Yesterday we completed seven weeks here in London. Hard to believe, isn't it? We arrived on Saturday, 8 September and since have been getting used to living here and settling into work routines and the like.
There's lots to tell and many observations to be made about our life here and since there is no way to get current without a lot of writing, I thought I'd just pick a topic or two every week or so to compare/contrast life here as well as highlight some of our favorite activities. Maybe I can be more consistent at writing that way.
We've pretty much mastered how to get around London. Lots of walking of course as well as the tube, buses and trains. While that may sound like a hassle, the mass transportation here can get you just about anywhere and wait times are usually no longer than 5 minutes. The customer I'm working with is located near London Bridge and luckily for me is on the same tube line so I don't need to change trains and it's about a 30 minute ride.
Tube rides cost £2.70 ($4.35) each trip and buses are £1.35 ($2.15). Sounds expensive but you don't want to own a car here. Besides driving on the other side of the road and all the associated risks, cars are just plain expensive with insurance, gas, etc. but you also need to buy a parking permit to park outside your own house. And if you drive into the center of London, there is a congestion charge which is pretty steep and is in place to keep people from adding to the the cities major traffic problem. I've taken a taxi twice since here and on the advice of my colleagues that was at 6am and 9pm going to from the airport. Not much traffic at those hours and a short ride.
I take the tube daily and based on my schedule, sometimes I take 3-4 trips a day. Geoff often takes the bus down to one of the grocery stores he likes. It's not that far it's a steep hill back and often carrying alot of stuff. We wear our backpacks like another piece of clothing. Most grocery stores charge for a bag and you never know when you'll buy something and need to get it home. Also keeps things dry when getting around in the rain.
So far the weather has not been a major factor though in the last few days it's been a bit cold and windy. We've had some real downpours that have lasted a few hours. You can count on it to rain almost every day, you just don't know when. So you need to be prepared and keep a positive attitude - it's just water!
That's enough for one day. I will be back with more frequent updates.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Life in the KY
We're coming up on two weeks here in Kentucky staying at Cat's house. It's so great being here with family and we have been keeping pretty busy. We usually come "home" at least once a year but it's only for a couple of days. Now, we're settling into living here and are getting acclimated to the area. Here's a couple of highlights so far:
Weather: Phoenix hit 114 last week. Too bad we missed that - hah! However, we had a hot spell of our own at 104 that lasted almost a week. Even the Ohio River warmed up to bath water and wasn't all that refreshing when we went out on the boat. The humidity is usually no lower than 60% so that is taking some getting used to. In Phoenix, the sweat would be absorbed into the air. Here there's no room when the air is already saturated. Have had a couple of great cool evenings sitting on the patio which could not be done in Phoenix because even at 9pm it's still hot, hot, hot!
Landscape: It's all so green! Big difference from rock yards with patches of grass, so the color I most often associate to Phoenix is brown. Brown is boring. Here, the trees are lush with leaves, flowers are blooming, grass everywhere. There is kind of a drought so the grass is not as green as it should be but there's lots of it. Have passed a couple of nurseries and dream of having a garden and flower beds again. Sigh.
Outdoor living space: Phoenix homes are surrounded by block walls. Block doesn't just describe the construction material but also "blocks" out any view or interactions with neighbors. Typically you get into your car in the garage (because parking on the street or in your driveway is insane), leave, return and pull into your garage. No chance to ever see your neighbor unless you take out the trash or do some yard work which is usually not necessary because it's all rocks anyway. Here, if a yard does have fencing at all, it's chain link or wood rails. You actually have an opportunity to see and interact with your neighbors. And while there's no such thing as crime free neighborhood, it feels safe. Because your neighbors are looking out for you and leaving something out in your unfenced yard just doesn't disappear overnight.
Stuff to do: We are big euchre players. A deck of cards goes with us everywhere and we've been known to play while eating lunch, dinner or having a drink with Deb, Kirt, Dave, Peg, etc. We also learned a new card game called "Booger" (gross I know) but everyone can play instead of only four in euchre. Geoff, Deb and Dave have been playing some tennis. Dave lent Geoff his clubs so he and Ed have played some golf.
We are still not sure how long we'll be here. Did get some encouraging news yesterday that the UK is finally processing the Appirio company paperwork. If that goes smoothly, we'll then apply for Visas which takes about two weeks and then we can be on our way. Expecting maybe another 3-4 weeks. And while that's a same old song, now at least, we know our paperwork is in process.
