QotD: Homes Sweet Homes

How many houses have you lived in? How is where you live now different from where you grew up?

1972-77 The big house in Leeds.  Well, probably not that big in hindsight, but it was a three-bedroom detached house, with a shed and a swing and roses in the garden, where it always seemed to be sunny.  It's also the house where I was born.

1977-90 The slightly smaller house in Sunderland.  I shared a 6 x 6 foot room with my sister (bunk beds), something we often tell her children when they moan about not all having their own rooms. 

September - December 1990  Due to the infinite wisdom of my parents, they arranged for me to stay at the Jewish halls of residence when I went to college.  It was like the horror of being at summer camp with morons having water fights and arranging crazy larks at all hours.  Several tearful calls home later and the application of yet more eyeliner and I was allowed to move out.

January 1991 - August 1992 A shared house in Birmingham with three boys.  The role of third boy had a fairly high turnover, second boy was a complete, ketchup down his pants, mental and the first boy became my boyfriend.  That sounds romantic and dreamy, trust me, it wasn't.

August 1992 - October 1992 A pub in Sowerby Bridge which belonged to said boyfriend's uncle.  It was actually quite good fun and sometimes we'd stay on a friend's narrowboat to get away from it all.

November 1992 - April 1993 (?) The dates are a bit hazy here - I went back to my parents for a bit but also spent some time living at the mental housemate's new house which was round the corner from the old one in Birmingham.  He was letting the other spare room to a couple of my best mates and had to live with the sense that we were all having far more fun than he was.

April 1993 - April 1994 Girlington, Bradford.  Those of you who know Bradford, will know this isn't exactly the nicest place to live...  I moved there with the boy from Birmingham and we promptly broke up (in the house of second house-mate, funnily enough).  Another friend moved in, the roof nearly fell in on his head, then he ditched me to move in with the other two from Birmingham (remember them?  from the spare room) so I moved to:

May 1994 - December 1994 Great Horton, Bradford This was a vast improvement and we had constant hot water, and everything.  Unfortunately I was living with a psycho so it was a bit of relief when the landlord phoned and said he wanted his house back.

January 1995 - October 1995 Bradford I moved over the road from the previous house, with the girl who lived next door.  She was fairly bonkers but we had fun in the main until I got back from holiday and she confessed she'd actually moved out but hadn't wanted to tell me, but not to worry, she'd met some bloke in the launderette and he was going to move in.  I ran away shortly afterwards.

November 1995 - November 1997 Tooting!  I rented a house with a friend of a friend and ooh, it was exciting to be living in London.

November 1997 - April 1998 Highgate, London Due to the flat I wanted to buy falling through, I had to stay with my sister for a while in North London.  Boo.  Not long before I was back in the welcoming arms of the Saaaarf though.

April 1998 - now Tooting Towers and very, very happy I've been there too.

So twelve houses in all.  Is it very different from where I grew up?  Listening to the incomprehensible children shrieking in the street last night, I'd say, no, probably not.