Author:  Colleen

“Little known” to me, anyway, and probably most other expats moving to London; locals probably have to memorize all this for their secondary GCSE exams. If you’re researching your international relocation to London, you might not know much about Kensington Palace or particularly care, but I find it worthwhile to bring up considering the high quantity of Americans moving to London who ask our London Relocation agents to search for London apartments on the city’s west side. And on this west side, spanning from Kensington and Notting Hill on one end to Knightsbridge and Mayfair on the other (with popular neighborhoods like South Kensington and Chelsea nearby in between), Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park comprise a prominent green space in west London. So, located on the west side in Kensington Gardens is the royal residence of Kensington Palace.

Modern generations know it as the home of Princess Diana, who continued living in apartments there even after her divorce from Charles. This is where a sea of bouquets were laid before the palace gates upon Diana’s tragic death. And though Diana’s apartments are no longer available (serving instead as offices), Kensington Palace (or “KP” as Diana called it) is where Prince William will be bringing his own wife Kate to live as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. This begins to answer the question my friend and I had asked recently on touring the Enchanted Palace exhibit there: “Does anyone live here now?”

Before I get to that, let me mention who has lived there before. The palace began from an early 1600s mansion where King William III and Mary II took on residence in 1689 and expanded it with the help of Sir Christopher Wren (I love that the Historic Royal Palaces website calls this a “Wrenovation“). Queen Anne next lived there following her succession to the throne in 1702; she commissioned extensive work on the gardens and the construction of the present-day Orangery, where the public can visit for afternoon tea. Kings George I and II were also to live at KP during the 18th century, and George II is rumored to still haunt the King’s Gallery there…woooOOOOoooo… During his reign, his wife Queen Catherine had first opened the gardens to the public, but only one weekend day, and a formal dress code was enforced. Where historical monarchs go, KP is perhaps relatively better known as the childhood home of Queen Victoria, whose bedroom can still be seen with its original furnishings.

These days, as you can see from the handy image below (compliments of the Daily Mail Online), the KP complex continues to house members of royalty that get significantly less face-time than the ones bombarded by the media when they’re out and about making official visits on behalf of the Queen. As the caption states, residents include the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke of Kent, and Prince Charles’s private secretary, Sir Michael Peat. And, as perhaps the most random and least known fact of all among London expats, the stillborn baby of a friend of Diana’s still lies in an unmarked grave in the walled garden.

Source: Daily Mail Online

When your relocation company (oh, please let it be London Relocation!) has placed you in a palace of your own, you would be remiss not to pay Kensington Palace a visit. Unoccupied portions of it are available to the public, and you can enjoy a nice, shockingly quiet walk down the tree-lined street of Kensington Palace Gardens—it’s closed to public vehicles, but not pedestrians, and here you will find the wealthiest of London’s wealthy and get to view KP from another angle. Until then, good luck with your relocation in London!

Moving to London offers a range of lifestyles, from the prudent to the extravagant. Image via Wikipedia

Author:  Colleen

When my husband and I planned for moving to London, we’d have never anticipated that we could live in walking distance from where once upon a time lived two princesses before they were princesses. Where we would walk down the road and drop our jaws at the Aston Martins and Bentleys just parked casually along the curbs. Where a reality TV show about young socialites would be filmed. Where a major music awards show would be broadcast a few minutes away and we could attend. Where if we walked a bit further we’d arrive at a palace that housed even more princesses that became Queens.

We’re middle class folks, nothing special where income is concerned, but such is the juxtaposition of classes in London that makes it such an interesting city of new experiences. Everyone of all walks of life are intermingled here (recall the ease of spotting stars that I wrote about last week: “Relocation to London – The Secret to Celebrity-Spotting in London“); one need only walk a block or two for the dynamic to shift. And it isn’t all about being posh; for as much polish as London has, it has grit, and the diversity across the economic spectrum adds a lot of flavor to your every day once you, too, have made the London move.

