I have had a little of a love-hate relationship with my current flat, but in the end, it still saddens me a little bit that we will soon be moving away! We didn’t even have time to decorate or to even really have a housewarming – but I’m truly excited about the new flat and you shall get a tour when that big change arrives in our lives!
On that note – I have, in the past, shared many of the things I like in the UK vs what I was used to in Canada – from food to road signs, etc. Well today, in honour of my flat, we continue, with a home edition!
As an expat, you moved away (more often than not) because you wanted to explore a new place a new culture, see if the grass truly is greener elsewhere. While the grass literally is greener in Scotland đ there are always things that you need to get used to as an expat. Things that you had only seen in movies before or perhaps things that you never even thought existed! And obviously – like anything in life – there are good and bad things!
Here are 5 things I like and dislike about my current home in Edinburgh:
LIKE: Fireplace/Mantlepiece
This is obviously not just the UK, but I’ve never lived anywhere with a fireplace or a mantlepiece and I think they look so classic and so imposing! I love that our fireplace actually does produces heat (even though it is electric) and I also love that I can use it as a shelf!
DISLIKE: These death contraptions (i.e. door handles).
If my life was a horror movie, this door handle would be the equivalent of my ‘dropping the keys on the floor when the murderer is coming closer’. I hate them mainly because I still don’t get them. First time I opened this door in our flat, I closed it up and two days later the Brit realised I’d left it unlocked. Trust a Canadian for leaving a door unlocked, obviously! Thankfully – no murderers.
LIKE: Heated towel racks.
How did I never knew about this? How have we not switched to that in Canada? It’s the best thing EVER! You come out of the shower and you’re cold (because: Scotland) and boom your towel is warm and fuzzy! It’s perfect and I can’t live without it now!
DISLIKE: Shower wall thingy.
In all fairness, I think this looks a lot more sleek than a shower curtain – and no chances of a scene a la Psycho (I don’t know why murder is a recurrent theme in this post…). However, in my opinion, it doesn’t keep the warmth of the shower in, so it always feels cold AND water is always splashing everywhere.
LIKE: Plug switches.
We really do waste a lot of energy in North America! When I came back from my exchange in Berlin, where I had seen people switch off and unplug everything at nights, etc. it really changed my views on energy saving. Obviously, however, in Canada that would mean unplugging everything all the time, which gets annoying. But in the UK, they have switches and that makes me happy! I’m now very trigger happy and unplug everything – ask the Brit how annoyed he is every time he tries to make tea and 10 mins later realises the plug was switched off.
What do you like/dislike from your current home?xx
