Just want to moan! Hope that's okay?
We live in a back-to-back terraced house in an old mill town. I think the house is 200 years old. I also secretly think it hasn't been updated for 200 years! I shouldn't really complain, because the rent is very cheap which we hope will help with our budget for the visa, but as soon as I can work we are getting out of here and back to the city!
One problem is the heat. The house is heated by storage heaters that have bricks in them (?) and they heat up during the night when it's cheap and then release slowly througput the day. There is a large one in the living room and 2 small ones in the 2 bedrooms. The living room one is the only one that works, and even then it is still very cold. Upstairs it is like Greenland. You can see your breath while you're laying in bed, and we sleep fully clothed with hats on. We called the landlord to get the electrician out, and he came and fixed it once, but two days later the top ones stopped working again. We called again and they are too busy to come before Christmas, so the landlord asked my husband if he could ask an electrically minded friend to fix them (!) - she said they don't have to be Corgi registered because it's not gas-related.
The hot water comes from a big boiler and you have to heat it up 2 hours before a bath or dishes. There is no shower and I am so sick of baths - my long hair is ruined from rinsing in soapy bath water because after filling the tub halfway there is no more hot water to even fill a pirtcher to rinse!! And how do you wash your hands in a sink with two faucets on opposite sides - one boiling and one freezing? I fill up the sink, get my hands wet, soap them, rinse them, drain and then fill the sink to rinse again. Dishes are another nightmare with a single sink; I usually drain and re-fill the sink three or four times to do a load because the sink fills to overflowing when I rinse the dishes under the tap.
Washing clothes - another nightmare! I have to tie the drain hose from the washer to the faucet in the kitchen sink so that it doesn't fly out and flood the kitchen (which it did once). After washing I try as hard as possible to get all the water out of the hose but inevitably it will only all come out after I accidentally drop it on the floor! And then, I hang about half of the clothes on the rack in front of the one working heater in the living room. That's all that will fit. The rest I drape on chairs and the table and the couch. (lovely) They take about 3 days to dry and then are as stiff as boards!! We have no closets or wardrobes, just one dresser that we got from a friend, so most of our clothes stay folded in our suitcases!
The tv aerial is upstairs in our bedroom, none down here, so must endure Greenland to watch telly. Only working phone jack is downstairs, so if watching telly do not hear the phone. Toilet has just busted (will not flush!) and don't have a clue when landlord will fix that! To top it off we live in the middle of nowhere and DH works long hours. I am stuck in the 1800s up here!
Sorry all - just wanted to have a good ol' moan!!!! I do know it could be a lot worse! I just can't wait till I get my visa and start working - we will be back to Manchester asap and have a nice modern flat with a combi-boiler, electric shower and a tumble dryer!!!
