Relocation London – Awesome August In London - Image by kingston99 via Flickr

Of course, if you have taken the advice of your trusty relocation services, then you still are packing protection… An umbrella! While August is unarguably one of the warmest months of the year, you’ll need to be prepared for the odd shower or two, or splash of rain every day. Who knows…That’s part of the fun and adventure of moving to London. You never know if this years is going to have a drought, or be rained out. But you’ll soon learn that the most important part of relocation to London is getting out of your new London rental and enjoying everything that the city has to offer before you settle down to a more serious September.

The Notting Hill Carnival has to be one of the highlights of moving to London in August. Not only will you be able to walk the streets of London that played host to the iconic movie starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, but you’ll be able to attend the biggest street party in Europe. Each year the streets of West London host the biggest and most diverse summer festival.  Over twenty miles of prime London real estate; 1 million party people, and hundreds of food stalls and parties happening all the time.

Traditionally set up by the West Indian community of Notting Hill, this is the Caribbean come to London like you’ve never seen it before. Steel drums, displays and a carnival atmosphere make this one of the biggest and most fun events on the London summer calendar.

This year the Notting Hill carnival will be held on the 28th and 29th of August and it promises to be one of the best ever. The Carnival bands start at about 9am on the Sunday and in a tradition that is typically English, the Sunday is reserved for children with a host of activities to appeal to them and Monday is designated Adults day. Fun for the whole family without trampling on each other’s toes.

The best way to get to the Notting hill Carnival is to use the public transport and many of the roads surrounding the area are closed to vehicle traffic. It’ll be quicker and faster to use the tubes and buses from central London; that, or ask your London relocation agents to move you into Notting Hill before the time!

Relocation London – July Attractions - Image via Wikipedia

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If you’ve take the advice of your London relocation agent then you’ll know that July is the perfect time to make the move to London. The city may be jam-packed with tourists, but many relocation services will have no problem in finding a new London apartment for you and making sure that you’re settled in and ready to enjoy everything that London in July has to offer.

July really is the height of summer in England, but if you haven’t packed a brolly to bring with you, then you’ll have to head out and get one as soon as you arrive. While the weather is lovely and warm for the most part, you’ll also find that it is unpredictable at the best of time. Having an umbrella may be just as important as having the London A-Z to get around your new home town.

Once you’re settled into your new London rental you’ll want to get out an experience everything at once. There are some events that are happening in July that should definitely be on your list of things to do.

·      Even though Wimbledon is well under way by now, you could still enjoy a day out by heading to the center of world tennis.

·      If you’re super fit and even if you’re not then there is nothing like taking part in, or watching the London 10km road race through the stress of London. Everyone takes to the streets of London to raise money for charity and this year it’s being held on Sunday 10 July. A perfectly respectable start time of 9:35 am if you do fancy a bit of a lie in before the race; watching it that is.

·      If you’re a Harry Potter fan, then 15 July is the date that all Potter fans have been waiting for. The release of the final Harry Potter film and the conclusion to the movies and books that have made this English boy wizard a part of millions of lives over the past decade. Now that you’re living in London you’ll be able to recognize many of the iconic locations used in the films.

Wherever you living in London in July, you’ll love the festival atmosphere and the tourists having fun. Summer is a great time to explore the city and make it your home before the real slog of work and winter begins​

Author:  Colleen

Upon moving to London as an expat, you will find that the English accent is more varied than what’s typically represented in American film or television (much like television news anchors speak a universal American accent). Case in point: My friend visited me a few months after I made my own London relocation, and we went to see Billy Elliot. She couldn’t understand a word. That same friend nonetheless took her mother to see it in Chicago, and she understood it just fine. My theory? True, she could have understood it better because she’d already seen it and knew the story, but if I were a bettin’ man (if, indeed, a man at all), I’d like to bet that those Chicago actors were speaking a more generic British accent as opposed to the distinctive one actually spoken by those who live in County Durham, where the play takes place. Chicagoans wouldn’t know any different. Londoners would. The accent in northern England is quite different from what you hear in the south, east, west, and middle; heck, I’m convinced the British can tell what block you grew up on by virtue of your dialect, Professor Higgins-style (see “Why Can’t the English?” from My Fair Lady to know what I’m talking about).

