So, after looking at a number of flats so far this week, I decided to go for a bit more space at the cost of being a bit further from activity. Granted, I'm by the Holloway Road tube stop, only two tube stops away from Kings Cross, and a late-night bus stops right outside the building.
I'll have a Canadian flatmate in a building built within the past decade, large kitchen, and decent-sized dining/living room.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=n7+7ay
It looks like I'll be getting the keys next Saturday and I'll move in over the course of the following week.
Thursday 31 July 2008
Monday 28 July 2008
There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...
Now, the decision: where do I want to live for at least the next few months, and potentially for the full 18 months of my assignment in London? I visited a number of neighborhoods with two friends this weekend, and then spent a good six hours today with a relocation specialist who showed me a few other neighborhoods and flats within each of them.
Now, for background, I'm imposing a somewhat arbitrary limit on what I will spend on housing. It is approximately the midpoint of what my firm's mobility team said I should expect to spend (high end) and what a few other expats who have lived here several years recommended (low end). I would very much prefer to spend less on housing and have more money to travel throughout Europe and explore. However, I will not live in a slum to make that happen.
The biggest decision in my mind is whether or not to do a flatshare. I could no doubt afford to live on my own, and there is something to be said for that independence. Having my own place precludes confrontations with flatmates, late night noise when I want to sleep, issues with guests from out of town spending a few nights crashing there, and other factors. However, to afford my own place, I'm likely going to be in a slightly less central area, with a slightly longer commute. The relocation guy showed me a few places in Bow Quarter, Islington, Camden, and Surrey Quays. Of all the areas we saw, I'd be leaning toward Bow Quarter or Surrey Quays based on commute time, proximity to social life, and other factors. If I decide to live on my own and enter into a lease via an agent, he'll arrange viewings of a number of properties in the area, take care of all lease paperwork, and help to set up utilities in my name before I move into the property. If I follow this path, I'll probably do a day of viewing flats in Bow Quarter and a day in Surrey Quays, select a property, and let him work his magic from there.
For several hundred pounds less per month, I could live in a flatshare. I'd have a less formal lease, one or more flatmates, and potentially live in a slightly more desireable area. It would be a bit more of a challenge for others to crash when visiting from out of the country, as there would be flatmates to take into account. Likewise, I'd have somewhat less privacy, sharing common areas with one or more others -- either in similar situations as me, or as students. It would provide me the opportunity to move to different areas throughout my time in London to experience multiple neighborhoods by living in them, but would also potentially require me to move against my will sometime during my initially agreed-to 18 months, as opposed to having much less of a chance I'd need to move unwillingly from a location I lease on my own.
Yesterday, I viewed a flatshare that's about a 5-minute walk from the Angel tube station. It's in a fun, lively, somewhat crowded part of town, but two streets back from the main street and in a somewhat quiet area. It was newly furnished, and the kitchen was spacious. My flatmate would be the owner -- a 20something real estate insurance broker who had posted the availability of this flat via a running club here in town. However, there was no dining or living area -- just a small table in the kitchen and whatever living area I set up within my bedroom. It'd be a great place to crash for £675 all-inclusive (council tax, utilities, etc.) but far short of a homey feel, a place for dinner parties, or the like.
At the other end of the spectrum, I saw one-bedrooms in Bow Quarter and Surrey Quay today for £230 per week, plus utilities, plus council tax, bringing them to £1200 or so per month all-inclusive. I could somewhat comfortably afford to do this, and the privacy and independence would be nice, but it would mean substantially less money to set aside for travel and other activities while here.
While writing this, I was contacted by another owner looking to sublet a room, via a London Business School bboard posting I'd made via a friend a few days ago. I'm going to try to take a look at it in the next few days, and determine whether or not I want to re-engage the relocation company to seek something on my own.
Now, for background, I'm imposing a somewhat arbitrary limit on what I will spend on housing. It is approximately the midpoint of what my firm's mobility team said I should expect to spend (high end) and what a few other expats who have lived here several years recommended (low end). I would very much prefer to spend less on housing and have more money to travel throughout Europe and explore. However, I will not live in a slum to make that happen.
The biggest decision in my mind is whether or not to do a flatshare. I could no doubt afford to live on my own, and there is something to be said for that independence. Having my own place precludes confrontations with flatmates, late night noise when I want to sleep, issues with guests from out of town spending a few nights crashing there, and other factors. However, to afford my own place, I'm likely going to be in a slightly less central area, with a slightly longer commute. The relocation guy showed me a few places in Bow Quarter, Islington, Camden, and Surrey Quays. Of all the areas we saw, I'd be leaning toward Bow Quarter or Surrey Quays based on commute time, proximity to social life, and other factors. If I decide to live on my own and enter into a lease via an agent, he'll arrange viewings of a number of properties in the area, take care of all lease paperwork, and help to set up utilities in my name before I move into the property. If I follow this path, I'll probably do a day of viewing flats in Bow Quarter and a day in Surrey Quays, select a property, and let him work his magic from there.