In any case, if you are looking to feel a bit posh as you emerge from your London apartment and get about town, it’s as simple as taking yourself for a walk in the nice locales of London’s west side neighborhoods like Mayfair, Soho, Marylebone, Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, Sloane Square, Chelsea, and South Kensington. Bop into the shops on Regent Street and around Knightsbridge and Sloane Square. If you can’t afford a meal at some places, you can still treat yourself to an inexpensive coffee, tea, or cocktail at any number of opulent dining options—five-star hotels that you’d perhaps never stay at like The Dorchester or Claridges can be fun for afternoon tea or cocktails at their bars, Harrods has a surreal food court, and there’s never a shortage of trendy cafes and restaurants that attract the socialites in these areas.

Not being able to afford a certain postcode doesn’t mean you’re forbidden to share in the glamour; sure, maybe you can’t get on the list of some super exclusive clubs or get to sit to tea with the Queen, but otherwise London’s venues are open to the public, remember. An international relocation to London makes you a resident here, so the city is yours for the taking, and London relocation agents like London Relocation Ltd. can situate you as closely within the posh places as possible while staying within your budget.

Author:  Colleen

Relocating to London with a family - nappyvalleynet.com

Moving to London with children requires a different set of property and location criteria than when relocating to London as a single person or with only a spouse. Safety for children is of utmost priority in selecting a London neighborhood, and you’ll likely want to live near enough wherever they will be attending school. You’ll also probably desire extra rooms/space in your London apartment rental so it doesn’t get too close for comfort with multiple family members. With the added expense of providing for others, getting more bang for your buck (or should I say more pow for your pound?) when you rent in London doesn’t hurt either.

If this situation applies to you and you’d like advice on where to start looking for your London apartment, popular family-friendly London neighborhoods include Holland Park, Richmond, and Wimbledon in the west and St. John’s Wood, Hampstead, and Highgate in the north. All of these offer green space and a more peaceful residential versus urban feel that allows you to stretch your legs a little and feel safe walking your kids and the family dog to the park. They are also all in proximity to a tube station to give you easy access to central London for work or play. Of these six named neighborhoods, however, the northern three are more affluent and therefore more expensive; not that the western three come cheaply either…while Richmond and Wimbledon might get you more value for being less central, their quality standard of living is still enough in demand to keep prices relatively high.

For a chance at finding relatively less expensive (yet still quality) alternatives that will keep you within family-minded communities, you might also consider London’s southern postcodes in the general Wandsworth, Lambeth, and Southwark boroughs. Within these, the Clapham neighborhood has been locally known as “Nappy Valley” (“nappy” is British English for “diaper”), and Dulwich is on its heels for claiming the title.

A comprehensive resource that could prove most useful to you, in fact, is Nappy Valley Net: www.nappyvalleynet.com. As of now, the site covers Richmond (including Twickenham and Teddington) and Wandsworth (including Clapham and Battersea) and gives oodles of information on childcare, shopping, schools, fitness, home and garden, and the like.

So if you’re relocating to London with a family and would like to inquire into London apartments to be found in any of these London neighborhoods, please do give London Relocation a call or fill out our online web form!

Shopping in London after a London move - Image via Wikipedia

Author: Colleen

Moving to London from the US has made me realize how much there is to see in this fine city and how much simply cannot be seen during a single visit. Every time I have a guest in town, I’m overflowing with ideas of what we could see and do based on my own faves and their interests, but we can never cover it all.

But I’ll be damned if we’re not tryin’ this week! As I’ve been chronicling so far, this American expat in London and my good friend visiting from the States are painting this town red, white, and blue in the spirit of the Union Jack and our Star-Spangled Banner. Yesterday, we tackled the big stuff central to London tourism, and today we decided to get our shopping thang on in west London.

To start, the iconic red double-decker bus is always a nice transport option to have your guests try at least once, and make sure they sit up top! It sounds cheesy, but when you haven’t ridden on one before, you really do get a kick out of the elevated perspective as well as how those drivers manage to maneuver through the twists of these narrow streets. So I chose this option for getting to Notting Hill so that my friend could take in the scenery that one misses in the Underground. Hopping off at Notting Hill Gate, Portobello Road was my friend’s request to scope out the famous market and its antiques, fashions, and foods to be had. In addition to me pointing out the usual sites from the film Notting Hill (the fake travel bookshop, the real travel bookshop, the house that no longer has the little blue door…), my friend acquired a couple fabulous bags, a necklace, and properly hokey Royal Wedding souvenirs for friends and family. Score!

