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Renting can be a really stressful venture. Unfortunately, due to the instability of Covid, I have moved places three times in the last eighteen-months.

As I gear up to do it again ready for next year, I am already dreading the experience.

The deadline

Having an end date on a lease or a deadline to be in a new place can be really stressful for me. I have found that my partner and I get rejected from a lot of places that don't want couples and there are very few places out there that fit our criteria.

The criteria

Having set criteria for a place is both a blessing and a curse. It helps me isolate what I want from a rental property but it also drastically reduces the market as I realise there isn’t that much out there. A few key musts are:

• Preferably bills included: Having bills included just makes things a lot easier when moving into a new place
• The location: preferably within half an hour travel time from university
• The price: this just keeps going on up and up but a reasonable price is always desirable
• They accept couples: a lot of rentals don’t want any couples and given I live with my partner, it is a must.

What I like about renting

There isn’t much that I can say I really like about renting. It is an unstable time when you are living in a property that you don’t really have any control over. Not to mention the cost! However, I do try to find some joy in a couple of things. Firstly, the experience of moving to a new area with new neighbours and parks and shops and commuting routes can be quite exciting. Secondly, I like the fresh slate that moving into a new place provides. It offers me a chance to re-organise, restructure and improve upon my interior design. It is a new way to put my mark on a space and make it something I am comfortable in. Oddly, I try to think of it as something that is all a part of the journey. I think renting for a few years now has helped me realise that I would like to own a home one day (not in this economy) but maybe one day... So, until that day comes, renting has certainly taught me a few things.