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Thursday November 24th, 2011
It’s not always easy recreating Thanksgiving in the UK, but Americans relocating do what they can. It helps that this city is so festive in many other ways in the autumn! So, to fellow American expats living here, those about to make the international relocation from the US, and all the rest of you in my beloved home country. You now have the opportunity to make wonderful new memories in your new apartment or flat. – HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
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Tags: Moving to London office relocation London
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Friday July 29th, 2011
Did you know that moving to London will also give you the power to travel through time? If you’re already an avid traveler across time zones, you surely know, but if your relocation to London will be the furthest you’ve ever flown so far, you’re in for a real treat: jet lag.
It’s not just about being tired from sitting in a cramped seat on a plane and going through the aggravating motions through security and immigration. It’s the time-zone factor that puts the “lag” in jet lag as your body lags behind in time or is forced to jump ahead. Regardless of your mental awareness of daylight and evening hours once arrived at your destination, your body is internally set to a different clock that impacts your sleeping and eating patterns. It’s a disturbance to your physical system that will also affect you mentally (and emotionally if you get cranky as all get-out like me). An hour or two’s difference is inconsequential, but when you start talking five to eight (which is the difference between the UK’s GMT/BST and US time zones from east to west coasts, in case you’re relocating to London from America), you’re in for a world of hurt. It’s when your new time zone becomes the “twilight” zone as your brain dizzies and body tingles and you zone out indeed.
I’m dwelling on this because it’s Day 2 of jet lag recovery for me after returning yesterday from Singapore. Fifteen hours in the sky with a connection in Helsinki meant a lost night’s sleep that only compounds the seven-hour time difference I’m suffering. It’s 5:00pm, but my body feels like it’s midnight. Derr…
It’s common for travelers to London to take an overnight flight so they don’t lose valuable daylight hours in transit, but you do have to bear in mind the diminished quality of sleep you’ll get in that case when you’d otherwise be curled up in bed. For people like me (which is a lot of us, I think), it’s sleeping in short bursts between readjusting your neck from the awkward angles your heavy, bouncing head keeps throwing it into. My advice: If you can sleep well on planes, definitely go for the overnight flight. If you can’t but you take one anyway, then power through the day until it’s night-time at your destination. Don’t whinge about it; just do it and thank me later. Maybe nap for an hour or two, but no more than that!
If you’re flying during the day, do your best not to stay up all night when the evening comes faster in a time zone that’s ahead of your departure location’s. Hopefully the aforementioned travel aggravations will tucker you out enough, but if not, try to occupy yourself with a low-key activity that won’t get your mind or body overly active for restful sleep—lying in bed with a light-read book is always a great way for me to wind down and drift off.
Regardless of your day or night flight preferences, make sure you’re keeping hydrated with plenty of water, and try to resist drinking much alcohol—a little may help you first fall asleep, but a lot is going to make for a restless sleep and deprive your body of fluids it needs to recharge.
Flying between London and home and/or other glorious travel destinations is going to become a regular part of your expat life once you make that international relocation to London. Which means so is jet lag, that little unwanted stowaway in your luggage. It’s the trade-off for the new experiences you’ll have in new locations, as well as feeling like an awesome lord over time when you can wind the clock forward or backward by flying eastward or westward. But that’s just the artificial sense of time that you’ll technically get back as soon as reversing your trip—don’t let jet lag rob you of actual, precious time during those first days on arrival that you’ll never get back!
Tags: Moving to London relocation uk
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Sunday July 10th, 2011
Welcome back, Weekend Warriors—I trust all is going well with your international relocation plans? If not, please do call one of our London Relocation agents if our London relocation services may be of help. But to get on with our weekly British history lesson in case it’s of interest when you make your London move, last week I finished a 3-part series on King Henry VIII. Today, we’ll meet his only son and male heir, Edward VI. As we learned a couple weeks ago, Edward VI is born to Jane Seymour, one of the wives Henry VIII actually seems to care for. Sadly, she does not survive her son’s birth, but she does bring her husband great happiness in finally delivering a male heir to carry on the House of Tudor’s royal line. Edward is only nine years old when he becomes King of England in 1547, and he is rather sickly in body though strong in mind and faith. Prior to his death, Henry VIII had deemed that a council of regency would rule on behalf of his young son, but Edward VI‘s uncle, Edward Seymour (Duke of Somerset), thwarts that when the time actually comes—he instead installs himself as Edward’s protector. Together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the pious young king, Seymour works to secure England as an officially Protestant state, issuing the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 to lay out the new mode of worship, a handbook that is further enforced by an Act of Uniformity.
