We went to see another property yesterday, in Duxford. It's about a 5 minute drive from the office (compared to the 5 minute walk for the Hinxton one). The property is on a newly built estate, about 3 years old. The neighborhood don't look all that grand, but that might be because it's on an old military base so there's not a whole lot to work with. The house itself looks wonderful. 3-story, 3 bedrooms, one with en-suite, one main bathroom, one toilet on the ground floor. The white goods are included are look nice. There's assloads of rooms and we can have a cat.
The only thing that isn't making me jump for joy is something that might be purely circumstantial, but doesn't make a good impression. Our immediate neighbour's car has the front grill bashed in and there was an empty bottle of beer left on the outdoor light right besides his door.
Like I said, there might be a perfectly good reason, but still… it looks bad. We're moving to get away from annoying neighbours. We don't want to do this again in 6 months… We're going to get in touch with the current tenant and see what her impressions are.
Be careful about old military bases, they are usually extremely polluted, especially the underground.
If the military in the UK have the same way of doing things that the military in Canada, the grounds of their military bases are probably heavily polluted by heavy metal (lead, mercury, depleted uranium) and arsenic and other really bad-ass chemicals.
Here in Canada, when a military base is “abandonnée”, the military never cleans it up, since they don't have to and the population that live near are left with all the troubles (especially underground water).
(http://livejournal.com/users/oraboras)
the base isn't actually abandoned, just no longer neccesarily used for military purposes (its been turned into a museum). as for the heavy metals and stuff, thats not really a concern as building regulations in this country wouldn't allow people to live on heavily polluted land. any development site has to meet building regulations, which is also closely linked to health and safety. so that isn't a problem.
also all water in this country that goes to homes is treated by local water boards and again has to meet strict safety guidelines. getting water for home use in this country from underground sources is exceptionally rare.
most army bases in the UK have specific housing for military personel and their famlies on the base so they have to care for their environment.
(http://livejournal.com/users/petkatyyazzick)
…duxford and hinxton both sound cool, if only because of the unexpected Xs… ;)
(http://livejournal.com/users/raspberrysalmon)
*chuckle* weirdo :) Only you would decide where to live on how cool the town name sounds :D
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
*nods head*
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
oh, i wouldn't decide where to live based on that. but it's a nice bonus.
…although i'm not sure if i'd want to live here. (yup, it's in upper austria)
(http://livejournal.com/users/raspberrysalmon)
:D
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
(and yes, the sign with the kids is quite a common one here. it says, “please – not so fast”, which is usually unambiguous, but in this case adds another dimension to the photo…)
(http://livejournal.com/users/raspberrysalmon)
I must be slipping in my old age, I hadn't even noticed that :)
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
how was the one in Hinxton?
would you be able to walk from the one in Duxford?
(http://livejournal.com/users/la_tatie)
The Hinxton one has lots of potential. It's a bit smaller and older and has weird proportions, but I could litterally fall out of bed and be in the office in 5 minutes.
Duxford is 5 miles away from the office.
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
I vote for that one.
(http://livejournal.com/users/la_tatie)
Hinxton, I mean.
(http://livejournal.com/users/la_tatie)
why?
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
because you can easily walk; you say it has potential; it's cat-friendly; and you didn't have a bad feeling because of the neighbourhood. I think you should trust your instinct.
if you talk to the actual tenant, be careful: maybe she really wants someone to want the apartment so she can leave! I don't want to be paranoid, I don't know the details: it's just a thought.
(http://livejournal.com/users/la_tatie)
the DUxford apartment is also pet-friendly. The current tenant doesn't need to find somebody so she can leave. Leases don't work like that here.
(http://livejournal.com/users/talisker)
its been turned into a museum COOL!!!
You really are lucky to live in a country with such strict rules (to protect peoples), here (in Canadia), the laws protects the interests of those who have money and friends in high places and only give the illusion that the commoners are protected (I'm only a little cynical).
(http://livejournal.com/users/oraboras)
nothing wrong with a little bit of cynicism :)
we have very tight health and safety in this country, simply becasue we're becoming highly americanised and as such we are turning into a nation of people who will trip and sue. i mean why can' people just look where their going??? *ahem*
the paranoia keeps us safe :) besides if we do get ill from the surrounding environment we'll just sue, get lots of money, exploit the free health care we get from our respective jobs, then retire
with the ots of money we got and live a long and unhealthy life for hich we shall sue once again, but this time we will have to pay our own health care, but of course we'll be able to afford it ;)
/ramble
(http://livejournal.com/users/petkatyyazzick)