Given our not-so-early start this afternoon, we then decided to high-tail it to the British Library so we could see its manuscript room before it closed (my friend is a librarian in Los Angeles, so just as bookish as I am if not more!). The tube was our best bet for transport in this case: Central line out of Notting Hill Gate to Holburn, where we could connect to the Piccadilly Line to Kings Cross Station. Once you pass the impressive, almost Candy Land-ish St. Pancras station/hotel/London apartment building, the library is just at the next block, where you can see several stories of books (literally) on walking in, and across the atrium and to the left you’ll find the room of literary treasures that includes Jane Austen’s writing desk, Charlotte Bronte’s handwritten Jane Eyre, Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” the Magna Carta, back-of-the-envelope lyrics (again, literally) of The Beatles, star charts, and religious texts including the Gutenberg Bible. And it’s free.

But enough of the intellectually and culturally significant. It was time for more shopping. We returned to Kings Cross and hopped the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus for the famous Oxford and Regent streets—for an American frame of reference, I’d liken this area to NYC’s 5th Avenue and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Feeling a little peckish, though, we first bopped over to the Soho branch of Pho for some healthy Vietnamese cuisine and my previously-blogged-about weasel poop coffee. You heard me. And what can I say? It was on my friend’s must-do list!

Next on that list: Liberty of London. Ahhh…we spent such a nice amount of time there. Liberty has an abundance of beautiful, beautiful items—clothing, books, furniture, homewares, toiletries, crafts, fabrics (of course!), and on and on—but just being inside there is an experience, and you’ll likely find yourself suddenly desperate to purchase something tattooed in one of its famous fabric prints just to be able to carry a bit of that specialness home with you. It makes me wish I could bear blowing my nose into cloth so I could one day finally justify buying one of those pretty handkerchiefs… Bah! I just don’t think I could do it.

So, once again, we find ourselves home at my London apartment and kicking our feet up with a glass of wine to decompress from another day of covering a lot of London ground. What tomorrow holds the UK weather might just have to determine for us… I’ll be sure to keep you posted should you find any of our excursions remotely in keeping with what you might like to do yourself once you relocate to London!

Author: Colleen

Moving to London and looking to learn a bit more of its history? As we enter the second half of the alphabet in our April A to Z Blogging Challenge, you’d think from this post’s title that I’m jumping into the letter “P” already. Ah, but no… Those visiting or relocating to London have likely heard of Portobello Road—well, anyone who has seen a particular film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, for that matter, should have heard of it by now. This is the street that fills up like a theme park on weekends, but continues to provide a colorful, delightful stroll along its antiques, boutiques, and food market during the week. This is the street located in the neighborhood none other than:

“N” is for NOTTING HILL!

I know we blog about Notting Hill a lot, and it’s with good reason. Like it or not, it continues to be a massively popular London neighborhood for expats moving to London from the US—see “Finding the US in the UK” and ”The Best Places for Expats to Live in London” as well as “Not Notting Hill” for a counter-perspective. (Additional Notting Hill resources: Notting Hill Diary, Notting Hill Online Guide, London Notting Hill)  

But aside from the quaintness of the area and its London apartments that we see today, most probably are not aware of the highly contrasting history of this London neighborhood. Believe it or not, cute lil’ Notting Hill was once referred to as the “Potteries and Piggeries” in the 19th century. As the name would imply, a lot of potters produced bricks and tiles there, and the number of pigs was actually triple the amount of human residents!

Long before that, however, the area was originally settled by Saxons from 700AD onward. The origin of the name “Notting Hill” is rather uncertain, but it’s speculated that it might derive from the Saxon personal name Cnotta after the people who settled on its hill. A 1356 royal document notes the name “Knottynghull,” and a later text suggests the name derived from a Kensington manor named Knotting-Bernes, Mnutting-Barnes, or Nutting Barns.

