What to bring

Our furnish flat (in London, so it may be different in Glasgow) is furnished with only sofas, coffee table, dining table, washing machine, bed (with mattress, but no sheets) and dresser. There's a built-in wardrobe in the bedroom, but not much storage space for anything.

We have our own rug, desk, kitchen rubbish bin, pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, sheets and pillows. Everything is the cheapest Ikea stuff you can get and after a few years in the flat, it's not in the best condition.

We have no microwave or dishwasher (not provided by the landlord and we haven't bought them because we don't have space).

My furnished house in Reading, ages ago, had the world's ugliest sofa, dingy & dated curtains (they insisted were brand-new), a full mattress for two (no bedding), a wardrobe, one end table (no lamps) and a twin bed for my son's room and a broken dresser. There was no dining table or chairs, washer, trash cans, pots/pans and cutlery. It was the only rental for miles that was affordable and my husband had just left the RAF so we had nothing so even this sparsely furnished house was a Godsend. I'm glad houses aren't like that anymore.