The peasantry isn’t having it. They revolt against the prayer book and socioeconomic injustices. France also declares war against England at this time. John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, enters stage left to help suppress the rebellion and take down Edward Seymour as Protector; Seymour is arrested and executed. Dudley assumes his role in duty if not title—now the Duke of Northumberland, he effectively rules England and young Edward VI’s finances. He further promotes Protestantism with a 1552 Prayer Book and new Act of Uniformity that is even more strict; church territories are confiscated and religious imagery destroyed as the new orthodoxy is rolled out. Meanwhile, Edward VI is falling ill with tuberculosis. Dudley seizes the moment by getting Edward to agree to a new order of succession that bypasses his sisters Mary (daughter of Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon) and Elizabeth (daughter of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boylen) by declaring them illegitimate. He agrees to giving the throne to the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. After battling illness his entire short life, Edward VI dies in 1553 at just under sixteen years of age.
Tags: london england facts
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Sunday July 3rd, 2011
Henry VIII, King of England – Image via Wikipedia
Author: Colleen
Hello, Weekend Warriors! Time for our third and last installment on Henry VIII. Now that we’ve gotten all those distracting wives out of the way, I want to give a brief nod to this king’s other pursuits.
To start, the younger Henry VIII is actually an attractive man with much charisma. He is highly intelligent and writes books and composes music; before he grows obese in his later years, he is also athletic and fond of hunting, jousting, and tennis. Politically, I’ve previously discussed how he leads a successful campaign against the Scots in 1513 and an unsuccessful one against the French that nonetheless results in peace with them in 1520. We’ve also seen how he creates the Church of England so that he can finally divorce his first wife who couldn’t provide him a male heir, though his religious ideals still remain essentially Catholic—modifications to worship are slight, as opposed to a total theological overhaul. Nonetheless, his action is pivotal to England becoming a Protestant nation. Around this same time in the 1530s, Henry VIII is also responsible for uniting Wales and England.
Henry is a fairly extravagant spender, his two+ week meeting with the King of France in 1520 at the “Field of Cloth of Gold” costing a pretty penny, for one (this is an extravagant occasion of feasts, entertainment, and gift-giving, with tents and costumes made from cloth of gold, which is woven with silk and gold thread). He expands the naval fleet from 5 to 53 ships during his reign. And much money from the dissolution of England’s monasteries goes toward wars and strengthening aristocracy, leaving apparently not enough left over for when he goes after France again in the 1540s and requires forced loans and depreciated currency to finance it, increasing the country’s inflation.
All in all, Henry VIII‘s reign increases government bureaucracy and secures more absolute power for the monarchy. It is also characterized by his preoccupation with succession; having a male successor has been so critical because the Tudor dynasty is still fairly new (Henry VIII is only the second monarch to reign under it), and it’s thought that a queen might not sustain her power, especially if married to a foreign power who could then dominate rule. For all his fuss over obtaining a male heir, however, when Henry dies in 1547, all he leaves behind is one sickly son, Edward, and two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.
Tags: london move
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Wednesday June 29th, 2011
Pret A Manger has been my favourite place to eat since I arrived in London. Pret pre-makes it’s food daily. Lunch items include: sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups. The pre-packaged and pre-made food makes Pret a quick and easy place to eat. The convenience does not jeopardize the food’s taste, everything is made with good-quality, fresh ingredients. The best part is it’s inexpensive. My lunch is never more than 3 pounds. Prets are all over the city, you will have no problem running into one. If your relocating here, this is a great place for take-away or a fast delicious lunch.
Tags: Americans moving to London Pret A Manger
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Tuesday June 28th, 2011
The 425, a classic double-decker bus, took a diverted route this morning. I didn’t share in the irritation of the other commuters. Instead, I optimistically blasted my music, slouched in my upper-deck seat and let my earphone’s melodies dance with the dynamic streets of London. Many have suggested I do an official bus tour, to view all the “must-see” attractions. If you do see a tour, I recommend to bring music. Tune out the mechanical tour-guide and see the city to the backdrop of your favourite song. If you, like me, are not willing to pay the 30 £ to see a tour, check out the bus routes and bounce around from place to place for free.
