More Flat Searching

I keep agonizing over my flat search, as e-mails today revealed that the landlord for the place across the street is horrifically picky (for a flat I think he's already over-charging for) and that although I was promised a double bed for the room, he doesn't have one! Hopefully we can work this out, but I definitely am getting a bad sense about this landlord. We're going to try and set up an in-person meeting and try to sort these things out, but at least at this point I feel like I have an "out" if I want to back out of this deal. How annoying though, for something that had seemed so positive only the day before, to quickly turn so negative!

So in the evening, I decided to keep my appointment to go see another flat. Down near Baron's Court, it was a house with six (6!) people living in it. It was a real "L'Auberge Espagnol", as I met a girl from Germany, a guy from Italy, and a guy from Spain. And the others were apparently from other countries too.

Compared to the other options I have, I just don't think it would suit, as it was just too many people in a house with not enough space. However, it was nice to see the place, and I have to admit it wasn't bad. Just probably not for me. And I had a fine time talking to the other residents, who I have to admit were a lot friendlier than the folks the last time I'd lived in a large group home like that. Although, it's funny when I keep going on these flat visits, I swear there is this moment where I stand outside the front door and think, "Now turn on the charm!" And it's like I flip a switch, being super-friendly and chatty and witty, until the people I'm talking to are just bowled over by me, laughing hysterically and thinking I'm the best person ever. I don't know, I suppose too many people let nerves get the better of them in these situations, which is why I suppose I take that moment to go in with my best extrovert face on. It's rare that I meet somebody in these situations who doesn't like me...

In the end I came home and chatted about it with my current flatmate, and was intrigued when she had the same response that nearly everyone did about the place I like: It's just too expensive for what it is. So I'm wondering... Do I go with it, and look for somewhere cheaper in the meantime? Or do I stick it out and keep looking? Hopefully I can manage a mixture of both...

I'm seeing so many parallels right now between my romantic life and my flat searching: Finding something great, and wondering if it is the one, and then almost immediately afterwards, finding so many things that make you doubt and question. You still think your first choice is better than anything else you've seen out there, but you see enough else to make you wonder if the compromises you'd be making with the first choice are worth it. Is the first choice as good as you think it is, particularly as more flaws start to become apparent?