Nothing fancy, you understand… (Photo by R.Duran)
We’re moving house. Or at least – we’d like to. And not far either.
The area we live is pretty much spot on for us right now. It’s just that all of the little niggly things about the house we’re in at the moment are starting to become larger niggly things, and we’re tired of putting up with stuff. The landlord, while reasonable, is very much of the ‘if it’s not fatal, it’s good enough’ school of home maintenance.
And because we’re renters, we feel we have the option to move on after a couple of years. Move up a notch every now and then. Right now, we’d like where we live to be a bit more… well… perfect. We’ve started the hunt, but it’s early days.
Rather than just go through estate agents, we thought we’d put the call out and see if anyone we know knows of anyone that might have a place to rent that fits the bill.
The wish list
We have a few non-negotiables and some strong preferences that will make us sound really fussy – but we’re in no desperate rush to move so we can just wait until the stars align.
It doesn’t have to be a “house” – a large apartment might do. But I reckon a house is the way forward – and probably a detached or semi-detached one at that…
Here’s the list:
3 double bedrooms – or more. Preferably large ones. We have a teenager (with a drum kit) and a housemate who’s coming with us because he’s part of the family.
Needs to be in South Birmingham. Preferably Hall Green or Shirley. That sort of area. Solihull, perhaps… but we’d look at other areas if the next condition was met.
On or near a main bus route to Solihull. The number 6 would be ideal, but there are others that go out that way. Jake needs to get to school – so Moseley and Kings Heath are out of the question, because even though they’re reasonably close, it’s a 2-3 bus adventure to get to college from there, which is no good at all.
No ugly floral or textured wallpaper or ornate 1970s lighting fixtures. Never again. Plain, neutral, and minimal.
Must have a dishwasher.
Strongly prefer gas hobs, but an electric oven.
A decent and usable kitchen layout. No more sinks in corners – that’s just nonsense. Ideally, it should have a breakfast bar or space for a kitchen table.
Light, airy, open plan kind of thing would be great. Especially if it had high ceilings.
A decent shower. No electric showers. They’re rubbish.
Electricity outlets in all the rooms. Seriously – why would people have rooms with no power sockets?
A back garden – preferably low maintenance, but some grass to sit on in the summertime would be nice.
Gas central heating.
Double glazing throughout.
Walking distance to a train station would be great.
Also, it would be great if it could just be… y’know… nice, and not horrifically expensive.
If you know or hear of anything that comes close, we’d love it if you would get in touch. Thanks.
76 bus – Kings Heath to Solihull every 15 minutes…
I have no idea what an electric shower is and I don’t really want to know. Sounds like a bad combination to me.
@LS – I stand corrected on the 76. Had completely forgotten about that. Was thinking an 11 then a 6, or even a 50 to Moseley, then a 1 to Stratford Road, then a 6.
@Dan That was precisely our reaction when we first moved to this country. Electric showers are nonsense. Built-in heater and pump in a box on the wall. You first flick a switch outside the bathroom (usually well-hidden), then you can turn a knob on the shower box to select heat (1-10 – meaningless numbers on the heat scale), choose a setting for ‘power’ – low, medium or high – and then press the ‘make it go’ button. Regardless of what you just chose, a random selection from stone cold, tepid or boiling water (or an exciting combination of the three) comes out at a dribble. Most showers in the UK work like this. This is what they look like.
I have a strong desire to visit the UK, but the desire is now waning.
in defense of the British shower experience there are two alternatives to the agreeably lack luster and frankly poitnless drizzle that you outline. Th gravity fed which is in many older houses (in fact the one I am in now) which only works if the header tank is way way above you and you are showering in the basement. Then there is the power shower which is a must. Power showers are cool and don’t not come to the UK if you think we don’t have them. I had one in my last house and man exfoliation was a nice way of saying no skin left after 10 mins —