Another case in point: American audiences have been listening to talent-show judges like Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan for ages and understanding them just fine, but all of a sudden, egad! Cheryl Cole?! If you haven’t been following the US X Factor controversy (which I blissfully didn’t hop into until the very end), you can catch up with Metro.co.uk’s succinct timeline here. There were other issues involved in the decision to sack her as a US judge, but don’t think Cheryl’s accent didn’t play any part in it. Sounds ridiculous, I know—I mean the situation, not her accent! But yes, it is tough to understand as an American. Her particular dialect is called “Geordie,” the accent of England’s northeast, which would include, if I’m not mistaken, County Durham; hence, the very accent that threw my friend for a loop during Billy Elliot and took me quite a while to adjust to as well. This region borders Scotland, so it understandably shares a bit of that incomprehensible brogue.

Another diversion from the “typical” English accent that Americans are perhaps more familiar with is “Cockney,” the east London dialect spoken by Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Bert in Mary Poppins, and championed by Guy Ritchie in his films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (I think Snatch is the one that actually has a guide to Cockney rhyming slang and offers English subtitles, ha!). It’s the dialect that always makes me hear Conan O’Brien say, “‘Allo, guvna!”—a lot of ‘H‘s and consonants get dropped out of that one (“Bluh-ee ‘ell!).

Learn the diversity of the British accent when you relocate to London.

But as you can see from the map I’ve attached here, British accents are more numerous than what I can relate in a wee blog post. Clicking the image will take you to The Economist‘s article, “England’s regional accents: Geordie’s still alreet,” where you can read more on their variety and how they’re trending throughout the England over time. Accents can denote class as well as region, with the royals seeming to have a distinct accent of their own (though apparently the Queen has started to slum it: see “Queen’s speech ‘less posh’“). I also found a page on the British Library’s site that discusses England’s regional voices and enables you to listen to samples of them: “Sounds Familiar? Accents and Dialects of the UK.”

Now, every time I go home, someone usually asks if I’m picking up a British accent myself. Well, the fact is, when I live in my London apartment with my American husband and we still watch a lot of American shows on the telly, I don’t see that happenin’, so you probably won’t either in that situation unless your spouse is British and you’re here longer term. Even in the workplace, London’s diversity may present you many international accents from outside of the UK, so you’ll never be exposed to a single one long enough to pick it up yourself. What you will do, though, is grow more accustomed to the differences in spoken English, understand the British-English terms better and discern the dialects better. So don’t worry that you won’t understand a word when you move to London—check out our blog’s “Language Barriers” category and just be a good listener!

Author:  Colleen

American expats will inevitably speak French in England!

If you’re moving to London from the US, you’ll readily learn that British English and American English are not one and the same. Sure, you’ll get along easier in the UK as an English language speaker, but as we’ve blogged before about differences in terms (see our “London Language Barriers” category for related posts), living in London will entail a language lesson.

It goes beyond just a matter of British versus American, however. French factors into the English language substantially, going back to when William the Conqueror came over from Normandy to rule this land. Sure, we use a lot of French words and phrases in the States like hors d’oeuvre, escargot, rendezvous, je ne sais quoi, etc., etc., but the British incorporate it even further than that. To give a few examples:

aubergine – eggplant
au fait - familiar, conversant
cafetière – French press
courgette - zucchini
compère – master of ceremony
pastille – lozenge
poussin - Cornish game hen (you’d think given the “Cornish,” they’d call it that in England, wouldn’t you??)
pomme frites – French fries in their super slender, McDonald’s-like form; thicker fries are called “chips”
serviette – table napkin
queue – line

Also deriving from the French language are British versus American spelling differences like the -re as opposed to -er of certain words. Eg.:

theatre – theater
centre - center
kilometre – kilometer
and so forth…

The ending of “programme” vs. “program” is another example of such spelling deviations.

And then there are matters of pronunciation. Just to name a couple examples:

Pantene - pronounced “pan-ten” versus “pan-teen”
premiere – pronounced “prem-yare” versus “prem-eer”

Which leaves me scratching my head on at least one word in particular:

fillet - filet

The British not only spell this word with an extra “L,” but they pronounce the “T.” So they say “fil-lett” whereas we Americans in this case adhere to the traditional French pronunciation of “fil-lay.”

I’m no expert in linguistics, so cannot speak to the rhyme or reason of how British or American English evolve (if you want to talk rhyme, though, check out Belinda’s post on Cockney English ), only that it fascinates me how they do indeed, whether on their own or through the incorporation of other languages. It’s a little daily reminder, almost, of our small world and the aspects that connect rather than separate us, which in itself is a key mentality to maintain as an expat relocating to London.

Author:  Colleen

‘Tis been a while since I’ve revisited my Speaking the Queen’s English series, which is dedicated to helping familiarize those moving to London with some basic differences between British English and American English. Any American expat who has made a London relocation can attest that sometimes you wish you had subtitles to understand a language you thought you already knew!

