Posts Tagged ‘Greenwich’

London Neighborhoods – Greenwich

Friday January 6th, 2012

London neighborhoods vary in personality and cost of living. Because of that no one can say with certainty which one of the many lovely neighborhoods is right for each family. Before an international relocation families are encouraged to discuss their home needs with a relocation service where London relocation agents will explain the subtle differences between favorite neighborhoods.

One of the best kept secrets in local neighborhoods is Greenwich. Located in South London this lovely community seems to be in a world of its own. With no tube station it is in the city but outside of it at the same time. Beautiful Georgian and Victorian homes line the small streets alive with quirky boutiques and unique restaurants.

On top of being an affordable place to live after moving families can enjoy many of London’s most significant historical sites and museums in Greenwich. Some of the more famous are:

1) The National Maritime Museum: home to the national collection of artifacts of England’s long maritime history. The buildings located at the museum are of great historical significance.

2) The Royal Observatory: This is home to the center of the world. Literally. In 1675 Charles II declared that it represented the middle of the world. Today, the Greenwich Median Time (GMT) is still the starting point of each new day.

3) Greenwich Park: Most famous for the views of the city from its hills. It is also home to the Royal Naval College, National Maritime Museum and will house stadiums for the 2012 Olympics held in London.

4) Greenwich Market: One of the larger markets. It is comprised of several markets such as the Greenwich arts and crafts market, Flea Market, Antique Market and Central Market.

Any family or individual moving who values historical landmarks and trying to decide between neighborhoods should consider Greenwich. With its reasonably priced housing, close location to the city and beautiful Greenwich Park anyone would do well if living there. With so many choices in neighborhoods it is best to narrow the list before discussing housing with relocation agents and Greenwich would be a great addition to that list.

Tags: Greenwich Neighborhoods

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Living in London – London-Cheap, Cheap!

Monday June 6th, 2011

If there’s one thing that most people are prepared for when they are moving to London, it’s to spend lots of cash. This is chiefly because London is recognized as one of the most expensive cities in the world. Now that you are living there, it’s no doubt something you’ve come across quite frequently. Moreover, even if you’re no cheapskate, it’s always a bit heartbreaking to see another few pounds go fluttering out of your wallet.

Fear not, for even in a city as terrifyingly expensive as this, there are opportunities to save something here and there, or to get something and not have to hand over paper or plastic.

Looking for a good night’s entertainment? Try The Tuesday Night Experiment, every Tuesday at the Comedy Cafe, and the open mic night, every Wednesday, no charge. Guaranteed laughs and an overall fun night out.

Given that you’re right in the cultural melting pot, you really are spoilt for choice when it comes to music, with umpteen places offering a heady mix of styles to enjoy, all for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. Check out Proud Camden, Upstairs at the Ritzy, Dysart Arms and Favela Chic, to name a few. You’ll find everything from London’s up-and-comers in Jazz, traditional music straight out of Rio’s favelas, laid back Blues, indie-influenced Dubstep all the way through to psychedelic rock. And all free.

Festivals you say. Try the Notting Hill Carnival. With colourful floats and a melange of music and other performances on show, the festival runs from Aug 28-29 (a bank holiday weekend. Hurrah!). Add to that the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival with its open-air arts and performances running from Jun 23 – Jul 3. There’s also the Shoreditch festival, the Marylebone Summer Fair and the Thames Festival.

As for eating out, there are a fair selection of restaurants offering specials that will not dent your wallet. Bahn Mi Bay, Bi Bim Bap, Four Seasons, Golden Union Fish Bar, Koya and Pimlico Fresh have some excellent specials, especially in the summer. Beatroot, Comptoir Libanais, Maoz Vegetarian and Mooli’s will give you a top-notch meal that hovers at the £15 mark.

Living here means that you could enjoy an entire day out of your new rental and not worry about phoning your bank manager for permission first!

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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Living In London – “Time, Is On Your Side”

Monday March 28th, 2011

When you are living in London you have to pay a visit to Greenwich. Not only is it an important historical site, it is a great day out along the river, and a fascinating look into time itself. The area is probably most famous for its connection to the navy and to maritime history in England. The town was originally a Royal palace, and many famous royals were born there, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. A number of noble homes were constructed along the river bank and it became a popular destination for the nobility during the 17^th century.

Today Greenwich is one of the top London tourist attractions and holds a special place in the history and heart of London. The link between time and the maritime history of the area are linked together forever. Greenwich is the site of Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT). It’s where time begins! No trip to Greenwich is complete with a tour of the Royal Observatory, which will give you a better understanding about the fascinating concept of time and the history of this science. Greenwich was considered to have a longitude time of zero, so all merchant ships and the Royal Navy kept a chronometer on board their vessels to ensure that they could calculate their longitude at any place in the world. All the worlds’ time zones are based on GMT and we often refer to time as being either hours ahead or behind GMT when talking about other countries.

