If you're following the World Cup, you may have noticed that today, and tomorrow, several critical matches are scheduled for the exact same time. That's a bit of a head-scratcher: after all, you only get so many World Cup matches. Why not let us see all of them - and of course benefit from the increased ad revenue?
You're going to need a bit of soccer background here.
The World Cup plays in two stages: a seeded tournament, in which the top two teams (of four) in each group advance, and a sudden death elimination tournament. We're nearing the end of stage 1. Each team in the group plays the other once - this year, the USA plays Slovenia, England, and Algeria. You get three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. At the moment, this group is completely up in the air. Basically, whichever teams win tomorrow will advance, except Algeria, which will need a little outside help. When points are equal (for instance, two teams both have three points), the tie breaker is goals scored.
Right, you're saying. That makes it even dumber that the Slovenia-England happens at the same time as USA-Algeria. I can't watch the other game I care about because the game I care about is on!
Well, there's a reason for it.
In 1983, another group was in a near lock. Algeria had already defeated Chile, and was waiting for West Germany to play Austria. If Germany won and scored more than three goals, Germany and Algeria would advance. If Germany and Austria drew, or if Germany lost, then Austria and Algeria would advance. And the goals-scored tiebreaker system left one weird loophole in the middle. If Germany won and scored precisely one or two goals, both Germany and Austria would advance, leaving Algeria out.
Would you be shocked to find out that the final score was Germany 1, Austria 0?
And this wasn't even subtle: Germany scored 10 minutes in, and the teams just futzed around for another 80 minutes. The Algerians were incensed; German and Austrian fans were incensed (with one fan reportedly burning his own German flag); and the game-watching general public were incensed. FIFA (that's the ruling body for the World Cup) decided to allow the game to stand, but in all subsequent World Cups, the final games have been played simultaneously to avoid this sort of "gentleman's agreement" (which, to my historian's amusement, appears to be nicknamed the "non-aggression pact.")
So tomorrow, if you are watching and grumbling about changing channels to check both scores, look at it this way: At least if Algeria gets eliminated this year, it will have happened honestly.
Showing posts with label daily_life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily_life. Show all posts
23 June 2010
22 May 2010
Scottish scenery
Justin and I usually focus on pictures of us. Partly, that's because we have grandmas reading this blog, and they're more interested in pictures of us than in pictures of scenery that you could find anywhere. It's also because I'm vain. In any case, I realized we had some nice scenic shots we hadn't shared. Photo credit on just about all of these goes to Justin. I'm pretty sure we haven't posted any of these before, but my apologies if it's a repeat.
Sunrise from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, October 2009
Snow on Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, January 2010
View from Mar's Wark, Stirling, December 2009
Mountains, possibly Trossachs, from Stirling, December 2009
Sunset from Stirling Castle, December 2009
Meadows park, Edinburgh, May 2010.
Highlands, September '09
Rainbow over Inverness, September '09
Edinburgh Old Town from Calton Hill, August '09
Sunset on Arthur's Seat, May 2010 (Photo credit - friend Anne Marie)
Hope you enjoyed!
Sunrise from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, October 2009
Snow on Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, January 2010
View from Mar's Wark, Stirling, December 2009
Mountains, possibly Trossachs, from Stirling, December 2009
Sunset from Stirling Castle, December 2009
Meadows park, Edinburgh, May 2010.
Highlands, September '09
Rainbow over Inverness, September '09
Edinburgh Old Town from Calton Hill, August '09
Sunset on Arthur's Seat, May 2010 (Photo credit - friend Anne Marie)
Hope you enjoyed!
26 April 2010
Where will the May flowers come from?
If, back in the broken boiler post, you took "Something we never saw coming" as the thing that breaks next, congratulations! The shower went out Friday. (It's genuinely eerie how everything that's broken thus far has done so on a weekend).
No more April showers for us!
No more April showers for us!
14 April 2010
Boileriffic!
After a marathon 7.5-hour installation, we have a new boiler and heat in all radiators, including the one that was broken when we moved in. We also have a fine layer of dust on all dishes near the sink due to the repairmen drilling the wall to fit the new ventilator, but all in all, I'll make that trade. Especially because, impelled by some inner knowledge I could not articulate, I covered the cranberry scones, thereby saving tomorrow's breakfast.
Now taking bets on what apartment fixture breaks next!
Justin's computer: 2-1
Kitchen table: 3-1
Nana's patience with horrible clomping children upstairs (the Demon Spawn) - 5-1
Something we never saw coming: 6-1
Now taking bets on what apartment fixture breaks next!
Justin's computer: 2-1
Kitchen table: 3-1
Nana's patience with horrible clomping children upstairs (the Demon Spawn) - 5-1
Something we never saw coming: 6-1
31 March 2010
The glamorous expat life
Wednesday 24 March: Nana notifies letting agency that boiler is broken and flat has no heat. Temperature in the low fifties.
Thursday 25 March: Temperatures in upper forties.
Friday 26 March: Contractor comes to visit. Says that boiler is so badly screwed up it should maybe be replaced, and the landlord will have to decide what to do. He orders the necessary repair part and says it will be in in 1-3 days. He does managed to reactivate sink and bathtub hot water, which operates separately from radiators. Nana goes to ask letting agent for decision. Letting agent says the company is authorized to repair without consulting the landlord, and therefore Nana should just wait.
