Find out what it’s like to live in a Resi Land property and all the services we provide in our new series showcasing the range and variety of our Resi Residents. This week photographer Nina Caliente* talks about looking for a home to work from in London…
If there’s one thing you develop as a photographer – besides photos! – it’s an extremely high level of attention to detail.
You’re always restless – hunting for the perfect moment, the perfect angle, the perfect light. You’re all too aware that what you leave out of the frame is just as important as what you put in it, and if you’re not working with laser-sharp focus then the choices you’re faced with can become overwhelming.
The same can be true when you’re looking for somewhere to live – especially in London. With so many factors to take into account you can often be left feeling that no decision you make will be the right decision, and that’s particularly daunting when it comes to choosing a home. Once you’ve moved somewhere, the similarities with photography come to an end – you can’t just have another go a few seconds later if you don’t like it.
These were the thoughts running through my head while I was hunting for a base in the Big Smoke. I live in Norwich with my husband, but you can imagine my work brings me down to London a lot. I primarily shoot fashion, and if fashion’s your bag you can bet your boots you’re going to need quick and easy access to London. It’s the style capital of the country, if not the world – a quick stroll down Regent’s Street and through Mayfair should be enough to tell you that.
The commute was doing my head in, though – to the point where we were wondering if we could really have it all; the lucrative London work and the laidback countryside downtime. That’s when my husband Mark suggested I get a place in London – somewhere I can stay when I’m working on bigger projects, and somewhere Mark can stay with me when I’m working on really big projects (I’m looking at you, London Fashion Week!)
That’s when the indecision spiral of where to live began. How could Mark have known his thoughtful suggestion would result in a good few weeks of me endlessly showing him various rental properties, moaning about everything that was wrong with them, and complaining about how much I’d have to do when I finally settled on one. He suffered in silence, but secretly he was Googling away for the answer – and when he found it, he showed me Residential Land.
“They take care of everything,” he said, “I’ve been reading up on them.” And sure enough, they cover the whole shebang – moving you in with minimal fuss, with furniture included. I was still skeptical, but browsing their website I started to see that every single property was calling to me. The one that screamed loudest, though, was Hill Street Apartments in the heart of Mayfair.
Before I knew it I had a London HQ – and you’ve got no idea how big a difference that makes. Now I’m in the capital a few days every week, taking on more jobs than I’ve ever been able to before, clumping them together into a several-day stretch that I can polish off in short order before heading back home to Mark. It’s made everything so much easier, and I don’t have to faff around sorting out somewhere to stay or get jammed into an impersonal hotel when I’m down here for a longer stint.
If, like me, you’re a stickler for detail, Residential Land is the landlord for you. I haven’t had to worry about a single thing – I just waltz in at the end of a long day, and luxuriate in what feels like a picture-perfect set from one of my very own fashion shoots. But this one’s all mine!
*As with all our Resi Residents in this series, Nina Caliente is a fictional character serving to illustrate the range of tenants we have.