Env Consultant / UAL Post Grad Looking for a Home

Hi! I’m Lauren, and I’m moving to London from Arkansas in the US this September to begin a 15-month MA in Sound Arts at UAL. I’m hoping to find a friendly, welcoming home in Camberwell, Peckham or somewhere nearby with an easy commute to LCC.

A little about me: I’ve been working professionally full time since graduating in 2020 and will continue working remotely part-time with a US-based environmental communications and consulting firm while completing my MA. I’ve been with the company for about five years and work primarily on environmental and water-related projects through research, communications and facilitation. I also have secured postgraduate funding for my living expenses while I’m in London.

My background is in environmental studies and anthropology, and I’m also a cellist and sound artist. A lot of my creative practice is rooted in acoustic ecology. I make field recordings, record underwater with hydrophones, do soundwalks, and explore relationships between listening, water, people and place. My MA is very self-directed, so I’ll be continuing to develop that work while I’m in London.

Outside of work and school, I’m a big outdoors person and love cooking, gardening, live music, museums and galleries, good coffee, exploring new places, and generally being around curious and creative people. I am also bilingual and speak Spanish.

I’m queer and would especially love to find an LGBTQ+ friendly/open-minded household with people around my age who have their own professional, creative and social lives. I’m hoping for somewhere that feels like an actual home rather than simply renting a room . I love sharing meals, chatting in the kitchen, going to the pub or an exhibition together, and getting to know the people I live with. At the same time, I’m independent and really value a peaceful home where everyone can have their own routines and space.

One slightly unusual but important thing about living with me: I have alpha-gal syndrome, a severe allergy to mammalian products. I can react to cooking fumes as well as food itself, particularly from beef and pork, so I need to live somewhere where those meats aren’t cooked in the shared kitchen/home. I eat largely plant-based and would be especially well suited to a vegetarian/vegan or mostly plant-based household. I’m very happy to talk more about what this looks like in practice, it’s something I’m used to navigating and mostly just requires finding compatible housemates!

I’m clean, responsible and considerate of shared spaces and very happy to contribute to a cleaning rota or whatever household system is already in place.

I’ll be arriving in London in September and would love to hear from anyone who thinks I might be a good fit for their home! :)