At Sloane’s St. I bitersweetly hopped off the 425 and proceeded to Saatchi Gallery. The gallery is located on King’s rode in the midst of high-end shops and restaurants. The gallery is known for featuring eccentric, extreme works. The exhibition of 20 international sculptors proved such.
One gallery was simply an illusive room. Dark, black oil covered the floor’s surface. The reflections in the oil made one believe the room was two stories. In the upper galleries I discovered sculptures constructed entirely of shelving units, vinyl, light boxes, acrylic sheet, cable and plug boards. They glowed enticingly against the black backdrop of the gallery.
The size, extremity and detail of the exhibition left me with feelings of awe and appreciation. As I hopped on the 425 to head back to Notting Hill, although eager to resume as a music video, I was melancholic. Sad to leave behind work I could have stared at for hours and hours. The work seemed to tangibly and beautifully exemplify the imagination. I felt as if my dreams had been perfectly and purposely arranged in each gallery.
The current exhibition will be going on until the 16th of October, for more information click here.
Go!
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London Moving to London americans moving to london uk
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Sunday June 26th, 2011
Hey there, hi there, ho there, Weekend Warriors! I hope your planning for your upcoming international relocation to London is going swimmingly and that you’re psyched for another installment of our weekend British history lesson. Last week, I introduced a monarch you might have heard of—Henry VIII, I believe? Today, let’s continue his story.
Last we saw, Catherine of Aragon has failed to give Henry VIII a male heir, so he seeks an annulment with her so he can marry the intriguing and hopefully fertile Anne Boleyn. The Pope’s refusal to grant this isn’t to deter Henry; he goes ahead and does what he wants in 1533 at the price of excommunication. At this point, let’s cue Mel Brooks: “It’s good to be the king.” Because when you’re king, you can change the law, and Henry VIII deems it high-time that he break with Rome, enstate himself as head of the Church of England, and dissolve England’s monasteries.
And is she worth it? Well…Anne gives Henry a daughter (Elizabeth I, the future Queen of England), but not the son he’d hoped for. And, Anne, quite frankly, he’s just not that into you anymore. So Henry decides to take the easy way out of marriage this time and simply have Anne convicted of adultery and treason, thereby sentenced to execution in 1536. Now that she’s out of the way, enter Jane Seymour, who does give Henry his desperately sought male heir (Edward VI) the following year. Jane, unforunately, doesn’t survive the birth, and so another of Henry VIII’s wives is laid to rest.
Next in line? Anne of Cleves in 1540, who he divorces within months. That same year, it’s Catherine Howard until 1542 when she, like Anne Boleyn, is executed for adultery and treason. The last one on the roster is Catherine Parr in 1543, who Henry sticks with until his death in 1547.
But Henry VIII’s reign is not all about the wives; he achieved much politically, so to not be remiss, I’ll continue with this king next week.
Related London sightseeing: Tower of London, where Anne Boleyn was executed, and Hampton Court Palace, where the Church of England was born in its Chapel Royal (beneath the altar of which are buried Jane Seymour’s organs, where it was believed the soul resides) and Catherine Howard’s ghost is rumored to haunt the hallway of her bedchamber.
Tags: relocating to london england
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Sunday June 19th, 2011
Well, Weekend Warriors, it isn’t often that I’m addressing a monarch of England that is as commonly known as Henry VIII. Last week, we met his father, King Henry VII, who was the first of the House of Tudor to reign over England. As of 1509, however, we’re singin’ “Henry the Eighth I am”…Well, I mean, I’m not, and neither are you, and neither is Jonathan Rhys Meyers unfortunately, so let’s get down to who is this man…
Henry VIII and his father both outlive Henry’s older brother Arthur, which is why Henry VIII succeeds instead. And it’s not only the throne he inherits…he also gets Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Throughout his first years as king, Henry VIII isn’t particularly hands-on when it comes to matters of state—he entrusts much of this to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to allow the king himself more time for hunting and such. He does also enjoy engaging in war, though, so Wolsey is instrumental in arranging campaigns, such as against the Scottish in 1513 (victorious for England) and a costly battle against the French that proves unsuccessful.
