Visiting Docklands

Freyja and I went and looked at a couple of apartments yesterday afternoon. As I said, I booked the viewings purely because they were yesterday afternoon at times when I was available. I wasn't seriously considering them as contenders.

I might well have considered the first one as a contender once we looked at it. The location was excellent and the apartment was very cute and well laid out (and very tidy). The layout flowed well. Both Freyja and I liked it and could see me living in it quite happily. The deal breaker was that it is at the top of my budget and it is only 48 mᒾ, plus a large 6 mᒾ balcony. I would need a (small) mortgage to be able to afford it and the mortgage lenders won't consider anything that is less than 50 mᒾ, not including the balcony.

Pity. But then again, it probably won't still be on the market when I am in a position to buy.

I knew the second apartment was tiny. It also had a tiny price. I also knew it was right by Marvell Stadium, only just within Docklands. What I didn't realise was that it was more or less a studio / bedsit apartment, with a partition wall, that didn't go right to the ceiling, separating the sleeping space.  I'm not sure how you would get furniture into the sleeping space. The gap between the kitchen bench and the partition wall was very narrow. The balcony wasn't big enough for my egg chair. There was no natural light in the living space. And there was a completely useless, narrow "hall" next to the second partition wall leading to a window. A living space for the cats, perhaps. On the plus side, it was very quiet in the flat. There were crowds gathering at the stadium for a footie match and you couldn't hear them.

Also,  as Freyja pointed out, it had more of a CBD vibe than a Docklands vibe.

If I happened to be a youthful student it would probably have been perfect. But I am neither youthful nor a student. So - Absolutely No.

On the plus side, as we walked across the Marvell Stadium concourse, we found a stall giving away good sized cones of hot chips with tomato sauce. For free! I have no idea why they were free. I didn't ask.  Just took my cone of chips. I think they were advertising Heinz tomato sauce. The chips were quite nice. Excellent value for money 😁

Freyja and I walked along to The District, where I had parked the car. It was a beautiful afternoon. Perfect for an afternoon of exploring. Then Freyja went away, I collected my car, and then I came home.

I walked just over 10k steps in Docklands alone. It's lovely and flat.