Wherever the name came from, the settlement didn’t amount to much more than a hamlet until the 1800s, when it evolved into a village and working-class housing popped up all over. This is when potters came to fire the local clay (the remnant of this trade still existing on Potters Lane) and farmers raised their pigs. When you picture the cosmopolitan, affluent Notting Hill of today, it’s hard to register that at the time of Potteries and Piggeries, it was a less than desirable area to live.

Famous London resident: The author of the novel 1984 lived on Notting Hill's Portobello Road.

From the 1820s to 1840s, the Ladbroke family sought to develop the area into something more residential, and this is when communal gardens emerged for homes to back onto. As time passed, though, people could no longer afford the large homes available for sale there—the very wealthy had always opted to remain close to the city centre while the upper middle class migrated out of the area as well—so these buildings were divided into smaller flats that fell into slums in the WWII era. Notting Hill’s history became increasingly turbulent as Afro-Carribean immigrants flocked to the neighborhood. Racial riots started to break out in 1958, and, in response, the Notting Hill Carnival was born to celebrate the new demographic’s culture. This weekend-long festival to this day draws millions to Notting Hill’s streets every August.

Corrupt landlords and shoddy housing left in disrepair continued to render Notting Hill a seedy place to avoid as late as the 1970s. It evidently drew in the starving artists, however, as it became a center of creativity that continues into present-day, with notable artists and designers considering Notting Hill home for themselves and/or their studios (Stella McCartney is based there). It’s remarkable that in only four decades, the neighborhood has turned itself around to such a great extent, in terms of its quality residences, bustling commerce, and integration of diverse cultures.

So just when people want to write Notting Hill off as a touristed cliche, understanding its history might encourage you to look at it again through a new lens of appreciation. No, it shouldn’t be the only neighborhood you consider when you relocate to London, but it should certainly be among the ones that you do.

Living in London – West End Wonders- Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

West London is a part of Greater London and lies on the west side of the central area. It is considered an economically upscale area and is the location for numerous government organizations and offices which makes it a desirable spot for a London flat.  West London is also home to the busiest airport in the world. Heathrow airport is the window to Europe for visitors, tourists, business people and expats. West London caters for the various districts that are available around the M4 motor highway.

River Thames is very near to the West London and the area is full of parks and green areas which give it a distinctly village feel. The city of London is well into the planning stages for more development of the transport infrastructure of this area, various new railways lines are being laid, and it is expected that a few more boroughs and villages are likely to join the region of West London. Shepherds Bush, popular for fashion is also located in West London. There are major carnivals and festivals celebrated yearly by the Caribbean residents of this area and they are considered the largest festivals in the world that are celebrated on the streets of West London. Around two million tourists and local people take part in this celebration. The famous antique market that is located in Portobello Street is in West London.

In this area, the transportation system normally includes cars and then public transport into the centre of the city, which caters for all you transportation needs. There are mainly three type’s of transportation links available in West London and they are central line and the district lines. The third line being the Piccadilly line, which is the underground metro system. All these lines are served by three main hubs in West London namely Ealing, Richmond and the Hammersmith. Other than these transportation links there are two more systems that help in transporting people: The over land railway system and the West London trams.

Living in West London is a lot like living in the suburbs. Good schools, great parks and wide-open spaces, and you are minutes away from the city.

Living in London – North vs South: The Great London Debate- Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

If you are looking for rentals in London and simply cannot afford the more central areas then you should consider heading north. North London is an important area that is located north of the River Thames. This particular area consists of various small towns that are commonly referred to as boroughs such as Barnet, Islington, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow and Camden. Most of underground transportation networks are found in this area of North London. The small towns are situated on the north side of river Thames that include, Brent, Havering, Dagenham, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing Hillingdon and Hounslow.

