thaumata's Profile

We own a terraced house in northern England, where the walls are very thin. We've never had a problem with noise though until our old man neighbour moved out and in his place came a young couple with a toddler who are renting. They're SO loud - they run the hoover at midnight, play their music loudly enough that my own mother can identify the songs when we're on the phone at my place, etc. So, when I finally broke down and left a note, I made sure to mention that we love music, kids and dogs, too, and that while we completely expect that a certain amount of life noise will always filter through no matter what, we'd appreciate it if they'd keep the time and volume in mind. They've been a little better since but I am still counting the months until their contract is up, hoping they leave when it does.

I guess I should add that if I had a guest room (as I have in the past) that I'd probably have house guests constantly, and I'd be very happy with that. I used to host people three out of four weeks a month when I had space and enjoyed it almost always. And people nearly always reciprocate, which is great when I'm traveling overseas and want to visit them!

I personally struggle a lot with social anxieties, but I still go out of my way to say hello to neighbors, especially new neighbors. It makes a huge difference in the neighborhood - people watch out for one another and are more considerate. I do think, though, that this was harder to accomplish when I was a renter instead of a homeowner.

Great idea! I have been using some old file cabinet drawers to grow vegetables on my allotment. Works great.

SK is such a fantastic blog and it's inspiring to see she's working in a tiny kitchen like me! I had to buy a tiny butcher block cart to gain enough space to roll a pie crust, but it was totally worth it. And she is dead on about how you don't need most of the gadgets you think you need. It's a fantastic list she's made there!

I'm an American in the UK and I have this same style fridge. My solution was to do just like everyone else does here and hire the local milk-man to bring me a bottle of milk every morning. It's genius and I really do feel happy not to be chucking plastic milk cartons away anymore.

Eventually, we got a separate freezer, because I cook frequently and garden a lot, and so sometimes we have leftovers or produce that we're keeping for later in the season. That helped a lot. But really, the biggest help was learning to live and eat like the people around me. Good luck!

I'm a 32 year old woman who has lived all over the US and also Europe. I think the right answer here is that you have to use your ow judgment and do what makes you feel safe. That being said, I've always found it easier to open my door to strangers in europe for one main reason: europens tend to liver closer together, in smaller homes. If I scream in my tiny English house, there are plenty of people to hear me. Living on top of one another can be a blessing. It makes it much easier to meet your neighbors, too, so you DO recognize the voice at the door.

I'm in the UK, where this brand is more common, and almost bought from this line recently. (They did make another that has a bigger freezer, but I think it's been discontinued.)

If you're considering it, be sure to read reviews online. They are almost universally AWFUL, and at best most people feel like they overspent on it. Reports of glass shelves breaking, the icebox being hard to defrost were common, and I saw more than one person who was on their third or fourth fridge door after it had snapped right off!

The other thing to consider is that the doors on them are quite thick, which means you need a bit more room to swing the door open all the way than you would on a conventional fridge.

In all, I'd avoid it for those reasons. As an american in the UK, I've gotten really used to having a tiny fridge, though, and it's really manageable if you are in the habit of eating fresh food and shopping more than once every few weeks. I've been living with an under-the-counter fridge for three years now and it's really not so bad.

I visited the Robie house last summer and it was really great! The tour guide was fantastic and it was a lot more affordable than some FLW house tours you can find. If you're into architecture, this is a fun, not so run-of-the-mill thing to see in a Chicago vacation.

It really bothers me how often I see posts on AT these days that advocate violating your rental agreement. Number one rule of apartment living: Don't sign it if you can't abide by it.