In the meantime, I'm working and that's a good thing! I got a great assignment which took me to New York City last week which was fun. Cathy and Ed have been wonderful hosts and I will be forever grateful for their taking us in.
So until there's new news to print, we'll keep having fun in Kentucky in the summertime with all our peeps!
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Weather: Phoenix hit 114 last week. Too bad we missed that - hah! However, we had a hot spell of our own at 104 that lasted almost a week. Even the Ohio River warmed up to bath water and wasn't all that refreshing when we went out on the boat. The humidity is usually no lower than 60% so that is taking some getting used to. In Phoenix, the sweat would be absorbed into the air. Here there's no room when the air is already saturated. Have had a couple of great cool evenings sitting on the patio which could not be done in Phoenix because even at 9pm it's still hot, hot, hot!
Landscape: It's all so green! Big difference from rock yards with patches of grass, so the color I most often associate to Phoenix is brown. Brown is boring. Here, the trees are lush with leaves, flowers are blooming, grass everywhere. There is kind of a drought so the grass is not as green as it should be but there's lots of it. Have passed a couple of nurseries and dream of having a garden and flower beds again. Sigh.
Outdoor living space: Phoenix homes are surrounded by block walls. Block doesn't just describe the construction material but also "blocks" out any view or interactions with neighbors. Typically you get into your car in the garage (because parking on the street or in your driveway is insane), leave, return and pull into your garage. No chance to ever see your neighbor unless you take out the trash or do some yard work which is usually not necessary because it's all rocks anyway. Here, if a yard does have fencing at all, it's chain link or wood rails. You actually have an opportunity to see and interact with your neighbors. And while there's no such thing as crime free neighborhood, it feels safe. Because your neighbors are looking out for you and leaving something out in your unfenced yard just doesn't disappear overnight.
Stuff to do: We are big euchre players. A deck of cards goes with us everywhere and we've been known to play while eating lunch, dinner or having a drink with Deb, Kirt, Dave, Peg, etc. We also learned a new card game called "Booger" (gross I know) but everyone can play instead of only four in euchre. Geoff, Deb and Dave have been playing some tennis. Dave lent Geoff his clubs so he and Ed have played some golf.
We are still not sure how long we'll be here. Did get some encouraging news yesterday that the UK is finally processing the Appirio company paperwork. If that goes smoothly, we'll then apply for Visas which takes about two weeks and then we can be on our way. Expecting maybe another 3-4 weeks. And while that's a same old song, now at least, we know our paperwork is in process.
In the meantime, I'm working and that's a good thing! I got a great assignment which took me to New York City last week which was fun. Cathy and Ed have been wonderful hosts and I will be forever grateful for their taking us in.
So until there's new news to print, we'll keep having fun in Kentucky in the summertime with all our peeps!
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Nate, Geoff, Deb, Kirt, Dani
At Nate's house for a grillout
Friday, June 29, 2012
Moving Day(s)
It feels like we've been moving for months and it's a good thing! Preparing to get 2,000 square feet + garage + yard stuff into a Pod started back in February and even now as we wind down, there are still some odds and ends that need a home.
We merged, purged and divested ourselves of years of goodies. Loaned some, gave some away, donated loads to Big Brothers/Sisters, Salvation Army and filled countless trash bags. I am a pack rat like my Mother and I can't bear to get rid of Cris' school year memorabilia, wedding gifts, photographs framed back in the 80's - anything with sentimental value and I'm a total sap. I wish Cris and Brad luck with going through all the stuff someday as I figure I'll keep lugging it around wherever we go and then they can deal with it!
Here's a couple of pics of the pod and packing. Now that this is done, we've got lots more to do which includes packing our stuff for London (eventually), cleaning and making sure the Landlord is happy enough to return our deposit.
Monday we are off to Kentucky where we'll hang our hats for hopefully a short period before we head across the pond. Thanks in advance to Cathy and Ed for putting us up (putting up with us)!
We merged, purged and divested ourselves of years of goodies. Loaned some, gave some away, donated loads to Big Brothers/Sisters, Salvation Army and filled countless trash bags. I am a pack rat like my Mother and I can't bear to get rid of Cris' school year memorabilia, wedding gifts, photographs framed back in the 80's - anything with sentimental value and I'm a total sap. I wish Cris and Brad luck with going through all the stuff someday as I figure I'll keep lugging it around wherever we go and then they can deal with it!
