I was so looking forward to coming back to London (from Manchester) to attend job interviews, enjoy a new suburb and start settling in!
I had a weeklong Airbnb stay in Hackney Central booked whilst I was subletting in Chiswick. The host is a super host, and there is mention of other people living in the home which was comforting as I was very open to meeting locals and making new friends!
I arrived in Hackney Central on a Sunday afternoon. I realised I needed my ritual hair chop for a confidence boost for the week of job interviews. You may have already heard of this top tip via my featured blog post for The Construction Coach! But I was very last minute and the trusty salons nearby were all booked out. My Airbnb host was away in France but was very quick to reply on Whatsapp (super host!) so I thought to reach out to her. Turns out her Airbnb cohost and best friend was a very experienced and trendy hairdresser who lived only a 5 minute walk away AND she was happy to book me in for a trim that night (I think I manifested this)!
On Monday I had interviews scheduled in with two construction recruiters, Randstad and Carmichael. It was a great opportunity to also explore the area while I was at their offices so I made sure I had lunch and tea locally. I was recommended Porterford Butchers in the city by one of the recruiters. They were super busy and have great lunch deals. I had the slow roasted lamb roll which was divine! I was also recommended UNIT SIX CAFE in Stratford for tea and access to the internet and power points.
Porterford Butchers
Tuesday I had an interview with another construction recruiter called Amida Recruitment.
That night my Airbnb host and the other housemate arrived home from their trip in France. I finally met Bianca (Airbnb host) and Nick (other housemate). It explained why the house was empty! There was supposed to be another housemate but he disappeared with all his things when I arrived.
Oblivious to having company that evening I entertained myself by cooking a favourite meatballs with pasta dish. There was lots leftover so I ended up offering Bianca some dinner (and Nick but he is vegan) and she offered me some French goodies. I guess that’s how our friendship started!
Another detail I didn’t realise was that Bianca was going to stay in the room of the housemate who disappeared whilst I continued my Airbnb stay in her room. However, the room was locked and without the key. Myself and Bianca ended up negotiating her sleeping on the sofa in her/my room that night in return for getting my nails done as I discovered that she is a nail technician. You can check out her work here: https://www.instagram.com/nailsartori/.
The following day I met up with a colleague from University who just arrived in London from Amsterdam with a job lined up in transport engineering (well done you!). We had coffee in the area and ended up doing a one hour walk from Angel along the canal to Camden Market. It was a wonderful walk and I was so pleased with the Bookshop on the water with the talking parrot. I felt like I was in another world in there!
On Thursday morning I managed to book in a Vinyasa Yoga Community class for 5 pounds with Paper Dress Yoga down the road. I am told that the space upstairs also hosts gigs and events and sells vintage clothes downstairs. Such a cool place!
On Friday I had my first job interview with a fit-out company. My ex construction manager referred me to the director whom I reached out to on LinkedIn. The Kiwi who sublet the room to me in Chiswick coincidentally also works at this company (it’s a small world!).
That same morning I also caught up with another colleague from University who currently lives in LA with his partner and who also works in a similar job to me! He was visiting his brother (who was my Engineering Mechanics tutor at university!) in London for the weekend. We did a massive shopping spree at Selfridges which I LOVE and for lunch we had jerk chicken, goat curry and plantains at BOXPARK which I also LOVE.
For the rest of my stay I did some work on my podcast and blog on my laptop, read and journalled at two AMAZING vegan and vegetarian cafes right at my doorstep WAVE and PALAETTE. WAVE does healthy smoothies and juices, has free wifi (no power points) and the space is so gorgeous and has Bali vibes. They also hold yoga sessions on Friday mornings and I was yet to go to one but lockdown cancelled this dream! I go to PALAETTE for the banoffee pie, falafels and tea. They are family owned and run and also have free wifi and power points!
I also highly recommend Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak featured above. I found it in the Airbnb room and Bianca later told me it was gifted to her by a good friend who said ‘If you are to read one book in your life, it should be this one!’. I gave the book 5 stars and wrote a review on Goodreads.
When the end of my stay at the Airbnb came around you guessed it…I scored the room next door that was abandoned by the housemate who disappeared! And so my life in London officially began…two weeks before full Lockdown was announced on the 24th of March.
Look out for my next blog post about life as an official tenant in Hackney Central before Lockdown creeped up! x
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