Being a Dot Dot Dot guardian in Newham

Newham is one of our biggest guardian communities, with over 60 Dot Dot Dot guardians from all walks of life living in and around Custom House and Canning Town. Sam has recently moved into the area in East London and shares his experience so far of what it’s like to be a Dot Dot Dot guardian.

Before becoming a Dot Dot Dot guardian, I was with another property guardian company. It was the cheap rent that drew me in originally, as I was studying at the time. Now I’m a lecturer in Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, but still I don’t want to spend a huge percentage of my paycheck on rent.

I’d been keeping an eye out for a place with Dot Dot Dot for a while, when I spotted an available property that looked perfect for me! I felt like I was getting a better deal – more space, a garden and a more convenient location, as I’m now able to cycle to work.

I wasn’t really phased by moving into a new empty space as I’d done it before. I had most of the things I needed and then everything else I was able to get from Wilko nearby. I’m two months in and my flat is feeling really homely.

I’ve met a few of my neighbours: the woman next door is lovely and has some very friendly cats. We also have a Whatsapp group with all the guardians in the area and we’re organising to meet up soon which will be great!

I’m looking forward to starting my volunteering. I’ve signed up to the Volunteering Society at the university where I work, so my volunteering will vary from week to week. I could be volunteering at city farms, giving talks in schools about university or supporting homelessness – this will give me the opportunity to find out what I like and want to do long term.

We’ll share an update about how Sam is getting on in a few months. He’ll be well into his volunteering by then and it’s always exciting to hear about the impact of volunteering on guardians’ lives.

If you’re interested in living in Newham and becoming a guardian with Dot Dot Dot, check out our properties in Canning Town and Custom House. Apply here if you’d like to become a guardian with us.