Greenwich has over 50 restaurants, shops and markets that are devoted to the modern tourist trade, and you can spend at least a day exploring all that this area in South-east London has to offer. The best place to start is at the Greenwich Heritage Center, or the Greenwich Visitor Centre. You can also spend a few hours exploring the Cutty Sark which is an historical clipper ship that has been preserved and maintained as a tribute to the rich naval history that had Britain ruling the waves for hundreds of years.

Living in London gives you the opportunity to spend time learning about your new home and exploring the city at your leisure. Once you have settled into you new London rental, you might just find you have ‘time’ on your hands, and if you are in Greenwich then you really do!

Tags: living in London Moving to London

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Living in London – City Area Guide Part II

Tuesday January 11th, 2011

If you are contemplating relocating here for work, then now is the time to start looking at the different suburbs and area in London that you might want to live in. Finding a home in London is not as easy as it seems, and you might be wise to consult with one of the excellent relocation agents who will help you find the perfect apartment or house in a suburb that suits you. Each suburb here has its own pros and cons, and each one has its own personality. You just need to take a look at what you require in a suburb and you can then start looking for possible rental homes for the duration of your stay. Of course, you will only be able to properly assess each area once you are on the ground. Take a walk through the suburb and see if it lives up to your expectations before renting a home.

North London – Pricey suburbs where some of the rich and famous choose to live. These suburbs have a distinctly village feel to them and they have plenty of open spaces and are great for families. If you have the cash then Hampstead and Highgate are the suburbs to choose.

South London – A lively area that has undergone great change in the past few years. While the great North vs. South debate will always be maintained, there are some charming and dynamic areas that are great if you have a job nearby and if you like enjoying the interesting nightlife that South London has to offer. Clapham and Brixton have undergone massive urban development recently and have become suburbs of choice for many expats living in London.

East London – Traditionally this has not been an area that many expats choose to live in, but recently there have been more people choosing to live in suburbs that are close to the city, such as the beautiful suburb of Greenwich and the urban renewal areas of Canary Wharf. There are some pretty pricey apartments along the river, but they have great views and are considered prime real estate locations.

West London – Traditionally this is considered a transient area of London with plenty of Aussies and South Africans living here. It does have a great nightlife and there are an astonishing amount of pubs in the area. The prices of apartments in this area are quite reasonable and if you are looking to buy real estate then you might some real gems in suburbs such as Hammersmith or Shepherd’s Bush.

You really need to have a list of items that are important to you before you start looking for a home. Like any big city, it is incredibly diverse here and you might not find what you are looking for as soon as you land here. If you know that you are going to be here for a number of years then you should take a bit of time to find your perfect home.

Tags: american expats in london Americans moving to London Moving to London is greenwich london a nice place to live

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Expat Phone Home

Monday November 22nd, 2010

If you’re moving to London away from your home country, you can initially feel alien-ated indeed (*wink-wink* *nudge-nudge*) without your old phone and a contact number beyond that of your hotel for your first days. Well, luckily London Relocation Ltd. will help limit the amount of time you need to spend at the hotel via our one-day flat-finding service, which allows you to then set up a landline phone, if desired, straightaway in your new London apartment. There is also the mobile phone (see my “Buying a UK Phone is ‘SIM’-ple!” post), which will require a UK bank account and address.

Until the phone was squared away, I felt tremendously detached from home…so what in heckfire was I thinking not to phone home using the internet??! I was aware of Skype, but I guess just not educated on how handy it really is, and honestly after 2 years living in London it’s only been in the last few months that I’ve finally started using it.

Skype is perhaps more of a household name now than it was those couple years ago. When you register for an account, it’s free to call other Skype users, or from 1.6 pence a minute for pay-as-you-go calls to worldwide cell phones and landlines. With a monthly subscription, you can pay less than £5 per month for unlimited calls to the U.S. and about £9 worldwide.

My parents don’t yet have Skype, nor do they have a webcam or fast-enough connection beyond their original dial-up service, for that matter, so I pay for the unlimited service to call their landline. While I’m sad not to be able to see them, the sound through my Mac is great, and (opting not to use a headset) it allows me to just kick back and speak into the air as I would if they were right there in the room…which is a plus when our 2-hour calls otherwise bruise the cartilege in my ear with a phone pressed against it . But when you can phone someone with the vidoeo functionality, it’s terribly fun and the closest thing to having them with you. I love when our visitors call home with Skype at our flat—absolutely heart-melting to see their children’s wee faces speaking to them, probably too young and already too tech-savvy to process what a big deal it is to be able to talk to your parents across an ocean…and on a computer! This child of the 80s is convinced we already live in the sci-fi future…

You can also look into video conferencing via MSN Messenger or, if you’re a Mac user, iChat. I have no personal experience with either of these, so if you do, share your thoughts! Or how about other such international internet services (like Yahoo Voice??)? Any ideas that have worked for you?