Saturday March 27: Overnight low in thirties. Flat unlivable. Having obtained a key from hero History Department admin, Nana and Justin spend all day working at the University.
Sunday 28 March: Temperature rallies to 43 degrees. Friend lends Justin and Nana space heater. Nana and Justin alternate between heating bedroom and kitchen workspace. Load of laundry is attempted; humidity in kitchen means laundry won't dry.
Monday 29 March: Contractor calls to schedule boiler appointment. Overjoyed, Nana schedules it for Wednesday AM, soonest possible time.
Tuesday 30 March: Temperatures fall below freezing, with severe winds. Power lines, and thus space heater, flicker. Snow overnight.
Wednesday 31 March: Ice in toilet. Repairman arrives but is apparently not here to repair, but rather to get another estimate of cost of replacing boiler. Puzzled and cold, Justin and Nana visit letting agent, who says that the landlord decided he wanted to hear about replacing it. Justin and Nana ask why they could not have been notified of this delay. Letting agent says they are far too busy scheduling repairs to contact tenants about scheduling repairs. Justin and Nana want to ask precisely whose flat is getting repaired, as it is certainly not theirs. Instead, they ask why this estimate could not have been done one week ago, when the man came in the first time. Letting agent passes buck. Letting agent discloses that contractor is supposed to supply temporary space heaters when they can't repair the boiler immediately, and pledges to have heaters delivered today.
Justin and Nana pardonably skeptical.
Thursday 25 March: Temperatures in upper forties.
Friday 26 March: Contractor comes to visit. Says that boiler is so badly screwed up it should maybe be replaced, and the landlord will have to decide what to do. He orders the necessary repair part and says it will be in in 1-3 days. He does managed to reactivate sink and bathtub hot water, which operates separately from radiators. Nana goes to ask letting agent for decision. Letting agent says the company is authorized to repair without consulting the landlord, and therefore Nana should just wait.
Saturday March 27: Overnight low in thirties. Flat unlivable. Having obtained a key from hero History Department admin, Nana and Justin spend all day working at the University.
Sunday 28 March: Temperature rallies to 43 degrees. Friend lends Justin and Nana space heater. Nana and Justin alternate between heating bedroom and kitchen workspace. Load of laundry is attempted; humidity in kitchen means laundry won't dry.
Monday 29 March: Contractor calls to schedule boiler appointment. Overjoyed, Nana schedules it for Wednesday AM, soonest possible time.
Tuesday 30 March: Temperatures fall below freezing, with severe winds. Power lines, and thus space heater, flicker. Snow overnight.
Wednesday 31 March: Ice in toilet. Repairman arrives but is apparently not here to repair, but rather to get another estimate of cost of replacing boiler. Puzzled and cold, Justin and Nana visit letting agent, who says that the landlord decided he wanted to hear about replacing it. Justin and Nana ask why they could not have been notified of this delay. Letting agent says they are far too busy scheduling repairs to contact tenants about scheduling repairs. Justin and Nana want to ask precisely whose flat is getting repaired, as it is certainly not theirs. Instead, they ask why this estimate could not have been done one week ago, when the man came in the first time. Letting agent passes buck. Letting agent discloses that contractor is supposed to supply temporary space heaters when they can't repair the boiler immediately, and pledges to have heaters delivered today.
Justin and Nana pardonably skeptical.
06 March 2010
Navigating Edinburgh
Slate.com has an interesting article up about the difficulties of navigating in London. These difficulties arise from the fact that London isn't really one city--it's a bunch of medieval-era villages that over the centuries grew together into one massive, lumpy blob.
Many of the article's insights apply to Edinburgh, as well, since Scotland's capital is also made up of dozens of discrete (and unplanned, with a few exceptions, such as New Town) old neighborhoods that have grown together over the course of hundreds of years. For example: Londoners rarely refer to "blocks," which is much too regular for the odd shapes created by the city's haphazard road network, but instead navigate by prominent landmarks and major intersections.
In Edinburgh, folks do the same thing, but in many cases take it one step further by giving each little stretch of a major road an entirely new name. Our apartment, for instance, sits between two main routes into Old Town--to the west, there's Causewayside, and to the east, there's Newington Road. That's almost all you'd need to find our place, because about 100 yards to the north, Newington Road becomes South Clerk Street, and about 20 yards to the south, it becomes Minto. It's the same on the other side: if you head north, Causewayside becomes Summerhall becomes Buccleuch becomes Potterow . . . all within about a 10-minute walk.
This system has its advantages, but it also has its headaches, as people will often use the name of any well-known stretch of a route as shorthand for the whole route. You need to hold in your head, for instance, that North Bridge, South Bridge, Nicolson, Clerk, Newington, and Minto are all essentially the same street; by the same token, Canongate, High St, the Lawnmarket, and Castle Hill are all referred to as the Royal Mile.
Things are easier in New Town, which is laid out as a grid, but for the most part we here in Edinburgh are in the same boat as those in London: the kind of have to get lost a bit in order to learn your way around.
Many of the article's insights apply to Edinburgh, as well, since Scotland's capital is also made up of dozens of discrete (and unplanned, with a few exceptions, such as New Town) old neighborhoods that have grown together over the course of hundreds of years. For example: Londoners rarely refer to "blocks," which is much too regular for the odd shapes created by the city's haphazard road network, but instead navigate by prominent landmarks and major intersections.