For several hundred pounds less per month, I could live in a flatshare. I'd have a less formal lease, one or more flatmates, and potentially live in a slightly more desireable area. It would be a bit more of a challenge for others to crash when visiting from out of the country, as there would be flatmates to take into account. Likewise, I'd have somewhat less privacy, sharing common areas with one or more others -- either in similar situations as me, or as students. It would provide me the opportunity to move to different areas throughout my time in London to experience multiple neighborhoods by living in them, but would also potentially require me to move against my will sometime during my initially agreed-to 18 months, as opposed to having much less of a chance I'd need to move unwillingly from a location I lease on my own.
Yesterday, I viewed a flatshare that's about a 5-minute walk from the Angel tube station. It's in a fun, lively, somewhat crowded part of town, but two streets back from the main street and in a somewhat quiet area. It was newly furnished, and the kitchen was spacious. My flatmate would be the owner -- a 20something real estate insurance broker who had posted the availability of this flat via a running club here in town. However, there was no dining or living area -- just a small table in the kitchen and whatever living area I set up within my bedroom. It'd be a great place to crash for £675 all-inclusive (council tax, utilities, etc.) but far short of a homey feel, a place for dinner parties, or the like.
At the other end of the spectrum, I saw one-bedrooms in Bow Quarter and Surrey Quay today for £230 per week, plus utilities, plus council tax, bringing them to £1200 or so per month all-inclusive. I could somewhat comfortably afford to do this, and the privacy and independence would be nice, but it would mean substantially less money to set aside for travel and other activities while here.
While writing this, I was contacted by another owner looking to sublet a room, via a London Business School bboard posting I'd made via a friend a few days ago. I'm going to try to take a look at it in the next few days, and determine whether or not I want to re-engage the relocation company to seek something on my own.
Sunday 27 July 2008
The beginning...
Greetings! I said I'd never have my own blog. It made no sense. I didn't want to tell the world everything going on in my life. Close friends would see or talk with me frequently enough that it made no sense to post rants visible to the world. Others, well, maybe I didn't want to share everything with them.
Alas, here I am, writing my inaugural blog entry. It's happening. Then again, there's a lot happening now that I didn't ever seriously expect to happen. Primarily: I'm living in London, for at least 18 months, on a rotation from my job in the States, where I've been working for three years, to do similar work with our practice in the UK.
In writing this, I do not intend to bore the reader with every minute detail of my life. If I do that, yell (or stop reading, for that matter). This is just a way to keep a record of my thoughts, experiences, and interpretations of my experience as an expat.
Having just stated that goal, I am almost immediately going to contradict it with a description of "my first day." In my very few previous trans-Atlantic flight experiences, I was able to catch at least a few hours worth of sleep. However, this time, I couldn't fall into a decent sleep after the first 30 minutes or so of a nap that I caught while taxiing in the queue of planes waiting to leave Newark. I'm not sure if it was the excitement of moving to another country as opposed to just visiting for a few days, the crying baby two rows away, or something else, but I just couldn't nod off. So, I thought I'd have a quiet Friday upon arrival in London, and maybe take a bit of a nap...
I was dropped off at my temporary apartment, arranged through work, with an envelope that had a keyring and two keys on it. Balancing two large suitcases, a carryon suitcase, and a laptop bag, I got everything up the few steps to the front door, opened it, and moved all four bags inside. Next, I saw the sign showing that my apartment is on the fourth floor... great, an elevator, perhaps? Fortunately, there was one. I got everything through the second entryway door and into the elevator to go up to my flat. After restacking everything in the hallway on the fourth floor, I went to open the door. Neither key worked. At all. It's not as if I could insert a key and it wouldn't turn... neither key even looked like it fit either of the keyholes on the door. I looked around, and the building was deserted. It was 8am or so on a Friday, and there was nobody to be found -- the building has only 10 flats, and there is no doorman, maintenance person, or the like on site. After trying a few more times, I gave up and called the emergency contact number for the management company. The guy on the other end of the phone didn't believe me in my jetlagged state and American accent, but begrudgingly said he'd drive over to help. Fast forward 20 minutes... he walks up the stairs, looks at the keyring, and says "oh, oops! wrong keys!"
So, that was mildly amusing and mildly frustrating... but if that's the worst experience I've had to date in a new country, life's great!