Wolsey has served Henry VIII well to this point, until the king’s need for a male heir leads to a massive rift between the men. It is now 1533, and Catherine of Aragon, you see, has failed to produce Henry VIII a male heir. She’s given him one surviving daughter, however: Mary. Henry seeks Wolsey’s support in procuring a papal annulment so he can marry Anne Boleyn, but such is not to be. So, the king who in 1521 wrote a treatise denouncing Martin Luther’s views toward the Church—and was thereby awarded the title “Defender of the Faith” by the Pope—is now himself on the verge of a religious reformation of his own.
Join me next week as we see the birth of the Church of England and the death of some wives…
Tags: interesting facts about edward vi
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Wednesday June 15th, 2011
One of the things most people struggle with when moving to London is adapting to day to day living. When you’re moving to London, you must try to push that concern to one side so that your enthusiasm for the big move isn’t dampened by your anxiety for how it could fail. I think what really helps to ease the transition is discovering something that you like about your new home. It really isn’t that hard (unless you’re determined not to find anything you’ll like).
My personal list of favorite things about living in London probably amount to all the clichés that I’ve discovered are truisms. I mean the kind of things you read about in books or see in movies and then come over here and you discover that it’s just the way you pictured it in your head. Like bangers and mash.
It really does sound like the simplest meal ever, doesn’t it? And it is. It really is. But it’s also very tasty. And when you combine ‘simple cooking’ with ‘very tasty’ you get what is officially the top recipe on The Lazy Person’s List of Cooking. Honestly, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Get some bangers (sausages if you’re new to this English thing), potatoes, baked beans (you could try gravy if you wanted but I did say this was for lazy people) and bread. Fry up the sausages, cook the potatoes and mash them, put the baked beans into a pot, get them hot and toast the bread. Now, arguably speaking, that’s more of a sentence than it is a recipe. But, like I said, it’s very tasty.
And if you’re the lazy sort of person and if it’s been a particularly trying day at the office, you could do far worse than stopping at your local Tesco’s on your way home from work, picking up the necessary ingredients and heading home for some (All together now) Bangers and Mash! It might not be up there on the list of the most wholesome meals you could eat while living in London, but it’s quick, easy and very English.
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London moving to london from america Moving to London from US
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Wednesday June 15th, 2011
Immersing yourself in fine English traditions can be a whole lot of fun when you’re living in London. When you’re moving to London one of the first English traditions that you have to experience is ‘Tea and Scones’. If you want to show off that you know a bit, call it a Devonshire Tea instead of just Tea and Scones (Or Cornish Tea). Cream Tea is another common name for this popular practice. Tea and Scones is the kind of thing that’s become so ingrained in the British culture that you could go to any tea room across Britain and be offered a proper English Tea with Scones. It’s also popular outside of Great Britain and you could go as far as South Africa and be able to be served a Cream Tea.
Here then are the best places in London to get a proper Cream Tea:
The Ritz – First of all, we’re talking about one of the oldest and most recognized hotels in the world. The Ritz isn’t so much a hotel as it is an institution. And much the same could be said of their Tea’s, with five sittings a day, from 11:30 to 7:30.
The English Tea Room, Brown’s Hotel – None more English Tea Room than this. This place comes with specially wood-paneled rooms and a pianist offering some music, all for that classic, “olde worlde” feel (they’ve done the same at the Ritz. Pianists really do add to that high tea feel!).
The Mandeville Hotel – This place is as traditional as they come. How traditional? When they serve the tea, it’s brought in blue china cups for the men and pink floral cups for the women. That’s how traditional.
The Savoy – Much like the Ritz, the Savoy is another London hotel that’s pretty much an institution. Again like the Ritz, you’ll have someone tinkling the ivories just to give the setting some ambiance.
And lastly, because I have a major sweet-tooth, go to The Metropolitan. All the other places I’ve mentioned have a fine selection of cakes and sweet treats but when I saw a photograph of the offering at The Metropolitan, that was enough for me to call ahead and make a booking.
Moving to London and acclimatizing to your new home doesn’t have to be that hard, although you will pile on the pounds if you make afternoon tea a daily ritual!
Tags: Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London moving to london england from canada moving to london from america Moving to London from US Tea
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Wednesday June 15th, 2011
There are so many English traditions that are worth experiencing when you’re moving to London. From quaint affectations and mannerisms, to a completely different way of eating; delving into English traditions is going to be one of the more fun aspects of settling into your new London rental and life in London.
