the like.

At the other end of the spectrum, I saw one-bedrooms in Bow Quarter and Surrey Quay today for £230 per week, plus utilities, plus council tax, bringing them to £1200 or so per month all-inclusive. I could somewhat comfortably afford to do this, and the privacy and independence would be nice, but it would mean substantially less money to set aside for travel and other activities while here.

While writing this, I was contacted by another owner looking to sublet a room, via a London Business School bboard posting I'd made via a friend a few days ago. I'm going to try to take a look at it in the next few days, and determine whether or not I want to re-engage the relocation company to seek something on my own.