Moreso if if you’re a student or recent graduate looking for a flatshare in the £125 per week region as opposed to the lofty heights of £170 per week. Falling squarely within this unenviable category, the past week has seen me hopping back and forth between my current place in Kingston and my desired habitat of Euston, Camden-ish, … Swiss Cottage, I suppose. Flexibility is paramount when hunting anywhere central of Zone 3.

With such flexibility I was easily spoilt for choice. There was the flat near King’s Cross where a hose from a tap was called ‘the shower’; the flat in Chalk Farm which stank of refried offal from the kebab shop downstairs; and the room in Euston where all four sides of the double bed touched the walls. That was the much-touted ‘double-room’. No wonder the guy showing me around couldn’t look me in the eye.

On my way to a property in Camden this morning (another flop) I got chatting to a Californian tourist who wished me luck in my search. Which was nice. But what she didn’t know was that I was silently cursing her for her (no doubt) comfy, stink-free hotel accomodation. With a power shower… and room to get out of bed without finding yourself in the corridor.