Learn the proper deployment of the word bollocks. It basically means ‘balls’ but to my ears, it sounds a lot more tasteful. Useful for many occasions, just don’t confuse it with ‘dogs bollocks’ which is ‘bollocks’’ complete opposite!
‘Going down the pub for a pint’. I’m almost certain that there can’t be anything more English than this and if you’re an American moving to London, it really won’t take you that long to adjust to this tradition. Ever gone to a bar for a beer after work? Pretty much the same thing, except in England they sometimes do it during working hours too! A measure of a pint is equivalent to 470 ml, just to make it easier for you to wrap your head around the concept of a pint. With regards to my earlier blog about English traditions, many pubs will even have Bangers and Mash on the menu, so you’ve got that as an option.
In a similar vein, back home in the States, we have the NFL, here we have the English Premier League. That’s for football, i.e. soccer, but don’t call it soccer. Call it football. Every year, starting around the middle of August and going through to May of the next year, the nation’s top football teams compete for the honor of ending the season on top of the Premier League. We’re talking about Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. It’s pretty much the most hotly contested sports competition in England, bar none. And if you’d like to get an idea of how big a deal the Premier League is, get a few tickets for the next match between Manchester United and Liverpool. Trust me, the level of rivalry between these two teams and the drama that each match promises won’t leave you bored.
Essentially, you could have yourself an extremely English day if you just did the three things I mentioned in this blog. Head down to the pub where you’ll get yourself a pint along with some bangers and mash, perhaps. Stay at the pub and watch the football there. Or go to the football with your mates, where you’ll shout “bollocks!” every time your team concedes a goal and describe your team’s performance as “complete bollocks” at the end (Alternatively, should your team win, you can describe them as the “dog’s bollocks”). And then you can go to pub again and drown your sorrows or celebrate your win with a pint.
You’re living in London. Act like it!
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London
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Tuesday June 14th, 2011
One of my favorite things about living in London is catching the city I live in on the telly. And I don’t just mean EastEnders (though that’s fun too). I mean watching a movie and suddenly seeing a part of the city you visit quite regularly. Like watching ‘Mission Impossible’ and spotting Bankside located nearby to London’s Southwark Bridge. Or an unnervingly empty and desolate Piccadilly Circus in ‘28 Days Later’. It can be loads of fun playing ‘spot-the-location’ while sitting on your couch watching movies or amongst an audience at the cinema. Here are some of my favorite examples of London in the movies.
28 Days Later – Like I said, hugely unnerving. The part where Cillian Murphy runs around the city looking for someone, anyone, and not finding a soul gave me shivers given how I much I take it for granted the huge crowds I see in the city.
Notting Hill – Obvious choice this but, given the millions of people that have been inspired by this film to visit and move, it has to come into this list. It really does help to show off the city. For any true Londoner, the last bit with them tearing through city, fighting traffic is both funny and thrilling.
The Bourne Ultimatum – it’s doubtful that anyone has gone sprinting around Waterloo station quite as frantically as Matt Damon does in this film, but for anyone who’s experienced the mad crush of people in one of the busiest train stations in the world, this is fantastically exciting.
Shaun of the Dead – A favourite for film buffs in general and not just Londoners. North Londoners will probably spot Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park in the background.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – two words: Millennium Bridge.
I guess you could say that it’s not exactly a list of top class cinema (more crowd-pleasers, actually), but I think all these films help to show off the swinging city. There must be hundreds of films that could be added to this list, so maybe this blog needs a sequel. And who knows, spend enough time exploring, and you might spot yourself on the telly if you’re lucky.
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London Moving to London from US
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Tuesday June 14th, 2011
If you’re an American moving to London, one of the things that you’ll struggle to overcome is the feeling of homesickness that will sweep over you occasionally. It’s not enough to just will yourself to adapt or to focus on your work so that the aching feeling of being away from home will go away. Sometimes you’re just going to miss home and all that comes with it, like pancakes, BBQ, the 4th of July or having your family and friends over for the Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter either that you can make your own pancakes or buy them, that you could try getting a grill and some marinade and giving the BBQ a shot (weather withstanding), that London also has a 4th of July on its calendar (albeit, not with quite the same fanfare) or that the Super Bowl can be broadcast over in England as well (internet streaming helps in a big way in this case). An adage that I really have taken to heart is that it’s not just where you go, what you do, but what matters above all is who you’re with. You’re not alone while you’re living in London.
