I saw our apartment on Street View. It’s no big deal, I know, but unlike the last time I looked I could really see our apartment in view, with us staying there.
Let’s start with the satellite view of the area (do click on the pictures for full size). Our place is on Apsley Road/Banbury Road in Summertown, which lies just to the north of the city of Oxford. It is a very nice and convenient place to live. Oxford city is less than 20 minutes away by bus. The Summertown shops are just a fifteen minutes’ walk away with banks and shops like Boots, Cargo, Co-op, Costa, MBE, M&S and Tesco. Afi is excited about a new bookshop that has just opened, Barefoot Books.
Summertown House is a University of Oxford graduate accommodation. There are three apartment blocks in the complex with one, the unrefurbished East Block, available to families with children. We love it especially during the warmer days in summer to hear children playing on the grounds. Recently, Summertown House has turned into a small Malay kampung. There are now seven units in the East Block alone occupied by Malaysian couples or families, including us.
The building on the left in the third picture above is North Block. The one of the right is East Block. As evident in the picture, the refurbished North Block is a better, more modern-looking building. It is also much nicer to live in. We used to stay in a studio on the first floor. Studios can be identified in the picture by the lack of a balcony. The best thing about living in a refurbished block was central gas heating. Heating and hot water were already included in the rent, so we could turn the heat up and stay comfortable all year long.
Last February, we moved into a two-bedroom apartment just on the other side in East Block. We would rather not move out of the studio, but it was meant for singles in the first place, and as her pregnancy progressed along (Omar was on the way!) Afi grew more and more uncomfortable on the tiny single bed. It is the first apartment from the left on the first floor in the picture. I know that it is our apartment from the white lace living room curtains, our clothes on the airer, and Afi’s University of Surrey sticker on the window.
Apartments in the unrefurbished East Block are cheaper than the refurbished ones in North and West Blocks. However, they are also very poorly insulated and fitted with ancient electric heaters. Since the heaters are electric, the more you use them, the more you have to pay in electricity bill. With ever rising energy prices, that could amount to a lot of money. Thankfully, our apartment is carpeted; some of the others are not. As the temperature drops our main concern is making sure Omar is as comfortable as possible.
Let’s start with the satellite view of the area (do click on the pictures for full size). Our place is on Apsley Road/Banbury Road in Summertown, which lies just to the north of the city of Oxford. It is a very nice and convenient place to live. Oxford city is less than 20 minutes away by bus. The Summertown shops are just a fifteen minutes’ walk away with banks and shops like Boots, Cargo, Co-op, Costa, MBE, M&S and Tesco. Afi is excited about a new bookshop that has just opened, Barefoot Books.
Summertown House is a University of Oxford graduate accommodation. There are three apartment blocks in the complex with one, the unrefurbished East Block, available to families with children. We love it especially during the warmer days in summer to hear children playing on the grounds. Recently, Summertown House has turned into a small Malay kampung. There are now seven units in the East Block alone occupied by Malaysian couples or families, including us.
The building on the left in the third picture above is North Block. The one of the right is East Block. As evident in the picture, the refurbished North Block is a better, more modern-looking building. It is also much nicer to live in. We used to stay in a studio on the first floor. Studios can be identified in the picture by the lack of a balcony. The best thing about living in a refurbished block was central gas heating. Heating and hot water were already included in the rent, so we could turn the heat up and stay comfortable all year long.
Last February, we moved into a two-bedroom apartment just on the other side in East Block. We would rather not move out of the studio, but it was meant for singles in the first place, and as her pregnancy progressed along (Omar was on the way!) Afi grew more and more uncomfortable on the tiny single bed. It is the first apartment from the left on the first floor in the picture. I know that it is our apartment from the white lace living room curtains, our clothes on the airer, and Afi’s University of Surrey sticker on the window.
Apartments in the unrefurbished East Block are cheaper than the refurbished ones in North and West Blocks. However, they are also very poorly insulated and fitted with ancient electric heaters. Since the heaters are electric, the more you use them, the more you have to pay in electricity bill. With ever rising energy prices, that could amount to a lot of money. Thankfully, our apartment is carpeted; some of the others are not. As the temperature drops our main concern is making sure Omar is as comfortable as possible.