In Edinburgh, folks do the same thing, but in many cases take it one step further by giving each little stretch of a major road an entirely new name. Our apartment, for instance, sits between two main routes into Old Town--to the west, there's Causewayside, and to the east, there's Newington Road. That's almost all you'd need to find our place, because about 100 yards to the north, Newington Road becomes South Clerk Street, and about 20 yards to the south, it becomes Minto. It's the same on the other side: if you head north, Causewayside becomes Summerhall becomes Buccleuch becomes Potterow . . . all within about a 10-minute walk.
This system has its advantages, but it also has its headaches, as people will often use the name of any well-known stretch of a route as shorthand for the whole route. You need to hold in your head, for instance, that North Bridge, South Bridge, Nicolson, Clerk, Newington, and Minto are all essentially the same street; by the same token, Canongate, High St, the Lawnmarket, and Castle Hill are all referred to as the Royal Mile.
Things are easier in New Town, which is laid out as a grid, but for the most part we here in Edinburgh are in the same boat as those in London: the kind of have to get lost a bit in order to learn your way around.
25 February 2010
The Only Hand Dryer in the History of Everything that Actually Works (and No, Justin's Account Hasn't Been Hijacked by a Spambot)
Apropos of nothing, here in the UK is the first time I've ever in my life used a hand dryer that actually works. This is an especially big problem in Scotland, where your hands are cold and damp all day to begin with, and public restrooms rarely stock paper towels. In such circumstances, the typical asthmatic wheeze of lukewarm air just isn't going to cut it.
Until a few months ago, the Edinburgh University Library stocked hand dryers that were among the worst of the worst. The air-stream covered about the area of a postage stamp and shut off after five seconds, at which point you had to wave your hands around like an idiot trying to get the thing to reactivate. Worse, the thing was mounted directly below the paper-towel dispenser, which means that if a paper towel was left hanging at just the wrong angle, the dryer would start switching itself on and off indefinitely. Total failure.
Then, for reasons known to no mortal man, EUL installed precisely one Dyson Airblade in precisely one men's room (first floor, by the study pods, for those of you keeping score at home)--and I must say, I never thought something so silly as a hand dryer could completely make my day. I actually go out of my way to go to the bathroom on the first floor now. (The sad thing is I'm not kidding. The first floor bathroom is also the site of the library's best water fountain. These are the kinds of things that matter to you when you're a grad student.)
Anyway, the Airblade is totally one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" inventions. I won't try to describe how it works--the picture linked to above is self-explanatory.
My question: Do we have these back in the US? If not, is anyone else concerned at how far our great nation has fallen behind in the hand-dryer-technology arms race?
Until a few months ago, the Edinburgh University Library stocked hand dryers that were among the worst of the worst. The air-stream covered about the area of a postage stamp and shut off after five seconds, at which point you had to wave your hands around like an idiot trying to get the thing to reactivate. Worse, the thing was mounted directly below the paper-towel dispenser, which means that if a paper towel was left hanging at just the wrong angle, the dryer would start switching itself on and off indefinitely. Total failure.
Then, for reasons known to no mortal man, EUL installed precisely one Dyson Airblade in precisely one men's room (first floor, by the study pods, for those of you keeping score at home)--and I must say, I never thought something so silly as a hand dryer could completely make my day. I actually go out of my way to go to the bathroom on the first floor now. (The sad thing is I'm not kidding. The first floor bathroom is also the site of the library's best water fountain. These are the kinds of things that matter to you when you're a grad student.)
Anyway, the Airblade is totally one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" inventions. I won't try to describe how it works--the picture linked to above is self-explanatory.
My question: Do we have these back in the US? If not, is anyone else concerned at how far our great nation has fallen behind in the hand-dryer-technology arms race?
09 February 2010
Line up!
Scotland and Korea: A Cultural Comparison
Koreans do not believe in lines. Lines exist to keep other people out of the way while you cut around them and do whatever it is they're all waiting in line to do. We have a theory that this dates back to the war - anybody who couldn't throw a few elbows wasn't going to survive - and this is somewhat borne out by the fact that the worst line violators in the country are women over the age of 60. Those women will blow you up. I've seen NFL replays less painful than what one of them did to Justin in a supermarket.
By contrast, the Scots love lining up (or "queuing," as it's called here.) It's reputed to be a national pastime. This may explain why Canadians, many of whom are part Scottish, are famous for polite queuing (side note: the Canadian o, as in "aboot," matches the Scots accent, and I strongly suspect "eh?" is a derivation of the Scottish "aye?", which serves the same grammatical function of asking you to confirm the preceding statement). Ryanair, which we took to Malta, has a no-assigned-seats policy that basically requires you to bullrush the aircraft. In Scotland, it works surprisingly well. In Korea, there would be casualties - except, of course, that boarding already works like this, so maybe they're used to it.
This isn't a perfect system, though. Case in point: I was waiting at a bus stop, and everybody got into a nice straight line. Sounds like a great idea, until you realize that five buses use the same stop. When your bus pulls up, nobody ahead of you is getting on it, so you get out of the line, walk around the line, and get on the bus. The line is entirely superfluous. Or lines get ridiculously long because people will tolerate them. British Telecom told us that if we wanted their internet service, there would be a two week wait before a guy could come out and check our apartment for an activated line, plus a 200 pound fee for line activation if necessary, followed by a six week wait for internet service.
