Best View In Edinburgh - With Pre-Installed Cat

HEADLINE - COMES WITH PRE-INSTALLED CAT
I have a big, fluffy cat called Theo (or Shithead, depending on the day). He's beautiful so does provide good value - although he also pukes up hairballs on a weekly basis. He no longer goes outside, so there *is* a litter tray in the flat (which I clean), but his hair is persistent af. It's also important to be completely upfront about the fact that he is an Old Man, and *occasionally* leaves marks on soft surfaces, through not being able to reach his bum to clean it was well as he used to: the communal soft surfaces are therefore always protected by rugs/blankets (footstool and sofa). I take care of monitoring and maintenance of same, and smears appear and are washed, about once every 3.5 weeks. Very happy to go into further details, just not wanting to waste people's time (for whom this would be a deal breaker, which I completely understand).

LOCATION
The flat is located on Royal Park Terrace overlooking Holyrood Park, with one of the best views in the city: a literal 5 minute walk to flopping on the grass; a heartening nature boost during the cold winter months and a year round live doggo-watching-from-the-armchair delight. There's a huge Sainsbury’s & LIDL (grocery stores) about 7 minutes walk away, 8 minutes for a really nice pub (Safari Lounge) and *cough* there's also a 24 hour McDonald's just round the corner.

FLAT ITSELF...
....is on the first floor, with lovely neighbours and a big back garden. There is permit parking on the street, as well as bike storage (dependent on availability). The flat is big and light and airy, but there is NO living room (the original living room became a bedroom when I moved in: I pay £40 extra per month for the privilege of the extra space). The kitchen is particularly awesome and fully equipped, including a working woodburning stove, huge oven, small dining table (that can become larger) and fridge/freezer, as well as washing machine and all the pots and pans you can shake a spatula at. There is a big, comfy sofa in the kitchen, lots of cushions and a bench, so it acts as our social/quietly reading a book by the fire with your feet up, area.

*****PLEASE NOTE! The photos of the kitchen are slightly out of date, as the long table is now gone. In it's place is a smaller dining room table, and a large red sofa. Updates will happen as soon as can be managed.******

The bathroom has a good (and 1 year old) shower in terms of pressure, but is situated at an odd angle, due to the rather unique and beautiful Victorian rollmop bath - with Dave the shower curtain; there’s central heating, double glazing, a significantly large box room for storage and a Henry Hoover, actually decent mop, etc.

Your room is at the front, also directly overlooking the park: it was last carpeted in Sept 2018, and painted in June 23, so it’s a tasteful blank canvas. A decent size, with a huge double bed, built-in beautiful blue mosaic desk, a chest of drawers and a small wardrobe. The landlady is a friend of mine, and is very open to paint colours being changed, to pictures being hung, to people making themselves *actually* at home: if you’d like the room to be unfurnished, therefore, it can be. If you'd like to change the colours of the walls, or paint a mural - go for it.

CONS - a cat that pukes, sheds, occasionally leaves smears of poo on protective blankets and has claimed the small bag room as his own; floorboards and doors that have seen better days; a bathroom that desperately needs redoing, tiny kitchen sinks, and thin walls.

PROS - a beautiful cat, amazing location and views, a great fridge (1 year old), new washing machine (1 month old), double glazing installed, a confirmed plan for the bathroom with landlady, hills trees and doggos oh my.

ME
I’m 46, and I'm a Programme Coordinator for an organisation that supports tech start-ups: up until this job my background was in the arts and third sector, and I still have close connections there. I'm a geeky, queer, board game playing, fat, Beltane drummer who likes to wild swim, and sees going to the cinema on my own as a comforting form of self-care. I work (too) hard; stay up slightly too late; am at the top end of the clean-and-tidy scale; practice yoga, meditation and non-violent communication; have very liberal politics, and I laugh very loudly. I like having people around to share whatcha-been-up-to-today-ness with, and will always ask if you want any of the dinner I'm making (if there's enough): but am equally comfortable with giving/receiving a 'I am all peopled out, I just need to just potter about silently, thanks.' I also have rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia (the non-painful kind, thank f***): you wouldn't know it to interact with me on most days, but it can sometimes mean I'm really tired and sore, and it's why the cleaner is a non-negotiable element. She visits once a fortnight for a couple of hours, and daily maintenance chores are split down the middle.

YOU
28(ish) or older, a working professional or student, with basic respect and human decency for the fellow members of your species. Women (self-identifying) preferred, but don’t really mind; as long as you're able to respectfully and kindly communicate about your boundaries, and open to other people communicating theirs. Open to all beliefs and politics, as long as you’re not going to try and convert me/convince me mine are wrong on a regular basis; equally comfortable chatting and interacting, and/or leaving you to your own devices. If you’re remotely into graphic novels, films, spoken word, and understand why a disco ball that’s been converted into a wine glass is a *genius* idea, that wouldn’t hurt.

DEALBREAKER
Cleanliness. If you don't wash dishes so they squeak when they're clean, and are completely free of soap before they go in the dishrack, we will not do well: same goes for kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Yep, I am anal about it, and I'm ok with it - they are weirder things to be anal about: if the ideas of gleaming glassware makes you sigh with relief, please, come join me and the non-food-encrusted plates. Otherwise, god speed.

COST
All in, it’s £754 per month. Breakdown is:
Rent - £510.00
Council Tax - £81.25 (unless you’re a full time student)
Electricity - £50.00 (that's the cost of winter averaged across the year)
Gas - £35.00 (that's the cost of winter...)
TV License - £7
Internet - £14.50
Cleaner - £41.00
Wood (for the wood burning stove during winter) - £15.50 (that's the cost of winter...)
Deposit is one month’s rent.
I'm open to couples, but the rent would be more, and break down differently: I'd need to have a think about the rates, and chat with the landlady.

I’m sticking around in the flat for a good long while, and the landlady has no intention of selling, so this is a lovely long-term home for the right person. Drop me an email with a bit about yourself, to arrange a viewing. Fair warning: if it's clear from your email you haven't actually read the ad (i. e. you *don't* tell me anything about yourself, it's almost certainly going to put you lower down than those who have.)

Current flatmate is happy to talk confidentially about what I'm like to live with, too :)

x
Erin