En Suite Double Room in the East Village

The room

I am in need of someone to replace my flatmate who is moving to Hong Kong at the beginning of May. The flat is in the former Olympic Village (now East Village) with excellent transport links either from Stratford International (<5 minutes' walk, 7 minutes on HS1 to St. Pancras) or Stratford station (10 minutes' walk, 15 minutes to central London). Work on the rest of the development is ongoing, though the blocks in this half are complete and filling-up, so it's slowly becoming something of a community.

The room and flat
------------------
The room has a double bed and plenty of storage in floor-to-ceiling cupboards on one wall. There's enough space that you could fit a modest desk if you wanted to; it's not vast but neither does it feel cramped. It is en suite, probably the largest in London, with a bath to yourself. There are two tiny and one larger chests of drawers (the small ones doubling as bedside tables).

The flat has a well-appointed kitchen with full height fridge-freezer, induction hob, electric fan oven and dishwasher. The kitchen is part of the single main room, beyond it are large dining table and a lounge area. The lounge has large windows and a door opening onto a balcony that’s quite a nice place to be when the weather is good.. There's plenty of storage space in the kitchen, but not a huge amount in the rest of the communal space in the flat.

The lounge area has two comfortable sofas and my television with a pile of things plugged into it. We don't have a television license because we haven't ever watched live TV. The flat has gigabit Internet so you won't find any faster in the U. K.

The area
--------
The flat is in a block with 30 others in the East Village, just North of the Westfield shopping centre. At the near end of the shopping centre (~5 minutes' walk) are Waitrose and John Lewis, which makes life pretty convenient. The immediate area is currently rather devoid of character, comprising a half-built housing development, a train station, and a shopping centre, however it's become significantly more lively since we moved in in early December. Beyond Westfield there is the rest of Stratford, and obviously the transport links to the rest of London are fantastic. North of the East Village is Leyton, which includes (15 minutes' walk) an Asda and a Fitness First gym (£55/month). To the West is the Olympic Park, including the Copper Box gym (£29/month with no contract).

About me
-----------
I'm Matthew, I've just turned 30 and work for a small energy company at King's Cross. I moved to London in December, after a brief but longer-than-hoped for stint in Milton Keynes. Until February last year I was living in Birmingham, where I did a Ph. D. I enjoy reading, cooking for friends, and a nice pint.

About you
---------
I'm after someone that is clean, contentious, and generally a nice person. Beyond that I'm not too fussed, but someone who enjoys cooking and who would be happy to divide food bills would be a real bonus. (My flatmate and I have a meal plan that we're not always great at sticking to, but it does make life easier and cheaper when we're both around.)

I don't want a couple, but if you have a girlfriend/boyfriend they'd be welcome to stay a couple of weekends a month/a couple of nights in the week. My girlfriend usually stays at least one weekend a month.

Money
-----
Rent is £812. 50/month, and other bills are council tax (£60), broadband (£10), heating (£20-25) and electricity (£20). There is parking available and spaces are £20/month for cars and £5/month for motorbikes. There is also secure bicycle parking for free. You must be earning at least £25k and will have to pass a credit check with Get Living London to be approved.

If you’re interested and meet (at least most of) the criteria, drop me a line and tell me a bit about yourself and we can take it from there.