In game theory, economists construct little grids showing what benefits you'll get from an action depending on the other person's move (see a particularly adorable example here). If you think of the Chicken Game, for instance, in which two drivers drive at each other and one of them has to swerve: if the other guy swerves, you benefit most by going straight. If the other guy goes straight, you'd better swerve. If you both go straight, you're both dead, and if you both swerve, you're both... well, chickens.
So with the question of queuing. If everybody's cheating, then we're all worse off, because only the meanest, toughest, elbow-throwingest Korean old ladies are going to get served. By contrast, if everybody queues nicely, it's a perfect setup for cheaters. Justin rejects the British Telecom offer and pulls an end-around by calling Virgin Wireless, which sets us up within ten days. When Justin has no boarding pass for the imminently departing Pittsburgh flight, I bypass the queue to ask at the counter for a thirty-second print job and departing one boarding pass richer. (Hypothetical situation, of course).
Ultimate lesson of the day: in the land of Scottish queuers, the Korea-trained line jumper is king.
Koreans do not believe in lines. Lines exist to keep other people out of the way while you cut around them and do whatever it is they're all waiting in line to do. We have a theory that this dates back to the war - anybody who couldn't throw a few elbows wasn't going to survive - and this is somewhat borne out by the fact that the worst line violators in the country are women over the age of 60. Those women will blow you up. I've seen NFL replays less painful than what one of them did to Justin in a supermarket.
By contrast, the Scots love lining up (or "queuing," as it's called here.) It's reputed to be a national pastime. This may explain why Canadians, many of whom are part Scottish, are famous for polite queuing (side note: the Canadian o, as in "aboot," matches the Scots accent, and I strongly suspect "eh?" is a derivation of the Scottish "aye?", which serves the same grammatical function of asking you to confirm the preceding statement). Ryanair, which we took to Malta, has a no-assigned-seats policy that basically requires you to bullrush the aircraft. In Scotland, it works surprisingly well. In Korea, there would be casualties - except, of course, that boarding already works like this, so maybe they're used to it.
This isn't a perfect system, though. Case in point: I was waiting at a bus stop, and everybody got into a nice straight line. Sounds like a great idea, until you realize that five buses use the same stop. When your bus pulls up, nobody ahead of you is getting on it, so you get out of the line, walk around the line, and get on the bus. The line is entirely superfluous. Or lines get ridiculously long because people will tolerate them. British Telecom told us that if we wanted their internet service, there would be a two week wait before a guy could come out and check our apartment for an activated line, plus a 200 pound fee for line activation if necessary, followed by a six week wait for internet service.
In game theory, economists construct little grids showing what benefits you'll get from an action depending on the other person's move (see a particularly adorable example here). If you think of the Chicken Game, for instance, in which two drivers drive at each other and one of them has to swerve: if the other guy swerves, you benefit most by going straight. If the other guy goes straight, you'd better swerve. If you both go straight, you're both dead, and if you both swerve, you're both... well, chickens.
So with the question of queuing. If everybody's cheating, then we're all worse off, because only the meanest, toughest, elbow-throwingest Korean old ladies are going to get served. By contrast, if everybody queues nicely, it's a perfect setup for cheaters. Justin rejects the British Telecom offer and pulls an end-around by calling Virgin Wireless, which sets us up within ten days. When Justin has no boarding pass for the imminently departing Pittsburgh flight, I bypass the queue to ask at the counter for a thirty-second print job and departing one boarding pass richer. (Hypothetical situation, of course).
Ultimate lesson of the day: in the land of Scottish queuers, the Korea-trained line jumper is king.
26 October 2009
Pumpkin Carving (on the RIGHT blog this time!)
(Accidentally posted this on our old Korea blog. Now, everything's in its right place.)
Still not sure what Halloween is going to be like here--they're selling costumes (aka, "fancy dress") and pumpkins, but I haven't heard anything about trick-or-treat, and I haven't been able to find apple cider anywhere!
For our part, Nana and I gathered a motley crew together in the garden behind our apartment for some pumpkin carving today. Several of our guests had never carved a pumpkin before, and I am glad to say that, nonetheless, every one of our guests left with ten fingers and one fully-functioning jack-o-lantern.
Of course, we celebrated our successful carvings chowing down on roasted pumpkin seeds.
Here are some pics.
Still not sure what Halloween is going to be like here--they're selling costumes (aka, "fancy dress") and pumpkins, but I haven't heard anything about trick-or-treat, and I haven't been able to find apple cider anywhere!
For our part, Nana and I gathered a motley crew together in the garden behind our apartment for some pumpkin carving today. Several of our guests had never carved a pumpkin before, and I am glad to say that, nonetheless, every one of our guests left with ten fingers and one fully-functioning jack-o-lantern.
Of course, we celebrated our successful carvings chowing down on roasted pumpkin seeds.
Here are some pics.
Shelley gets to work.
Nana gets stabby.
Eatin' seeds.
13 September 2009
Getting Oriented
Coming to you live from a one-hour gap in International Day, the University of Edinburgh's orientation for international students. The funny thing is that after spending the past two years in Korea, Justin and I feel a bit like ringers. I mean, everybody here speaks our language. We both have partial Scottish ancestry. I'm here as a Canadian, which means I'm even allowed to vote, for crying out loud. I don't really feel like a foreigner.