In the past, I’ve touched on topics like pronunciation, conversational lingo, getting around (transport and signage), food, etc., but today I’ll touch on some grammatical differences. I am an English teacher, after all…

To start (and this is one I’ve only just picked up on while reading a British novel), it appears standard to use “has (or have) got” in British English than “has (or have) gotten” as we’ll say in American English.

When you move to London, you may also notice greater use of the word “shall” in place of “will” or “should.” E.g., “I shall never forget you,” or “Shall we go?”

Rather than simply say, “don’t need to” (as in, “You don’t need to do that.”), the British might also say, “needn’t.”

And while the British may use “as well,” “too,” and “also” interchangeably as we do, “as well” is most commonly used.

While the previous three merely strike me as more proper/polite ways of speaking, the following is the most distinct difference I’ve heard in conversation here: use of “do” after an auxiliary verb. To give a few examples:

“I did do.”
“I could do.”
“I could have done.”

In American English, the above would be phrased:

“I did.” -OR- “I did that.” (as in, “I already did that.”)
“I could.” -OR- “I could do that.”
“I could have.” -OR- “I could have done that.”

It seems we Yankees either extend the phrase all the way out to “that” or cut it off right at the auxiliary verb, whereas the British only cut out the “that.” And speaking of cutting out words, “the” tends to get scrapped in British English when referring to certain institutions, such as “He’s in hospital,” versus “He’s in the hospital.” The same goes for “at university” versus “at the university,” though we Americans would do the same with our phrases like “in college,” “in prison,” “at sea,” etc.

Ah, and there is one particular phrase that has somehow evolved in American English into something that means the exact opposite of what it actually says. I think this one really annoys the Brits, too: “I could care less.” The thing is, an American would say this to convey that he/she isn’t interested in the least, so there’s no possible way one could care less than that. If that’s the case, however, then you “couldn’t care less,” which is how the British would say it. If you could care less, then, well, you’re saying you have the ability to care even less than you do, which is saying you do care to some extent, which is not at all what you’re meaning to express! I know I’m guilty of saying it…

All right, Brainiacs, I’ll cut this off here. There are far more subtle differences I could delve into that would really make your head explode, but I don’t reckon they’d be the most immediate to jump out at you in your day-to-day interactions, if they went by noticed at all. You’ll find after relocating to London that you’ll inadvertently pick up some of the local dialect by virtue of being submerged in the culture, but don’t worry if not—we all still manage to understand each other here .

Living in London – Shopping in Different Places: - Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

Moving to London will give you the chance to get out and explore the flea markets in London which offer a completely different shopping experience than the high street experience. Even though it may be icy on the streets this Christmas, it is time to get out of your new London apartment and discover the charm and excitement of the London Flea Markets.

Brick Lane

Brick Lane market area is open on Sunday from 8am-2pm, and is the place to go if you like second hand stalls and street performers or really enjoy haggling for a bargain. Brick Lane market is a bustling cosmopolitan market set in the heart of the East End of London. It was, as the name suggests, originally a brick manufacturing area, and later a livestock market. Now it’s a great market for young, edgy, artistic types with an eye for a bargain, whether it is second hand furniture, music, clothes, unusual and artistic collectibles or ethnic goods. In fact, you can buy just about anything you fancy here, including single shoes, old machinery and 8-track cassette decks! Watch out for “second hand” bikes though- Brick Lane has become notorious for the sale of stolen bikes. At the bottom end of Brick Lane are the sari shops with a dazzling array of fabrics, and lots of the boutiques around Brick lane sell vintage and retro clothing- the best known is based at the Tea Rooms. This bustling, slightly chaotic market is near a huge variety of eating-places, especially Bangladeshi and other Asian food, and Jewish bagel shops. Nearest tube stations Aldgate East & Liverpool St.

Columbia Road

Colombia Road flower market is open on a Sunday from 8am to around 3pm. The stalls sell a huge variety of all sorts of plants from cut flowers to bedding plants to quite large trees, and the road is lined with over 50 independent shops which sell a variety of goods from cupcakes to antiques and gardening equipment. The only other street flower market in Europe is in Barcelona, so take advantage of the scents and sights of this one! As a tourist, you may not buy a lot to take away, but you will enjoy the atmosphere and the often hilarious patter of the stallholders, and if you’re staying with friends in London, why not get a thank you bouquet or plant for your host from this market? There are usually street musicians playing here too and towards the end of the day, there are bargains to be had as stallholders lower their prices to sell their goods by the end of the day. There are plenty of nice cafes to stop for a coffee or buy a cupcake or some fried seafood. Colombia Road market can get very crowded but is well worth a visit. Nearest tubes are Shoreditch and Liverpool St.