Turns out that there are over forty four thousand Americans staying in London. Not only that, but they get together pretty regularly and also have websites dedicated to that effect. It won’t be quite the same as walking in your mom’s front door for Thanksgiving Dinner, but spending an evening with people from back home can really help to ease the transition that comes with moving from one country to the next. You can meet with groups as diverse as students studying in London, families that have pulled up roots to move here, an American TV Nights group (no, seriously) and all other sorts. So even if you are struggling with the big move, it helps to understand that there are others that have been there before and may even be experiencing what you’re experiencing at the same time. You can tear your hair out about the problems of moving to a new country, or you can laugh about it with someone who shares your pain. Give it a shot. It’s like America, but in London.
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London moving to london from america Moving to London from US
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Monday June 13th, 2011
You’re settled into your new London rental; done the tourist sights and now you may be looking for something a little different. As an American living in London, it may interest you to know that the city is almost two thousand years old. Scattered all over the city are many old buildings, many of which date back to the fifteenth century.
No, this isn’t another history lesson. Something far more enticing: ghosts.
London, you see, is as famous for its numerous haunted buildings as it is for being the home of the Royal Family and there are a number of tours for you to take that show off various haunted areas of London.
The Tower of London is a popular visit for ghost-fans, seeing as it was used as a prison and saw its fair share of executions (including beheadings). Henry VI is supposed to be one of the ghosts holding residence there and legend has it that his ghost supposedly appears as the clock nears midnight, walking back and forth till the clock hits twelve.
Another famous tale of the haunted Tower of London tells of Mr. Arthur Crick, a custody guard for the tower. Apparently, he decided to take a rest from his rounds and had just slipped his shoe off and sat down when he heard a voice behind him whispering, “There’s only you and I here.” To which Mr. Crick replied, “Just let me get this bloody shoe on and there only be you.”
Another of the Tower’s famous undead residents is the ghost of Anne Boleyn, former Queen of England and married to Henry VIII. When Henry grew tired of his wife, he ordered her beheaded and her remains were buried within the Tower’s grounds. Anne’s ghost is said to be seen roaming the grounds quite frequently, scaring the living daylights of anyone who crosses her path.
Over at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End, the ghost of the theatre’s former manager, Mr. John Buckstone, who passed away over one hundred years ago, still haunts the theatre, with his voice often being heard in the backstage dressing rooms.
So if you’ve just moved and you’ve got the nerve to try it, take up one of the Haunted Tours.
Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London Moving to London from US
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Monday June 13th, 2011
Moving to London can be, as with moving to any new city, a daunting task. There’s the excitement that comes with moving to somewhere new, looking ahead to meeting new people, broadening the ol’ horizons. But then there’s also the worry of finding a suitable place to stay, the worry that you’ll struggle to adapt to your new home, having to figure things out so that you can do something as basic as go to the shops to get milk and sugar once you have moved into your new London apartment.
As with anything that comes with this much worry, the very best thing you can do is formulate a plan of attack, preparing in advance for whatever may lay down the road. No doubt, you’ll miss a few things and something might still pop up to spite your careful planning, but it’ll be far better than if you hadn’t planned at all.
I’m not about lay out a plan of attack that will suit your situation, because everyone has their own particular worries and concerns. But I am going to list a general inventory of things that should concern anyone intending on moving to London (or any city for that matter).
Where you’ll be staying – London is divided into dozens of areas. Decide what kind of area you want to stay in and investigate what home would suit your situation best.
Transport – you’ll need to get around, whether by train, tram, bus or your own steam. If you’ve found a home that suits your needs, consider how you’ll be getting to and from wherever you’ll need to go.
Do you have kids? – It’s the kind of thing that can add umpteen complications to an already complicated situation. Kids have needs, school not the least of them. If you’ve found an area that you want to move to, do you know if they have schools that can offer your kids what they need.
That’s just three points, but I think it’s already clear at this stage the kind of planning that needs to be put into moving to London. It all starts with doing as much research as you can…
Tags: Americans moving to London living in London London Neighborhoods Moving to London Moving to London from US
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