$420/week•30 year old female
Hello, I moved to Sydney late Nov from the US (Washington DC) for a fixed-term faculty post at UNSW. My e-mail is th3tsubie at gmail dot com. I spent my 20s doing space science research at NASA (my last position), which got me into interdisciplinary space science. I got my PhD few months ago from that research (i.e. I finally have that doctorate in astrophysics :D). I am not originally from the US but I have spent almost 20 years of my life between US, Japan and a few other countries up there. I spent primitive years of my childhood in Japan and moved to the US when I was in my late teens, becoming the first person in my family (multi generations included) to study abroad and also the first person to get a PhD. While my love for America and my people there run deep, my field requires us to travel during the early stages of our career for 1-3 year long postdoc jobs. So took a leap of faith and came here! I presently live in a 2 BR 2 BA in Waterloo, but I am looking to move to another apartment or a house.
Due to growing up in Japan, I love anime and speak fluent Japanese. Amongst hobbies, I sing so I enjoy karaoke, going to movies, discovering good restaurants, going to the harbor, and while I am not particularly fit atm, I care about getting my daily step count some way or other. I also love board games and ran my department's board game group as a PhD student. I am an avid fan of the US version of the Bachelor(ette)--I find it more empowering than "trashy"--so I can talk about that nonstop if given the opportunity. (Fun fact, the last Aussie Bachelor was a former colleague of mine actually...) I also like dogs (I had a malti poo in my place in the US - belonged to housemate). I also love binge streaming US TV shows but I have taken up some Aussie shows as well now. I enjoy informed conversations about climate change, foreign politics, art and culture, etc., how to help attract more people to move to NT (I am a bit of a strategist and a problem solver), and I also enjoy theater (I used to perform myself) and music. While I am only an outdoor person in cold weather, I am quite the adrenaline junkie anytime of the year (I love amusement park thrill rides, haunted hauses, etc.)
I am also not a party animal, I prefer doing the whole "came back from hard day of work let's socialize a little and share how your/my day was" thing when I am home early, but I also generally keep to myself (even though I am quite talkative when conversing--should be obvious from length of this post lol). Having grown up as an only child in a foreign country where I was home alone most of the time (since age of 7) due to parents being out busy, I'm definitely not a needy person. But I have always cared about my flat/housemates and I will look forward to hearing about your day whenever you want to chat. I have gotten along with every respectful housemate I have had in my lifetime (I have had over 20 house/flat mates in the past 8 years due to the place I lived for over 5 years having a lot of short term dwellers).
As for my lifestyle, the nature of my job--as I am finding out slowly--requires me to work overnight or till late at night often due to telescope operations (approx 7-10 nights a month), so I need to live with someone who is okay with flatmates who leave later in the day and also come home late. As I am out late due to work reasons, I won't be coming home late drunk with strangers or playing video games loudly---my previous housemates in the US had different hours from me---we all came back and slept at different times, so I have years of experience being respectful with that :). I typically do my chores before I leave the house on the late days, so I am not a slob either. As you could imagine, I am not a very scheduled person per se due to changing work hours, and I am quite easy-going; I go with the flow as long as my flatmates are also easy-going. I like to treat everyday as a "I wonder how today will go". I am quite busy but everyday is different for me. I don't always plan my days in advance, I don't have a set bedtime either.
I am looking for to share a home with a person or people who love to maintain a peaceful home, but good conversations, and also is willing to split AC utilities with me. I would like to live with flatmate(s) who are not dismissive of my needs (e.g. I can't have windows open during extreme air pollution in vicinity) or my right to individual day to day freedom; I will return the favor. I am not fussy over lifestyle matches as I believe in mutual freedom as long as mutual safety is maintained. I am very empathetic (e.g. my officemate until May has serious cat allergies so even though I love cats I had to cross off homes with cats for now) and I encourage people coming to me about their daily struggles and try to find solutions to help them if they ask.
I would like to live with people low-key in terms of lifestyle but clean and respectful otherwise--I personally put dishes away every night/morning and maintain a clean home. I also turn off all lights, fans, etc. when I am not home, do not own a car, but understand that I have found myself using the AC approx 3-8 hours a night at the end of those more humid warmer days (but no usage on cool days) as I am uncomfortable if temperatures exceed 22 degrees and it is also humid. So I am looking for a place with air conditioning available now (please see notes below, I have allergies -- specifically to cockroach and dust and air related - and need humidity and temperature control together) and I am looking to live close to UNSW campus.
I am willing to pay up to $420 per week only if that amount include utilities. However, for the right living situation I can move this limit a little. Note that I do not cook and do not use much hot water, so gas bill contribution from me will be extremely low. I am also very prompt with payment of rent - I have them auto scheduled to be taken out of my bank on days rent is due. My appointment at UNSW will last at least 2 more years so if all works out between us, I will be happy to live at your place for the full duration. On the other hand, while I indicate I am looking for a place for at least 12 months, I am okay just starting up with a 6 month deal.
My moving date is a bit flexible. I cannot move before the 20th of February, but I should be able to move any date between 21st and 27th.
Here is a list of my specific requirements
Looking for
- An airy bedroom but NOT a sunny room, so avoiding rooms with direct west-facing windows (to minimize AC use, also cause I need to sleep during the day on telescope observing nights).
- To share a house or flat with small number of housemates any color/nationality welcome, I am used to living with people of all colors as we believe in integrated living in America :)
- I must be able to check mail independently.
- A fully functional fridge with all shelves intact/unbroken, working microwave and washer (sorry if this is a strange thing to mention..my current place there are some issues with the appliances)
- Used to having my own bathroom but can share if flatmates maintain clean bathroom (I leave for work past rush hours so bathroom morning time sharing would not be difficult to achieve.)
- House/home must be located within 30 minute commute distance (including walking) from UNSW campus via public transport, as I go to work and come back at strange hours all the time.
- Air conditioned bedroom...
So, I have landed in the hospital before from trying to sleep in no AC while living in hot and humid places and getting asthma attacks from high concentration of allergens in humid atmosphere. I ideally need my room to be at 22C or below and humidity to be manageable henc AC is important. I need to be in a home friendly to people with mild asthma (i.e. low level of dust, I have allergy induced asthma)...due to my allergies I need to keep humidity low indoors, which requires use of AC from time to time (especially on rainy days). Thus I am not interested in properties without AC, even if the room does not get sun (won't really help keep humidity low sorry). I am not home often and try to limit AC use to sleeping hours during warm days anyway as electricity is cheapest that time. Thus even though I am talking about AC a lot here, don't worry, I am mindful of bills!
- No big cockroaches - the Australian roach or the American roach being the breeds I am referring (besides dust, the big cockroaches are the only other thing I am actually clinically allergic to)
- At least partially furnished (minimum bed in bedroom and built ins and/or chest)
- Big bedroom with big closet
- STORAGE...So....I am expecting 3 cubic meters of shipment to arrive from US in late February, which includes a lightweight armchair, two lightweight tables, small foldable shelves and a few small (size table sized ottomans), five suitcases and a bunch of cartons (the stuff in cartons will go into my wardrobe and so they'll "disappear" from sight). Sorry, you must think I am crazy bringing all this stuff from the US. But I don't have a permanent home there and it was hard enough downsizing from my 200 sq meters house in the US, and I think being able to go from 200 sq meter to almost 4 sq meter total worth of content is pretty impressive in itself?
Would love but not required:
- Ensuite
- Laundry dryer
Available 24 February 2020