London | Speed ​​dating to find the perfect flatmate

(London) “I’m a computer engineer.” Leaning on a high table, a cocktail in her hand, Josephine Wright answers enthusiastically to her interlocutor in a bar in West London. The goal of the meeting, however, is very serious: to find the ideal flatmate.

Not a single man in sight: this event brings together around sixty participants who paid 7.50 pounds ($13.20) in the hope of solving the headache that is often the search for accommodation in the British capital.

In groups or one-on-one, each person takes part in the question-and-answer game. No frills or time wasters, we discuss favorite neighborhoods, professions, origins, and hobbies. You have to be efficient, talk to as many people as possible in two hours.

Despite the time pressure, the atmosphere is relaxed, and laughter erupts as the mixers bustle around the bar.

Josephine Wright, 25, lists her three priority neighbourhoods, “Greenwich, Walthamstow and Lewisham”, to another participant near a sign reading “East”, for east London, where she wants to live.

Both wear a blue bracelet: they are looking for roommates, rather than a place to live. Fewer are those who wear a purple bracelet indicating that they already rent a place and are looking to share it.

Young workers

“It’s very specific to London to have people in their thirties and forties sharing flats. It’s a situation that people have found themselves in by force of circumstance,” Rachel Moore, 26, co-founder of Girlies Guide, told AFP.

This community of young women on social networks is at the origin of this event, while some are more comfortable in female “flatmates”.

Many of the participants cannot afford to rent a flat in London on their own, even with seemingly comfortable budgets of £1,500 a month ($2,640).

“If you want a whole apartment, it’s roughly between 1,500 and 1,800, or even 2,000 pounds a month,” or between $2,640 and $3,520, says Ioanna, a 22-year-old Greek intern.

In shared accommodation, you can find rooms for under 1000 pounds ($1760).

Result: this lifestyle, once associated with students, has won over young workers, many more of whom are using it than 15 years ago, notes Antonio Mele, professor at the London School of Economics.

“This phenomenon is new,” explains this expert, blaming the lack of housing which is causing rents to soar.

The crisis is due in particular to strict standards applying to the construction of new buildings, which the new Labour government wants to relax, as well as the development of tourist rentals.

” Compromise ”

On average, households already spend almost 40% of their income on rent, according to Antonio Mele, who expects further increases in the coming years.

Sharing the costs becomes the only solution. Hence a rush towards shared accommodation that can turn into a nightmare.

“You send a lot of messages and you don’t get a lot of responses,” says Megan Brewer, 35.

Taking advantage of the craze, some owners do not hesitate to transform living rooms into bedrooms or to divide bedrooms into several rooms.

“What is presented as a room would be considered a storage room in any other European country,” says Antonio Mele. “We end up with rooms without windows, where only the bed can fit, and offered for crazy sums of money.”

Rachel Moore and Mia Gomes, the founders of Girlies Guide, went through this before launching their “speed dating” for roommates.

“When we visited properties, the owners told us that they had 30 other groups on the same day, even though the ad had only been up for a day or two,” Mia says. “We find ourselves trapped in bidding wars.”

But for many, living in London, with its job opportunities and excitement, is well worth the sacrifices.

“I’m going to have to cut back on my savings, but I think it’s a good compromise,” Josephine concedes. “I’m in my twenties, I want to live my best life.”