Friday afternoon, I settled in, bought some groceries, a UK SIM card for my phone, set up Skype, unpacked the luggage, and went for a bit of a run. I was thinking of cooking a quiet meal and heading off to sleep at 8ish, when I got a message from Christie. Now, two funny things here: I've never met Christie at this point, even though we've had many email messages back and forth about American expat experiencies moving to London, and Christie works for a competitor to my employer. Note that at this point, I have yet to be able to get in touch with anyone from my own firm's office in London, despite several email messages to different people, yet here I am getting a message inviting me to a competitor's Friday afternoon happy hour. Why not?
After a great time and way too much Champagne that night, Saturday started a bit slower. Regardless, I got to experience breakfast from Borough Market, lunch outdoors in Chelsea, a walk through Marylebone, and an incredible wine bar. Thank you, tour guide Christie!
Today was another slow start, followed by a run through the docklands to Canary Wharf, and then meeting up with a former coworker who showed me other parts of Marylebone, Regents Park, St. Johns Wood, Maida Vale, and Little Venice, before I went to view a flat just off the Angel tube station.
There's much more I could say, but it's time to catch some sleep here. As a note to myself and others, here are a few items upon which I'd like to comment at some point in the near future:
Alas, here I am, writing my inaugural blog entry. It's happening. Then again, there's a lot happening now that I didn't ever seriously expect to happen. Primarily: I'm living in London, for at least 18 months, on a rotation from my job in the States, where I've been working for three years, to do similar work with our practice in the UK.
In writing this, I do not intend to bore the reader with every minute detail of my life. If I do that, yell (or stop reading, for that matter). This is just a way to keep a record of my thoughts, experiences, and interpretations of my experience as an expat.
Having just stated that goal, I am almost immediately going to contradict it with a description of "my first day." In my very few previous trans-Atlantic flight experiences, I was able to catch at least a few hours worth of sleep. However, this time, I couldn't fall into a decent sleep after the first 30 minutes or so of a nap that I caught while taxiing in the queue of planes waiting to leave Newark. I'm not sure if it was the excitement of moving to another country as opposed to just visiting for a few days, the crying baby two rows away, or something else, but I just couldn't nod off. So, I thought I'd have a quiet Friday upon arrival in London, and maybe take a bit of a nap...
I was dropped off at my temporary apartment, arranged through work, with an envelope that had a keyring and two keys on it. Balancing two large suitcases, a carryon suitcase, and a laptop bag, I got everything up the few steps to the front door, opened it, and moved all four bags inside. Next, I saw the sign showing that my apartment is on the fourth floor... great, an elevator, perhaps? Fortunately, there was one. I got everything through the second entryway door and into the elevator to go up to my flat. After restacking everything in the hallway on the fourth floor, I went to open the door. Neither key worked. At all. It's not as if I could insert a key and it wouldn't turn... neither key even looked like it fit either of the keyholes on the door. I looked around, and the building was deserted. It was 8am or so on a Friday, and there was nobody to be found -- the building has only 10 flats, and there is no doorman, maintenance person, or the like on site. After trying a few more times, I gave up and called the emergency contact number for the management company. The guy on the other end of the phone didn't believe me in my jetlagged state and American accent, but begrudgingly said he'd drive over to help. Fast forward 20 minutes... he walks up the stairs, looks at the keyring, and says "oh, oops! wrong keys!"
So, that was mildly amusing and mildly frustrating... but if that's the worst experience I've had to date in a new country, life's great!
Friday afternoon, I settled in, bought some groceries, a UK SIM card for my phone, set up Skype, unpacked the luggage, and went for a bit of a run. I was thinking of cooking a quiet meal and heading off to sleep at 8ish, when I got a message from Christie. Now, two funny things here: I've never met Christie at this point, even though we've had many email messages back and forth about American expat experiencies moving to London, and Christie works for a competitor to my employer. Note that at this point, I have yet to be able to get in touch with anyone from my own firm's office in London, despite several email messages to different people, yet here I am getting a message inviting me to a competitor's Friday afternoon happy hour. Why not?
After a great time and way too much Champagne that night, Saturday started a bit slower. Regardless, I got to experience breakfast from Borough Market, lunch outdoors in Chelsea, a walk through Marylebone, and an incredible wine bar. Thank you, tour guide Christie!
Today was another slow start, followed by a run through the docklands to Canary Wharf, and then meeting up with a former coworker who showed me other parts of Marylebone, Regents Park, St. Johns Wood, Maida Vale, and Little Venice, before I went to view a flat just off the Angel tube station.
There's much more I could say, but it's time to catch some sleep here. As a note to myself and others, here are a few items upon which I'd like to comment at some point in the near future:
- Housing considerations and trade-offs
- The weather
- Why am I doing this?
- Travel plans
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