Living in London – Tour Guide to the City: - Image via Wikipedia

The best way to explore your new home after settling into your London apartment is to take part in some of the most famous tours that London has to offer. This is a city that is geared for tourists and until you have found your feet after relocating to London, you should experience all that London has to offer from a tourist perspective. Touring London can be done in a number of ways and you will get a different view depending on the tour that you choose.

Bus Tours

London isn’t London until you’ve seen it from the top of a big-red-London-double-decker-bus!  Part of the fabric and history of London, you can spend the day enjoying the attractions that this vibrant city has to offer by riding on one of the vintage red buses that London is famous for. Trundle along the streets of London while taking in the sights of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Gaze in awe at the magnificent edifice of St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is where Princess Diana was married and is the final resting place of both Nelson and Wellington. London bus tours offer many opportunities to hop on and off at the top tourist destinations. Take in the crown jewels at the historic tower of London which is over a thousand years old.

Taking a bus tour is a great way to get to know London. A bus tour will take you past Cleopatra’s Needle and the famous Globe Theatre, which dates back to the time of Shakespeare. A highlight of a London bus tour is to stop at Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard Ceremony and the Horse Guards Parade. There are many bus companies operating in London.

Taxi Tours

A taxi tour of London is fun, informative and a great start to your London vacation. Get your bearings in London and see the sights in an iconic London Cab with a personal tour guide; and no one knows London like a ‘cabbie’ with ‘The Knowledge’. Informative and friendly, these ‘cabbies’ will help you get to grips with London’s roads and the best attractions on your first day in London. It is a brilliant way to experience London if you’re in a group of up to five people and there are special taxi tours for the little ones.

Taxi tours in London can also be booked around different themes and specific attractions themselves, so you can be whizzing off into the wizarding world of Harry Potter, or sliding into the scary adventures of Victorian London, full of laudanum and ghostly goings-on! The taxi tours are a safe way to get around London and though they are definitely pricier than using other forms of transport, they really add something special to your London experience. For a day trip with a difference, you can also book a tax tour to take you to attractions that are outside of central London.

Living in London – Shopping in Different Places: - Image via Wikipedia

Author:Belinda

Once you have settled down into your London flat, and you have seen most of the tourist sights, braved the crowds on Oxford Street on a Saturday morning, you can start moving further afield and begin exploring the fascinating markets that London is famous for. Moving to London should be all about making this city your home while having as much fun as possible and there is nothing more interesting that the London flea markets, each of which has its own character and identity.

Portobello Road

Portobello Road is found in the Notting Hill area of London, made famous by the film Four Weddings and A Funeral. Fruit and vegetable stalls are open all week but the main market is open on Saturdays from 8am -5pm and specialises in antiques of all descriptions, and the second hand market runs on a Friday at the same time. The market is based along two miles of Portobello Road, which is lined with a variety of independent boutiques and antique shops. If you are interested in antiques look out for the PADA sign on shops and stalls. This stands for the Portobello Antiques Dealers Association and ensures prices are always displayed and good accurately described. The Association also has a stand where you can get maps and up to date information and suggestions about where to find that elusive antique you’ve been searching for. Speciality stalls include vintage clothing, handbags, sports equipment, books and jewellery. Grab a bite to eat from one of the food stalls in the middle of the market, which feature fine foods from around the world. Portobello gets very busy and is best visited in the morning as many of the stallholders start packing away at 4pm. The nearest tube station to the antiques end of Portobello road is Notting Hill Gate or Ladbroke Grove.

Petticoat Lane

Petticoat Lane is the scene of one of London’s biggest clothing markets, in the Tower Hamlets area of London. It is open on Monday-Fridayfrom10:00am-2:30pm and on Sunday from 09:00am-2pm. Although Petticoat Lane itself has been renamed(Middlesex St), the Petticoat Lane market is still devoted to clothing of all varieties from designer to outré club and street wear, leather goods and bargain buys of all varieties.  The market specialises most in women’s clothing, and there are a variety of fabric shops and stalls selling CDs, luggage and electrical goods. Most of the clothes are at knockdown prices, and this is a genuine market for locals, not just a show for tourists! Bear in mind that you may struggle to find a stall where you can try clothes on. The top end of the market, near Aldgate East is where the leather jackets and other leather goods can be found. There are some traditional Jewish food places around here, and the ties to the local Jewish community explain why the market is closed on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Main tube stations are Aldgate, Aldgate East and Liverpool St, and this market is fairly close to the markets at Brick Lane and Spitalfields.

