Quietly back in London

Got back Monday on a redeye from Chicago after a great weekend of golf in good 'ole Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Having been gone for 5 weeks in the States (LA/SF/Vegas/NYC/Chicago), my office has a 4-foot high stack of mail about to tip over. I missed my credit card payment this month (such a waste of 30 quid on the late payment). I have to get my UK taxes done, which are due to my accountant Monday.

I'm still homeless, and looked at another 10 properties this week (on top of ~30-35 before I left in June). Seems the housing market has slowed ever so slightly, which is a positive sign. Saw one place that I will hopefully get locked-up soon. It is the only one in over 40 places I've seen that I actually WANT. A few others "would do", but absolutely zero excitement. The vast majority are just CRAP. The problem is this place is the most expensive I've seen (of course), and it is DOUBLE the price I was paying last year. So, my stomach is turning just thinking about the $$$ that will be flying out of my pocket every day. It's equivalent to renting a room at the Four Seasons nightly....just silly real estate in London. Stupid, but what's the alternative?!? Purchase prices are $2100-2500/sq ft, which is at least 50% higher than NYC. Renting yield is ~3-4%, so I can't see why renting isn't still the best option. The place is unfurnished, so will be looking for a big dining table to host poker (we'll have to raise the stakes though).

Haven't played any poker in over 2 weeks, and it feels good. But, am looking forward to next week, when "the crew" is heading to Empire (Leicester Sq) for some cash games.