But of course we are, a fact which we noticed during all the shenanigans of visa application this summer and continue to experience in our exclusion from certain types of work in the UK, most notably the lucrative "self-employed" category which includes private tutoring. Man, we'd be so good at that! But we persevere.
This afternoon we have a lecture on being postgraduates, which unfortunately overlaps with the extremely appealing "British English for Americans." I am totally planning to do a post on this topic later on.
But of course we are, a fact which we noticed during all the shenanigans of visa application this summer and continue to experience in our exclusion from certain types of work in the UK, most notably the lucrative "self-employed" category which includes private tutoring. Man, we'd be so good at that! But we persevere.
This afternoon we have a lecture on being postgraduates, which unfortunately overlaps with the extremely appealing "British English for Americans." I am totally planning to do a post on this topic later on.
10 September 2009
Back from the Highlands; Internet Update
Got back to Edinburgh safe and sound last night. More details on the trip to follow!
And for those many folks who've been trying to reach us by e-mail, many apologies for how long it's taken us to respond. It turns out we won't have our broadband line installed at home until next Friday, so for now the university library is our only means of contact with the outside world . . . !
And for those many folks who've been trying to reach us by e-mail, many apologies for how long it's taken us to respond. It turns out we won't have our broadband line installed at home until next Friday, so for now the university library is our only means of contact with the outside world . . . !
05 September 2009
What a Pretty Evening in Edinburgh Looks Like . . .
. . . if you happen to be out strolling along the edge of Holyrood Park. When the sun's shining, this town is definitely among the more beautiful places I've ever seen.
Here's a view looking towards Arthur's Seat from the trailhead.
Those are the Salisbury Crags on the left there.
Note the convenient rainbow.
The same view now, with the foreground much improved.
Looking across at a western edge of the Salisbury Crags,
with a tiny sliver of the Firth of Forth in the distance.
01 September 2009
A Brief Word on the Climate of Edinburgh
You know you're in for some interesting weather when your guidebook (The Locals' Guide to Edinburgh, £8.99 on Amazon UK, but frequently pops up for less in the secondhand shop) lists a half-dozen local terms for rain. Even in August, Edinburgh is certainly cool compared to our past haunts, though so far it hasn't been nearly as soggy as we'd been led to expect.
The truth is, it has rained every day since we've been here--but only once has it rained for more than an hour total out of the day. Instead, a typical day has included an hour or two of bright sun, an hour or two of mixed clouds, and the rest overcast, punctuated by maybe one or two ten-minute drizzles, three five-minute spits, and one hard fifteen-minute shower, usually staring about five minutes after you've stepped out the door. Today, we've had all of those except the shower, which I'm expecting in about ten minutes, just in time for the walk home from the library.
I make it sound worse than it is--it's simply a matter of never leaving home without a raincoat or an umbrella, and for those couple hours of sunshine a day we've been getting, the sky has been a breathtaking blue. Just consider this a word of warning to any potential visitors: pack accordingly!
The truth is, it has rained every day since we've been here--but only once has it rained for more than an hour total out of the day. Instead, a typical day has included an hour or two of bright sun, an hour or two of mixed clouds, and the rest overcast, punctuated by maybe one or two ten-minute drizzles, three five-minute spits, and one hard fifteen-minute shower, usually staring about five minutes after you've stepped out the door. Today, we've had all of those except the shower, which I'm expecting in about ten minutes, just in time for the walk home from the library.
I make it sound worse than it is--it's simply a matter of never leaving home without a raincoat or an umbrella, and for those couple hours of sunshine a day we've been getting, the sky has been a breathtaking blue. Just consider this a word of warning to any potential visitors: pack accordingly!
Looking out over Bruntsfield Links, at the southwest corner of the Meadows.
Basically the same shot, a hundred yards and a thirty-second drizzle further down.
30 August 2009
Finding a Flat in Edinburgh: The Apartment Hunt
(This is the second post in a two-part series on finding a place to live in Edinburgh. You can find the first post here.)
Finding a place to live is tricky business in any city. When you're moving to a new city, or even a new country for that matter, it only gets trickier. Add in the chaos of the Edinburgh Festival, as we did, and you're in for a pretty wild ride.
This guide, put together with other Edinburgh newcomers in mind, will help you make quick work of your househunting--and save a few pounds in the process.
What You Need:
Before You Arrive:
First, familiarize yourself with Edinburgh's geography and identify a few target neighborhoods. The city centre is very walkable, and Lothian offers excellent, affordable buses, so don't be afraid to cast a wide net. And don't rely on the postcodes--they have almost no connection to the actual neighborhoods. For this step, a map search like that provided by LettingWeb is best.
After you've gotten an idea of where you want to live, and you've booked your B&B, use these three sites to start making a list of flats you'd like to view. Start about two weeks before your departure and you should have at least a few properties still on the market when arrive. Even if you don't, you'll at least have a better sense of the market. You'll also get to know some of the letting agencies that have properties in your area. Write their contact info down and mark their offices on your maps.
Then, on the last couple business days before you leave, try to schedule a few viewings for the day after you arrive. You'll have time to schedule more once you're in town.
Finally, if you don't already have a UK bank account, you may want some local-currency travelers checks. You can order them for a small fee through American Express and pick them up at the airport in Edinburgh. Order at least enough to cover te equivalent of two months' rent on the priciest place on your list and pay with your Visa upon arrival to get the best rate. This will make reserving your flat easier (see below).