Relocating to the UK: Moving to London-Sights: Modern Architecture in "The City of London" - Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

If you are relocating to the UK and moving to London, you might be expecting a lot of history; this is after all one of the most historical cities in the world today. When you are done admiring the palaces, stately homes and examples of Georgian architecture, then you might want to spend some time admiring some of the modern buildings that this quirky city has to offer.

If you are in the middle of a London relocation and you keep hearing about ‘The Gherkin’, then do not be alarmed. Going down to the Gherkin is not a secret London ritual that you have never heard about. The Gherkin is the Londoners name for one of the most modern and uniquely designed buildings in the world. It is also rather difficult to miss since it is in the shape of, well, a gherkin!

This building is one of the most modern buildings in the heart of the city as well as being in the heart of ‘The City’. This is another phrase that you might need to understand if you have recently relocated to London. No matter where you live in London, you can be sure that you will meet someone who works in ‘The City’, which can be confusing since everyone works and lives in the city of London. ‘The City’ is an area in the heart of London, which is made up of financial businesses and banks. This is the ‘Wall Street’ of London and it is here that the big stockbrokers and financial high flyers work. The boy’s, and sometimes girls from ‘The City’ tend to dress alike, work, play and live in a certain area and they are among the upwardly mobile set in London’s social scene.

The Gherkin is situated in ‘The City’ and it is officially called the ‘Swiss Re Building’ or is also commonly referred to by its street address: 30 St Mary Axe. Yes, London addresses are frequently confusing! The Gherkin is one of the most admired buildings in the world and has been featured in many films, since its opening in 2004. The building can be seen from over 25 kilometres away and it is well worth a visit, especially if you are going to sip cocktails in the Dome, which is at the very top of the building and offers a 360-degree view of the city. There is also a restaurant in the building, which can be hired for private functions.

The unique design features some of the most innovative ‘green’ solutions for heating, cooling and ventilation and it is well worth taking a tour of this phenomenal building. London is not all about old charm and quaint cobbled streets. It is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city that teems with modern buildings and a business district that deals in billions of pounds every day. Be warned, if you have a job in ‘The City’ you will have to dress the part!  It’s just part of the fun of moving to London.

Relocating to London: London Shopping – Where To Go First? The opulent clothing department at Harrods, London - Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

Getting settled after relocating to London can be a slightly daunting task and one of the best ways of rewarding yourself for the move is to get out there and drop some cash in the world’s greatest stores. London offers a myriad of shopping experiences to choose from and you will never be bored with exploring all that London has to offer. London truly is a shopper’s paradise, and the fact that so many of the stores have such a rich tradition and history behind them, makes each trip into a sightseeing and experience never to be forgotten.

Bond Street is the area to head for if you are looking to do some serious spending. This street is lined with all of the big name designers such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. A jewellery lovers Mecca, Bond Street also has many great fashion designers offering the best and the latest designer fashions and original clothing. For men’s fashion, you simply have to head off to Jermyn Street or Savile Row, which has a rich tradition in men’s bespoke tailoring and handmade leather shoes. These suits might be pricey, but until you have had your suit designed and tailored to fit you exactly, you just won’t realise the value of this experience. Londoners, especially the men from ‘the City’, which is the financial district of London, like to dress in the best suits from the gentlemen’s tailors.

Regent Street is home to the most famous toy store in the world. Hamleys has over seven floors of toys and entertainment for children and it has been a British institution for hundreds of years. Oxford Street is ‘the’ high street to visit if you are looking for the best department stores. Huge shops like John Lewis and Debenhams provide a unique and interesting shopping experience that will have you coming back for more. Alternative fashionistas should head off to Camden Market, which is the home of all punk, goth and club wear for the trendy set in London. Camden Market is the 4^th most visited tourist site in London, so you should make a day of it and browse through everything they have to offer.

There is one other store that is a must see if you have relocated to London. The store that carries the most prestige and history of any other store in the world. Harrods is the ultimate in London department stores and is to be found in the ultra fashionable address of Knightsbridge. This luxurious store has been open since 1834 and is situated on five acres of prime London real estate. With 330 separate departments and 32 restaurants that serve up treats form around the world, you can spend days just exploring and gawking at the phenomenal displays.

The best place to find edible treats is at the famous Harrods Food Hall, and if you are in London over Christmastime, then the Harrods Christmas lights are a time-honoured tradition. A small point to remember: Harrods has a strict dress code for its customers, and you will not be allowed into the store wearing shorts or t-shirts. Dress up a little, you will feel right at home in a flash!