Everyone who’s been awake the last couple of years will know all about the economic downturn which has caused our cost of living to reach staggering peaks. With travel costs due to go up by another 10% I’m not surprised that the flat sharing population has soared from 13,690 to 635,950 in just three years.

Currently looking for a flat share in London myself, trying to make sure I don’t end up living with a weirdo is no mean feat. The Easyroommate and Flatshare websites have begun organising Speed Flat Mating events in and around London. This is a great way to meet potential roomies and make new friends.

In the same way as Speed dating you get given a name badge. If you’re looking to rent you display your name, budget and desired area. For those who are trying to rent their rooms out they display their name, rental amount and the nearest overland/tube station. Once everyone’s arrived and you’ve had a few bevies, for Dutch courage, the mingling begins.

Feeling bleary eyed on my long commute home I ended up coming across a feature in the Evening Standard about some commuters living in tents on Lea Valley Leisure Complex to avoid the Monday – Friday slog. They call themselves ‘Camputers’, I call them nuts. I, for one, will be packing up my tent at the end of festival season and it won’t be coming out until V Festival next year. In the mean time I will carry on looking for the flatshare of my dreams and speed sharing until the right one comes along.