[This post was written many years after the event]

I purchased my first home in early 2000, at the age of 24. I knew I wanted to live in Colchester as that’s the town I’d spent most of my life in. The other option (based on proximity to my then location) was Chelmsford, but I didn’t like the town as much. I went to school and college in Colchester, I had friends in Colchester and spent most of my life there.

When I started the hunt for a home, I was looking for a house. However, my budget limited these to very small, terrace homes with no gardens (“yard” for you Americans). Against my wishes, my Estate Agent (realtor) showed me a first floor flat (second floor Condo / apartment). Different to the types of flats I spent my early years in, this was a ‘maisonette’. The difference is that a maisonette has its own entrance and does not share any facilities. Additionally the upper addresses had access to the attic space. The rooms were so much larger than those in the houses I had been shown, and it had its own, albeit modest sized, garden. Better still, it was close to a major grocery store, a large woodland park and was walking distance to the town centre (though also on a bus route).

I made an offer there and then.

I’m disappointed that I don’t have many photos of the home.

I lived here for 11 years until I left England for Winnipeg, Canada, though it was 2012 before I sold it.

This was the first home that I lived in by myself. I’d moved out of the parent’s place a few times but these were to move in with other people. There is nothing quite like the first day of home ownership. You’ve picked up the keys, the paperwork is all complete and you, at least me, giddily run around from room to room, grinning and saying “mine… mine… mine”. The only furniture I had was a mattress (no bedstead – this remained the case for the entire time I owned the flat) and a lounge chair. My Mum bought me an electric hot plate (there was no hob or oven) and some saucepans. As soon as I could I purchased a small TV and rented a refrigerator. I now had somewhere to store milk and beer and could play my playstation.

The ‘flat’ had 2 bedrooms, one was about 3.5m x 3.5m (120 sq. ft) and the second bedroom a little bigger about 3m x 4.5m. The smaller room was the one I used as my bedroom as it was better lit and did not share a wall with the neighbour. The living room was a decent size, approximately 5m x 4m at it’s largest.

The layout was slightly different to the other three… I’m failing to recall the correct term so I’ll say the other three flats in the building, in that the living room and kitchen were made into a mostly open plan area, removing what was once another hallway. It made such a huge difference to the living space I don’t know why no one else did it.

I didn’t do much in the way of renovation or decoration.