South London is a part of Greater London and situated on south side of the River Thames. South London has the following major towns: Lewisham, Bexley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Southward, Wandsworth Sutton Bromley, Croydon, Kingston and Merton. There are a high number of residential flats and a smaller number of businesses in comparison to North London. These areas are under developed and poorly maintained as opposed to those in North London, but the area has been undergoing something of a cultural revolution. House prices are still low and you can pick up a bargain that will increase in value over the next few years. South London is home to a number of significant institutions and historical monuments such as Tate Art Gallery, South London Press, Globe Theatre, Lambeth Palace, Saatchi Art Centre, Battersea Park, Hayward Gallery and Power Station. These significant spots are surrounded by the Waterloo Bridge. Other features in South London include amusement centres and parks.

The obvious disparity between North London and South London is the underground metro stations. North London boasts about 245 metro stations as opposed to the 30 odd for South London in spite of the fact that the populations are approximately the same. South London is known for its popular entertainment activities for instance Brixton is famous for hosting live music sessions and well known clubs. One of the world’s oldest picture galleries is located in Dulwich, which is located in South London. Along with all these, Richmond Park is also located in South London and is considered the biggest park in Europe.

The world famous Wimbledon sport arena, located in South London attracts just about everyone during the Tennis Open from tourists and locals to your well-known celebrities to witness this annual sporting event.

Author:  Colleen

Continuing on with our London Relocation version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to make your London move festive, the next line in the original is: “On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing.”

Please join me in now singing our London Christmas carol:

“On the ninth day of Christmas, London gave to me…

fine BELLY-DANCING…”

…and fine Moroccan cuisine as well at Pasha restaurant in London’s South Kensington. Bringing a taste of the exotic into West London to spice up our lives, Pasha is my go-to whenever entertaining guests. It’s pricey, but nice for a special night out of the London apartment, with generous portions, great wine, tiered dessert platters of Turkish delight and baklava to wash down with mint tea, and, if you’re really in the spirit, indulge in some flavored sidewalk shisha (hookah). And need I mention there are belly dancers?

So now, to continue caroling:

“…housemaids a-cleaning,
several swans in Round Pond,
farmer’s market goose eggs,
fiiiiive O-lym-pic riiiiings!
Soaring raptor birds,
sweet French crepes,
a pub named Dove,
and a Partridge’s Kraft Mac-n-Cheese.”

This November-in-review blog post is brought to us all by Sue Hillman of It’s Your London touring company.  Providing custom tours of London tailored to your personal interests, It’s Your London will help you make the most of your time in this phenonemonal city whether you’re visiting, hosting visitors, or looking for something to do outside your new London apartment! (For more information, see our previous blog post on It’s Your London as well visit www.itsyourlondon.co.uk)

Sorry about missing out your October’s blog, I was all backed up with work and Colleen kindly let me off for just one month. From the beginning of October to the end of November in London we’ve been on a weather roller coaster from warm sunny days to the current very unusual early snowfall which has sent everyone into a spin! Having  2 months’ highlights to tell you about means picking just a few but after a long think, I’m including  the Lord Mayor’s Show, Anish Kapoor’s outdoor exhibition, a visit to the Houses of Parliament, and London Chocolate Week – is that enough variety?

The Lord Mayor’s Show has been happening every year since 1189 and they have only missed one year, 1852, due to Wellington’s funeral. The event marks the appointment each year of a new Lord Mayor as they have just a one year term of office. Confusion reigns as the Lord Mayor’s Show is not about the rather well known Boris Johnson who is Mayor of London, this is about the Mayor of the City of London, a smaller but I’m sure very important mayoral appointment. It’s the world’s oldest civic procession and it is a wonderfully mad mix of the Armed Forces, horses and carriages, and lots of dressing up including the dramatic drawing of Civil War muskets in front of the VIP grandstand. I’ve attached a load of photos to give you the idea but one thing hard to see is the soft toy theme!  It was really funny to see serious guys in ancient get up waving hand puppets – see if you can spot the guy with the sheep – and no, I’ve no idea why they did this! The Lord Mayor gave us a big wave with his hat as he passed by in the most extravagant fairytale carriage.

Anish Kapoor’s The World Upside Down is a number of reflective stainless steel pieces around Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park but I’m focussing on my favourite piece which has one side reflecting up and one down called C-Curve.  It sits among the lovely old trees and they blend wonderfully into the piece and the crowd around it were really enjoying interacting with it – looking at themselves and Kensington Palace in the far distance.  His work is full of fun and draws people into it so go if you can.

