For these small/big reasons, nowhere really felt much like home. As I left for another area, or city in the end, I didn't exactly feel as if I was leaving somewhere that particularly meant that much to me. The people certainly did, but the places will only be somewhere I'll return for a club I liked, a restaurant I enjoyed or a beautiful beach (for the record, Balmoral beach in Sydney - AMAZING, my favourite beach in the world).
When I moved to London, my first room was out of my price range, hence limiting my ability to enjoy the city. I knew this after realising very quickly that I was living through my monthly wage in two weeks, and when an opportunity came up to housesit for a friend and try to find something where I wouldn't have to starve for a week or two each month, I took it.
My second house was the closest I've ever felt to having a home since leaving home - the girls I lived with have become two of my best friends, visited me in Australia this year when I went back and are coming to Frankfurt in a few weeks too. But while I loved the house, my room was so small that some would comment it looked more like a dorm room, and I would have to create dirty clothes as they wouldn't fit in my drawers - the drawers being the only furniture other than my bed which fitted into the room.
This is house sharing - with the good, ie the company and social interactions, particularly important when you're in a new city, comes the bad - this is not your home and will only ever be a glorified half way house. Since leaving this house in London, one of the girls has booked a one way flight to Australia, and the other will move in with her boyfriend in September. I feel so strange about the fact that I won't know anyone living there soon - and what did feel like home, won't after just a few months of leaving.
So moving to Frankfurt, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that people generally wanted more of a long term roommate, and defined long term as 12 months or more. Many also required you to provide your own furniture - this certainly feels like I'm building a life and home a lot more than the rent-a-room situations in London.
The house I found after a search of two weeks is with a couple, and we have a spacious living room and guest room/dining room. I am paying around 100 quid less per month than I did in London, and this rent includes all bills. In 10 minutes, I am able to walk into the centre of the city, and to most of Frankfurt's main attractions.
As far as furnishing my room was concerned, I am well aware that the cheapest furniture shop in the world by far is always going to be Ikea. So, my flatmates came along with me and the boy to raid the store, and my entire room is filled with all that I could afford from the Swedish giants.
That's not to say I haven't made it personal; this last week has been spent trying to make the space my own. I work from home, and I'm well aware of just how differently you can feel when your room feels like your own. In Sydney, I hardly decorated any of my rooms, and I think that contributed to my general feeling that the city wasn't my home and was only temporary.
And while I don't have the budget to fill my bed with cushions (though I have never really understood why people do that) or buy elaborate drawers for my desk and paintings for the walls as yet, I think I've gotten off to an OK start so far.
Oh, and as an added bonus, we have pets too! Now there's a nice reminder of my farm life back in Melbourne, even if these animals are a little smaller than I'm used to :)
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