Here's a couple of pics of the pod and packing. Now that this is done, we've got lots more to do which includes packing our stuff for London (eventually), cleaning and making sure the Landlord is happy enough to return our deposit.
Monday we are off to Kentucky where we'll hang our hats for hopefully a short period before we head across the pond. Thanks in advance to Cathy and Ed for putting us up (putting up with us)!
16x8x8
Boxes are 3 deep!
Half way
Bye bye stuff! See you in about a year.
Friday, June 22, 2012
A Little Side Trip
A bit of a quandary presented itself as we approach June 30 the day we need to move out of our rented house. The UK has not yet approved our paperwork so moving directly from Phoenix to London is not an option. So what to do?
We definitely want to leave Phoenix as there is no place to stay except for a hotel and since it's already 108 on a daily basis, we're opting to leave.
Deb and Kirt have a great place down in Kentucky but it's kind of remote and the worse part is that it's in a dry county. Imagine running out of beer and having to drive 3 hours round trip for a six pack. Ewww!
But Kentucky is an obvious choice since we have family there but needed a place to sleep and work. I called Cathy with our dilemma and there is a vacancy at the Baer Inn! She and Ed have graciously invited us to stay with them and we're very happy to have a place to hang our hat and be with folks we love.
We're in the midst of deciding what goes in the pod and what goes to London and what do we do with what is left over? Cris and Jess are taking a bunch of stuff. They've been great about keeping some of our stuff till we get back from London but I can't imagine asking for much of it back. We decided to hire Pod Packers, experts who know how to pack household goods in a pod. Doing that ourselves is risky as we could end up with bad packing and wasted space. As it is, I'm not sure we will get it all in! May have to rent a storage unit. But some will go to Salvation Army and Big Brothers/Sisters so not a total loss.
It's really hard for me to get much sleep while trying to pack in my mind. I lay awake at night wondering and worrying about how we'll get it all done in time. But it will have to get done so we can get the place cleaned and ready for the landlord to view on Saturday 6/30.
Brad and Christi are in town the weekend of the move so we'll be lucky enough to see them again before we head out. Hope to spend as much time as we can with them. Cris is taking off all of next week so I'm going to see him as often as I can and try not to think about leaving cause even now I start to choke up. We've not been apart for more than a couple of weeks in 28 years so this is gonna be one tough goodbye. Tears starting even now:(
I'll write again from the K-Y! That's home and I look forward to lush green hillsides and lots of family around to spend time with while we await "go" for London. The humidity, on the other hand, not so much!
But Kentucky is an obvious choice since we have family there but needed a place to sleep and work. I called Cathy with our dilemma and there is a vacancy at the Baer Inn! She and Ed have graciously invited us to stay with them and we're very happy to have a place to hang our hat and be with folks we love.
We're in the midst of deciding what goes in the pod and what goes to London and what do we do with what is left over? Cris and Jess are taking a bunch of stuff. They've been great about keeping some of our stuff till we get back from London but I can't imagine asking for much of it back. We decided to hire Pod Packers, experts who know how to pack household goods in a pod. Doing that ourselves is risky as we could end up with bad packing and wasted space. As it is, I'm not sure we will get it all in! May have to rent a storage unit. But some will go to Salvation Army and Big Brothers/Sisters so not a total loss.
It's really hard for me to get much sleep while trying to pack in my mind. I lay awake at night wondering and worrying about how we'll get it all done in time. But it will have to get done so we can get the place cleaned and ready for the landlord to view on Saturday 6/30.
Brad and Christi are in town the weekend of the move so we'll be lucky enough to see them again before we head out. Hope to spend as much time as we can with them. Cris is taking off all of next week so I'm going to see him as often as I can and try not to think about leaving cause even now I start to choke up. We've not been apart for more than a couple of weeks in 28 years so this is gonna be one tough goodbye. Tears starting even now:(
I'll write again from the K-Y! That's home and I look forward to lush green hillsides and lots of family around to spend time with while we await "go" for London. The humidity, on the other hand, not so much!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Post Code map for getting around
Here's a post code map which is how to find places in London. The code starts with 3 characters and the first one or two are the direction from the city center. Example, we are in NW3 so we are northwest of the city center. Knowing the post code of a place is invaluable to help you figure out what part of town you are going to and helps with tube planning.