During the summer visitors can take a tour of the Houses of Parliament and they have just started offering Saturday tours for a trial period and it looked pretty busy so hopefully they will carry on.  You can’t take pictures except of the extraordinary Great Hall, the sole remaining part of the medieval Old Palace of Westminster which burned down in 1834.  It was built in 1097 and was then the largest hall in Europe and it still a remarkable sight. The tour takes you round the key areas of the Houses of Parliament including the House of Commons and House of Lords, the Lords is so much more elaborate it’s rather funny to see although that may be because the Commons was bombed in the Second World War. One great story was that Churchill had to decide whether to save the Great Hall or the Commons and thankfully opted for the much older Great Hall.  Knowledgeable guides will tell you this and other stories of the famous people who have worked here and the impact they have had on our history.

Last but not least is Chocolate Week which had a big show at Vinopolis – normally the home at wine.  The lovely hall was lined with stalls from every major chocatier around and they were all giving us free samples so it was a tough visit! We watched a talk by Paul A Young who is a top end and entertaining chocolate maker who tempted us with his off- the-wall Marmite truffle (if you don’t know Marmite it’s a love or hate spread) which definitely split the crowd. There was even a chocolate train but not for eating..  Everything was really beautiful but we did feel rather full and slightly sick afterwards!

I hope you enjoyed that rush through some fun times in London. Have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll see you in 2011 ready for another busy year.

Sue

www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

Author:  Colleen

Finally prying myself away from the BBC footage on Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton (BBC is no longer dead to me, as previously claimed…it still kicks and moans a little bit), I earlier tonight attended the “Made Without Gluten” Taster event at Otto Pizza in Notting Hill.

image from gourmettraveller.wordpress.com

Recently opened this past summer, Otto Pizza is London’s first-ever pizzeria serving up a cornmeal pizza crust. Interestingly enough, owners Rich and Tom were inspired by a cross-country road-trip around the United States, when a friend’s recommendation to try the Dove Vivi pizza restaurant in Portland, Oregon became a new calling. This was my first time eating a cornmeal crust pizza, and now in addition to knowing it’s a healthy and more filling alternative to regular pizza dough, I fully realize how flavorful it is! Otto’s regular crusts are prepared with both cornmeal and organic wheat flour, which those who tend to suffer mild digestive issues after eating pizza find to be a great relief to their systems—and, along with them, those with gluten allergies can finally eat pizza again and enjoy it.

We tried two versions of Otto’s made-without-gluten crust, the focus of this evening’s tasting. In my humble opinion, of the two toppings they offered with each, the first crust (more texture, more flavor) was a major score with the unexpectedly deeelicious corn and carmelized red onion topping—the taste and feel of all ingredients complemented each other so well. Likewise, the second crust (less texture, less flavor) was ideal for their sausage pizza, which was robust with flavor in and of itself and needed a sturdier crust like this to support the generous amount of topping.

And did I mention that I personally have no issues with gluten yet loved this crust (both versions of it) as much as the regular one they offer? It was a whole new tasting experience, yet wrapped in the warm, familiar comfort of one of my first loves, pizza. And, as an American, I particularly adored their sausage as tasting the closest to what I can only seem to find at home—Otto Pizza makes their own sausage, in fact, and spices and smokes it to perfection. The flavor just bursts over your buds at first bite…I’m already looking forward to when I can return to sample their creative range of fresh toppings, which are that much easier to mix-n-match when the pizzas are sold by the slice as well as by the whole or half.

Perhaps what impressed me most tonight was observing first-hand Rich and Tom’s passion for their pizza. It’s clear that it is a never-ending labor of love for them to experiment with new doughs and flavor combinations, as well as to treat the customer with friendly and attentive service—another inspiration they say they’ve brought back from the States. I do hope the feedback they received tonight proves fruitful for a successful menu and business, and I give them a lot of props for bringing something fresh and different to the London dinner table.