At any rate, this has just popped to mind in light of the impending Thanksgiving holiday that many American expats in London will be celebrating thousands of miles away from their loved ones. So with that heart glowing, reach that long, just-as-freakishly glowing fingertip out and touch someone…by tapping your keyboard first .

Tags: calling internationally

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London Locations: The Sea Clocks at Greenwich’s Maritime Museum

Friday July 30th, 2010

Just over a year ago when chilling in a hostel in Pula, Croatia, a friend lent me a book: Longitude. Cool, I thought, seeing it simply as something that would help me pass the time as I laid around on the beach. A literary dork, I don’t often read nonfiction, so I was surprised how much I ended up enjoying this story of sea clocks that I read through as quickly as I would have a novel. If you have the slightest interest in British history, seafaring, navigation, clocks, or astronomy, I cannot recommend it enough.

To get on with it, the book chronicles John Harrison‘s journey toward solving the problem of longitude. We take for granted the globes we’ve grown up with that are stratified by their degrees in both longitude and latitude, never really thinking about what mankind had to undergo to come up with this. How on Earth did they figure this out way back before today’s technology? The problem was so dire that, in 1714, the British Parliament offered a monetary prize of £20,000 (worth millions in today’s terms) to whomever could solve it.

As Harrison (a self-taught clockmaker by trade) determined that being able to accurately track time was at the crux of the matter (such that the local time of a destination could be compared with a basis such as Greenwich Mean Time), what was needed was an accurate clock. Sounds easier to us than what the issue really was at the time. In the 18th century, clocks didn’t exist that could keep ticking with accuracy for a long duration of time, and certainly not against conditions at sea of varying temperature, moisture, and pressure. And so, Harrison proceeded to build his clock, refining it through 5 different versions for over 4 decades of his life, all the while running neck and neck with competing clocks and the other dominant school of thought, astronomy (which relied on the stars as a measure of position…which works great until it gets cloudy!). It’s a fascinating story of dedication and precision and such a testament to man’s perseverance and innovation.

Harrison’s “H5,” is located in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers‘ collection in London. H1 through H4 of the sea clocks (technically referred to as “chronometers”) are on display and still tickin’ in the National Maritime Museum‘s Royal Observatory in Greenwich, where time begins

Tags: clocks at greenwich Greenwich Moving to London Moving to London from US

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Canary Wharf & Greenwich, London

Tuesday July 13th, 2010

This guest post comes to us compliments of one of our fabulous Wendy McCooey, who chronicles her life as an American expat in London at her blog, The McCooey’s of London (where this post originally appeared June 30th, 2010).

***

After a tasty brunch with friends, we headed out to explore and ended up in Canary Wharf and Greenwich. We had not done a lick of research, so we had no clue what to expect. We show up and at first think hmmm Canary Wharf is a bit, well…not worth the trip… It’s a financial district (YAWN!). We keep walking and then we see a nice riverbank area and cool buildings, TALL buildings, and then we turned another corner and it was glorious, yet another riverside area with cute restaurants/pubs, even a floating church for those who like to take their lord to the water. Mike actually went from “Let’s get out of here” tooooo “Now this is my kind of place, ‘corporate and sterile,’ everything looks brand new.” As for what I thought, it was nice, everything looked brand new, nothing like London; it reminded me of the area near the river in Chicago, and, well, I HEART CHI-TOWN.

Then we were off to check the time in Greenwich…

The name Greenwich comes from the Saxon term for ‘green village’. There is evidence of Bronze Age barrows in Greenwich Park as well as a Roman villa or temple.

In the Domesday Book, the manor of Greenwich is recorded as held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, and a royal palace or hunting lodge has existed here since before 1300. From the 15th century, the town became the site of the royal palace of Placentia, the birthplace of many Tudor monarchs including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Now off to the Royal Observatory…

Come and stand on the world-famous Greenwich Meridian Line, which represents the Prime Meridian of the World – Longitude 0º. Every place on Earth is measured in terms of its distance east or west from the Greenwich Meridan. The line itself divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the Earth, just as the Equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

The Center of Time

During the evenings, the position of the Meridian Line is often marked by a green laser in the sky. Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich has served as the reference line for Greenwich Mean Time. It can now claim to be the centre of world time, and was the official starting point for the new Millennium.

Is Greenwich worth a visit? I say Yes! It’s a great way to spend a few hours. As always, there is a market (Greenwich Market) full of your typical market stuff, pubs, cute boutiques, a pier, and the Royal Observatory, which is wrapped in green space to have a picnic after you check the time and even the University of Greenwich.

Cheers,

WMMc

Tags: Canary Wharf Greenwich Moving to London

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