Let the Hunt Begin:
If you can, try to book a flight that gets you to your B&B around midday on a Monday. If you've done your homework, you'll have a phone and internet access waiting for you, so you can spend that first afternoon updating your list of flats and scheduling viewings. Don't forget to confirm any viewings you've already booked.
Your goal in scheduling viewings is to see as many flats as soon as possible: not only do flats turn over quickly (three flats on our list were let less than 24 hours before our viewings), you want to get into your new flat before your B&B reservation runs out.
The typical viewing will take about 10-15 minutes, so plan accordingly. A half-hour between appointments is more than enough time to get between properties in the same neighborhood; leave about 45 minutes if you'll need to take a bus.
When you go to a viewing, take a notebook and a digital camera, and don't be shy. Ask everything. Here are a few important questions and, in parentheses, the answers you want to hear:
Note that many letting agents are also residents of the neighborhoods they show, so don't be afraid to ask about local grocers, pharmacies, restaurants, etc.
At the end of each viewing, then, jot down a few notes about the place. What did you like? What didn't you like? Could you live with the place if you had to? If the answer to this last one is "no," dump it. If "yes," no matter how tentative a "yes," don't rule it out. Hopefully, though, at least one of the places will feel like home.
Going In for the Kill
If you find a place you like, don't wait. Go straight to the letting agent's office if you can; if not, schedule an appointment for as early as possible the following morning. At the very least, you want to get in before someone else has a chance to view the place.
To reserve your flat, you'll be asked to put down 25% of the deposit. Most letting agents prefer bank transfers; some accept credit cards, but charge a steep fee (around 3.5%); very few take cash. If you ask, though, many agents will let you cash your travelers' checks at the agent's bank, deposit the money directly into the agent's account, and bring in the receipt.
You'll also be charged a non-refundable application fee (ours was GBP35) once you've been led through the lengthy application process. If you're a foreigner, some letting agents will ask for a guarantor, and use your inability to find one (you've just moved here, for pete's sake!) as an excuse to levy a larger deposit. This is normal, but remember that it's illegal to demand a deposit of more than the equivalent of two months' rent.
A letting agent might also ask you to pay a certain amount of rent up-front, before you move in. Normally, they ask you to pay up through the end of the next calendar month. Sometimes, as a semi-legal means of discouraging undesirables (read: students and foreigners), letting agents will demand enormous amounts up-front. One agent even asked us to pay six months' rent before moving in! If someone asks the same of you, do us all a favor and tell them, politely, where they can stick it.
Keep in mind, though, that most rental contracts will have a fixed term of between 6 and 12 months; you're on the hook for that rent in one way or another, you just don't have to pay it up-front.
Moving In
After you've reserved the place, but before you move in, the letting agent will run a quick background check, which takes 3-5 business days. Don't be shy about asking to speed the process up: every delay costs the landlord money, too.
Before you move in, you'll also need to put down the rest of the deposit and pay your rent through the end of the first calendar month. You can use the same process described above, supplemented by cash if you run out of travelers' checks. Luckily, if your card issuer gives you any trouble, you've got a phone and time on your hands.
After you've paid up, the letting agent will bring you in to sign the lease and get your keys. You'll have a few more bits of paperwork to wrangle--an inventory, a cleaning order, stuff like that--but your letting agent will be able to walk you through.
Otherwise, it's on to the first order of business: finding a good local pub!
A Note on Safety
Throughout this post, I've assumed that you'll be renting a property through a letting agent rather than directly through a private landlord.
For safety and convenience, it's best to avoid private lets.
Letting agents are in the business of renting, and their success depends on building a good reputation with both tenants and landlords, so it's in their best interests to be kind, professional, and fair. There are fine upstanding private landlords out there, but in general the convenience and security offered by letting agents are worth it, especially for foreigners, who have less access to safer forms of payment, like domestic credit cards or bank transfers.
If you do fall in love with a private let, though, be sure you read these articles before paying a penny.
Finding a place to live is tricky business in any city. When you're moving to a new city, or even a new country for that matter, it only gets trickier. Add in the chaos of the Edinburgh Festival, as we did, and you're in for a pretty wild ride.
This guide, put together with other Edinburgh newcomers in mind, will help you make quick work of your househunting--and save a few pounds in the process.
What You Need:
- At least five nights at a local B&B. Not only are most B&Bs budget friendly, you can ply the proprietors for information about your new hometown. The Visit Scotland listings are the place to start. (Note that, if you're arriving in Edinburgh in August, you'll need to book at least six weeks in advance.)
- A mobile phone. If you don't have a UK mobile, you can rent (try Adam Phones) and have it delivered to your B&B.
- Internet access. If your B&B doesn't have wireless, consider springing for a 3G wireless modem (Adam Phones again), or a hotspot service like BTOpenZone.
- A draft list of properties to view. Use the websites reviewed here.
- A map of each target neighborhood. Print one from Google and label every property you'd like to view, with the name of the letting agent, contact info, and monthly rent. Update as necessary.
- A Visa check card. Don't forget to put a travel notice on it. Try to get the lowest foreign-currency transaction fee you can.
