Lying in bed, I buried my head in my pillow in a bid to block out the moans coming from my flatmate and her latest conquest in the bedroom next door. It was past midnight and I was desperate to get to sleep before my first day in a new job in product development. But what I’ve learned since moving into a houseshare last year is that peace and quiet is elusive.
Just a year earlier, I’d lived in a three-bed bungalow that my husband owned. We’d been there for a decade and had a huge garden and a cat, Boo, who we both adored.
But the passion in our marriage had died, so in November 2018, I ended things. After I told him it was over, he went quiet, needing time to digest it.
I spent the next two months living between our house and staying with friends. It was sad, but I was relieved. While I had some savings, I was in between jobs, so I could only afford £500 a month to spend on rent in a new place.
Slim pickings
But when I began looking at one-bedroom flats in Exeter in December 2018, they were all over £650 per month plus bills – and seriously grim.
When the estate agent opened the door to one, even she didn’t want to go inside as it reeked of mould and rubbish. Reluctantly, I realised I’d have to take the plunge and opt for a houseshare instead.
It felt like a huge step backwards, as I hadn’t lived with strangers for 15 years. Back then, I’d got so fed up with sharing my space, and the thought of going back to that filled me with panic.
This story is from the June 01, 2020 edition of WOMAN'S OWN.
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This story is from the June 01, 2020 edition of WOMAN'S OWN.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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