Plan B: Look for an affordable flat and rent a nearby studio until I am in a better financial situation.
Bearing in mind my resources and my desire to have my own home plan b seems like a good first step. I still dream about a live/work place in the country with a garden … however I have come to realise that the places that I can afford from my savings are either in need of a huge amount of renovation, or are too far from Stockholm. Renovation in itself is not too daunting however having virtually no income it seems rather foolish to buy something that requires significant additional investment that I do not have. And I want to be close enough to the city to pop-in for openings, talks, and to see friends, so living more than one and half hours away seems rather foolish too. Plan b begins with looking at a 1970s flat in Enköping this Sunday.
Enköping is affordable and only a 40 minute (direct) train from central Stockholm. Commuting to the studio is not really an option though as the return fare is about £18.00 a day. I really love my studio and it will be difficult to leave however I cannot afford to live in Stockholm at the moment. Time for radical solutions!
The last few months have been very interesting and quite challenging. The question of where and how I want to live has forced me to deal with realities that I often prefer to pretend do not exist! It is also only in the last week that I have admitted to myself that my priority now (NOW!) is to find my own place to live. At the same time I accept that I do not want to use my savings, nor to work full-time, simply to pay Stockholm rent.
And what do I imagine this better financial situation might be??
- part-time teaching – either art (or English!)
- developing funded ‘projects’
- understanding the stipend and economic artistic opportunities here
- becoming more attractive to commercial galleries
It is four years since I packed up most of my possessions before the re-decorating, and subsequent selling of my flat in London. I am an object-oriented person and it is high time that I have somewhere to unpack and re-acquaint myself with my things. I also want to live by my own time schedules and routines. Achieving this can, I believe, only be good for me.
My things ground me, it is time to get grounded and to get on!
