Julia was overall a good host, however I had a couple of issues with my stay. Mainly, I was drawn to this Airbnb because it had several reviews of people who had longer stays. I stayed with Julia for about 2 months, and I can imagine the room is perfect for a shorter stay, but felt ill equipped for a long stay.
First, the apartment is much farther from the city that expected. My commute every day was about 45 minutes to the main city, which was fine but was not ideal.
Second, the neighborhood was not the safest. Several times, as a young woman, I felt nervous coming back later at night and Julia warned me that the area was unsafe several times through out my stay. This of course was not the hosts fault, but there were several house rules that were focused around this issue that I did not learn until a couple of days into my stay.
As the home is incredible musical, which is lovely, sometimes there would be late practices. Often I was informed, but many nights I was not informed. Even if it was one person playing music you can hear it around most of the house.
My final thoughts have to do with common spaces. My understanding, when booking, was that the entire home would be available for me and my guests to use. However, the home being shared by both Julia and her partner and eventually their family relative, who I was unaware I would be sharing the space with for over half of my stay; made a lot of the common spaces difficult to use or share. Naturally, 4 people sharing one bathroom can be quite tricky.
My stay was completely worth it and I understand London is a difficult city to find somewhere affordable. But I thought I should share my thoughts for long term visitors.