Top 10 Pubs in London
I'd like to hit 80-90% of these pubs while in London. Check out the video at the end on how to choose a pub. Good info on local beers and food.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/londons-10-best-pubs-according-to-national-geographic_n_1527565.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/londons-10-best-pubs-according-to-national-geographic_n_1527565.html
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Preparing for the move
Counting down to the end of June when we'll be leaving our home in Phoenix. Right now we are living in the midst of half packed boxes, making lists of what goes and what stays (that is hard!) and preparing for living in London.
We've opened our bank accounts and luckily we've arranged no-fee transfer of funds from US to UK thanks to Mala our banker. I've purchased an iPhone so we have international access when we are in the states and I will keep the phone number I've had since 1995. Unfortunately, Geoff will be giving up his number. Sorry bout that honey!
We've decided to use a Pod for storing our goods while overseas. This choice allows us more flexibility for moving our stuff in case we decide not to come back to Phoenix. And since it's already 108 and only the middle of May, my vote is for just about anywhere else! Good news is that the pod will be placed in a temperature controlled environment so no worries about stuff burning up.
Also, we're getting connected to London by way of a couple of websites, Twitter and Facebook. Anglotopia https://www.facebook.com/anglotopia is a website for people who love Britain. The Underground has just added twitters for tube line service updates so we can follow the lines we travel most and avoid getting to the station and there's no service. We'll be following the Northern, Victoria and Central lines as these are the lines for getting to/from Oxford Circus near the office. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/socialmedia/. Another great site is "Americans Moving to London" that has helpful tips and hints on everything from things to do, expat info and what to think about when moving abroad. http://www.londonrelocationservices.com/blog/category/living-in-london-2/americans-moving-to-london-living-in-london-2
We're also doing the most important thing of all and that is spending time with our family before we go. We spent some quality time in Kentucky visiting and Brad and Christi were in town for a week. Geoff is heading out to Albuquerque for a long weekend for some 1:1 time with Brad on the golf course. Geoff sees Jon almost every day and while he won't really know where we are I know he will miss us. Last, Cris is buying a house and we're thrilled for him! Ulterior motive is to have him "keep" some items for us so we don't have to store them and he'll need them for the new house anyway. In any case, we are having some fun with him and Jess before we go. The good bye to Cris is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done.
So that's where we are right now. It's a good place and yet we are anxious for getting started on this new chapter of our lives.
 |
| Office mess! |
We've opened our bank accounts and luckily we've arranged no-fee transfer of funds from US to UK thanks to Mala our banker. I've purchased an iPhone so we have international access when we are in the states and I will keep the phone number I've had since 1995. Unfortunately, Geoff will be giving up his number. Sorry bout that honey!
We've decided to use a Pod for storing our goods while overseas. This choice allows us more flexibility for moving our stuff in case we decide not to come back to Phoenix. And since it's already 108 and only the middle of May, my vote is for just about anywhere else! Good news is that the pod will be placed in a temperature controlled environment so no worries about stuff burning up.
Also, we're getting connected to London by way of a couple of websites, Twitter and Facebook. Anglotopia https://www.facebook.com/anglotopia is a website for people who love Britain. The Underground has just added twitters for tube line service updates so we can follow the lines we travel most and avoid getting to the station and there's no service. We'll be following the Northern, Victoria and Central lines as these are the lines for getting to/from Oxford Circus near the office. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/socialmedia/. Another great site is "Americans Moving to London" that has helpful tips and hints on everything from things to do, expat info and what to think about when moving abroad. http://www.londonrelocationservices.com/blog/category/living-in-london-2/americans-moving-to-london-living-in-london-2
We're also doing the most important thing of all and that is spending time with our family before we go. We spent some quality time in Kentucky visiting and Brad and Christi were in town for a week. Geoff is heading out to Albuquerque for a long weekend for some 1:1 time with Brad on the golf course. Geoff sees Jon almost every day and while he won't really know where we are I know he will miss us. Last, Cris is buying a house and we're thrilled for him! Ulterior motive is to have him "keep" some items for us so we don't have to store them and he'll need them for the new house anyway. In any case, we are having some fun with him and Jess before we go. The good bye to Cris is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done.
So that's where we are right now. It's a good place and yet we are anxious for getting started on this new chapter of our lives.
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