Before You Arrive:
First, familiarize yourself with Edinburgh's geography and identify a few target neighborhoods. The city centre is very walkable, and Lothian offers excellent, affordable buses, so don't be afraid to cast a wide net. And don't rely on the postcodes--they have almost no connection to the actual neighborhoods. For this step, a map search like that provided by LettingWeb is best.
After you've gotten an idea of where you want to live, and you've booked your B&B, use these three sites to start making a list of flats you'd like to view. Start about two weeks before your departure and you should have at least a few properties still on the market when arrive. Even if you don't, you'll at least have a better sense of the market. You'll also get to know some of the letting agencies that have properties in your area. Write their contact info down and mark their offices on your maps.
Then, on the last couple business days before you leave, try to schedule a few viewings for the day after you arrive. You'll have time to schedule more once you're in town.
Finally, if you don't already have a UK bank account, you may want some local-currency travelers checks. You can order them for a small fee through American Express and pick them up at the airport in Edinburgh. Order at least enough to cover te equivalent of two months' rent on the priciest place on your list and pay with your Visa upon arrival to get the best rate. This will make reserving your flat easier (see below).
Let the Hunt Begin:
If you can, try to book a flight that gets you to your B&B around midday on a Monday. If you've done your homework, you'll have a phone and internet access waiting for you, so you can spend that first afternoon updating your list of flats and scheduling viewings. Don't forget to confirm any viewings you've already booked.
Your goal in scheduling viewings is to see as many flats as soon as possible: not only do flats turn over quickly (three flats on our list were let less than 24 hours before our viewings), you want to get into your new flat before your B&B reservation runs out.
The typical viewing will take about 10-15 minutes, so plan accordingly. A half-hour between appointments is more than enough time to get between properties in the same neighborhood; leave about 45 minutes if you'll need to take a bus.
When you go to a viewing, take a notebook and a digital camera, and don't be shy. Ask everything. Here are a few important questions and, in parentheses, the answers you want to hear:
- What's the coucil tax band for the property? ("A" is the cheapest, though full-time students are exempt.)
- Double-glazed windows? (Yes.)
- Gas central heating? (Yes.)
- Cable point? (Yes--for TV and for speedy internet.)
- Subletting OK? (Yes, if you hope to make some money from your place during the Fringe.)
Note that many letting agents are also residents of the neighborhoods they show, so don't be afraid to ask about local grocers, pharmacies, restaurants, etc.
At the end of each viewing, then, jot down a few notes about the place. What did you like? What didn't you like? Could you live with the place if you had to? If the answer to this last one is "no," dump it. If "yes," no matter how tentative a "yes," don't rule it out. Hopefully, though, at least one of the places will feel like home.
Going In for the Kill
If you find a place you like, don't wait. Go straight to the letting agent's office if you can; if not, schedule an appointment for as early as possible the following morning. At the very least, you want to get in before someone else has a chance to view the place.
To reserve your flat, you'll be asked to put down 25% of the deposit. Most letting agents prefer bank transfers; some accept credit cards, but charge a steep fee (around 3.5%); very few take cash. If you ask, though, many agents will let you cash your travelers' checks at the agent's bank, deposit the money directly into the agent's account, and bring in the receipt.
You'll also be charged a non-refundable application fee (ours was GBP35) once you've been led through the lengthy application process. If you're a foreigner, some letting agents will ask for a guarantor, and use your inability to find one (you've just moved here, for pete's sake!) as an excuse to levy a larger deposit. This is normal, but remember that it's illegal to demand a deposit of more than the equivalent of two months' rent.
A letting agent might also ask you to pay a certain amount of rent up-front, before you move in. Normally, they ask you to pay up through the end of the next calendar month. Sometimes, as a semi-legal means of discouraging undesirables (read: students and foreigners), letting agents will demand enormous amounts up-front. One agent even asked us to pay six months' rent before moving in! If someone asks the same of you, do us all a favor and tell them, politely, where they can stick it.
Keep in mind, though, that most rental contracts will have a fixed term of between 6 and 12 months; you're on the hook for that rent in one way or another, you just don't have to pay it up-front.
Moving In
After you've reserved the place, but before you move in, the letting agent will run a quick background check, which takes 3-5 business days. Don't be shy about asking to speed the process up: every delay costs the landlord money, too.
Before you move in, you'll also need to put down the rest of the deposit and pay your rent through the end of the first calendar month. You can use the same process described above, supplemented by cash if you run out of travelers' checks. Luckily, if your card issuer gives you any trouble, you've got a phone and time on your hands.
After you've paid up, the letting agent will bring you in to sign the lease and get your keys. You'll have a few more bits of paperwork to wrangle--an inventory, a cleaning order, stuff like that--but your letting agent will be able to walk you through.
Otherwise, it's on to the first order of business: finding a good local pub!
A Note on Safety
Throughout this post, I've assumed that you'll be renting a property through a letting agent rather than directly through a private landlord.
For safety and convenience, it's best to avoid private lets.
Letting agents are in the business of renting, and their success depends on building a good reputation with both tenants and landlords, so it's in their best interests to be kind, professional, and fair. There are fine upstanding private landlords out there, but in general the convenience and security offered by letting agents are worth it, especially for foreigners, who have less access to safer forms of payment, like domestic credit cards or bank transfers.
If you do fall in love with a private let, though, be sure you read these articles before paying a penny.
21 August 2009
Flattened!
As of 11:30 AM Greenwich time, Justin and I are the proud new tenants of our very own one-bedroom flat! It has great daylight, at least as much as any place here will. The building is old, so it has nice architectural detail: window seat, fancy moldings around the windows and the chandelier base, built-in shelves, and wooden floors. It also has some nice new features, like double-glazed windows and gas radiators in every room, including the hallway. We have a bathtub, which I suspect will save my life in February, and the building has a back garden.
We will not have internet after this morning. We can come into the university library and use the computers here, but unfortunately we'll have to hold off on pictures until our own laptops are online. This could be a while. But I'll try not to forget to put up a virtual tour sometime.
Things going well today: signed for the flat, weather is beautiful (so far!), visited and liked the flat as much as we did when we first saw it, flat includes George Foreman grill left by previous tenant, lunch at the ridiculously tasty and inexpensive mosque cafeteria
Things not going so well today: Mysterious e-mail from shipper claiming inadequate customs forms (why is this stuff never simple?), bags still at B&B awaiting shlepping, strange green growth in bottom of new apartment freezer, which was supposed to be cleaned out but was not.
We will not have internet after this morning. We can come into the university library and use the computers here, but unfortunately we'll have to hold off on pictures until our own laptops are online. This could be a while. But I'll try not to forget to put up a virtual tour sometime.
Things going well today: signed for the flat, weather is beautiful (so far!), visited and liked the flat as much as we did when we first saw it, flat includes George Foreman grill left by previous tenant, lunch at the ridiculously tasty and inexpensive mosque cafeteria
Things not going so well today: Mysterious e-mail from shipper claiming inadequate customs forms (why is this stuff never simple?), bags still at B&B awaiting shlepping, strange green growth in bottom of new apartment freezer, which was supposed to be cleaned out but was not.
15 August 2009
Finding a Flat in Edinburgh
Nana and I are halfway through the process of finding an apartment (aka, a flat) in Edinburgh for the year--we've done the web research, but won't be viewing properties until next week--so I thought I'd provide a kind of annotated bibliography of the sources we've used.
LettingWeb: Extensive coverage for Edinburgh and Glasgow; somewhat spottier coverage for the rest of the UK; extremely easy to use.
LettingWeb is to flats what Kayak is to airfares: LettingWeb compiles listings from a bunch of other sources. The site has an incredibly useful Map Search feature, which is great for newcomers who aren't familiar enough with the city to navigate the other listings easily--though Map Search does occasionally duplicate listings, and listing locations are sometimes off by as much as a block.
The disadvantage is that LettingWeb sometimes overlooks pictures posted on other listing sites--especially those operated by individual property management companies--and because it seems to scan only professional listings, it occasionally misses properties being let directly by the owner.
CityLets: Not as extensive as LettingWeb; sometimes has more pictures; more likely to include properties being let directly by the owner.
CityLets is harder to use--no map search--and less comprehensive than LettingWeb, but often has more information on properties listed by LettingWeb. Occasionally, a private-let apartment will show up on CityLets and not on LettingWeb.
Gumtree: Difficult to search; almost exclusively private-let; most listings appear neither on LettingWeb or CityLets.
Gumtree is the UK's preferred alternative to Craigslist. We spent a couple hours scouring the listings here only to find three or four flats we liked, all but one of which had already been let. (Users don't seem to take their posts down after they're obsolete.)
Gumtree, being free, is also a favorite with scammers. Basically, if it looks too good to be true, it is--and even then, you're not safe. I replied to an ad for a flat listed at a cheap, but not ludicrously cheap, monthly rent and was rewarded with a gloriously scammy e-mail from "Mrs. and Rev. Brad Pitt."
For tips on avoiding rental scams, check out this FTC website.
LettingWeb: Extensive coverage for Edinburgh and Glasgow; somewhat spottier coverage for the rest of the UK; extremely easy to use.
LettingWeb is to flats what Kayak is to airfares: LettingWeb compiles listings from a bunch of other sources. The site has an incredibly useful Map Search feature, which is great for newcomers who aren't familiar enough with the city to navigate the other listings easily--though Map Search does occasionally duplicate listings, and listing locations are sometimes off by as much as a block.
The disadvantage is that LettingWeb sometimes overlooks pictures posted on other listing sites--especially those operated by individual property management companies--and because it seems to scan only professional listings, it occasionally misses properties being let directly by the owner.
CityLets: Not as extensive as LettingWeb; sometimes has more pictures; more likely to include properties being let directly by the owner.
CityLets is harder to use--no map search--and less comprehensive than LettingWeb, but often has more information on properties listed by LettingWeb. Occasionally, a private-let apartment will show up on CityLets and not on LettingWeb.
Gumtree: Difficult to search; almost exclusively private-let; most listings appear neither on LettingWeb or CityLets.
Gumtree is the UK's preferred alternative to Craigslist. We spent a couple hours scouring the listings here only to find three or four flats we liked, all but one of which had already been let. (Users don't seem to take their posts down after they're obsolete.)
Gumtree, being free, is also a favorite with scammers. Basically, if it looks too good to be true, it is--and even then, you're not safe. I replied to an ad for a flat listed at a cheap, but not ludicrously cheap, monthly rent and was rewarded with a gloriously scammy e-mail from "Mrs. and Rev. Brad Pitt."
For tips on avoiding rental scams, check out this FTC website.
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