London, England

As a gift to one another for Christmas of 2005, we traveled to London, England. While there we explored the usual suspects (Harrods, Selfridges, the famous art museums and galleries, rode “The Eye” at sunset), visited our friend who moved to London in September of 2005, and also took a bit of time to experience “life”. We ventured to a couple shows (Mama Mia! is very well done) and also took time out to enjoy the city’s cafes and restaurants.In hindsight, it was this trip that allowed us to appreciate the merits of life in London and laid the foundation for our move abroad.

Now, eight months later, we’re back in London and enjoying life as local transplants. So, for those of you who may consider moving to London, here’s a few “crib notes” for your journey.

London’s Boroughs as we see them:

• Kensington/Chelsea (home of Notting Hill, etc). A wonderful and safe place to live. On the district and city lines. Very convenient to the major tourist sights–and becoming a bit of a tourist sight itself. The market on Portobello Road is very nice on Saturdays (antiques, fruit & veg, jewelry, art, food stalls, etc.) and they also have markets on other days of the week, as well. Also home to Princess Diana’s Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. Real estate prices in this area are some of the highest in the region. Expect to pay at least £350 per week for a small, liveable 1 bedroom flat here. The ones we could afford in this borough were far from the tube, outdated, tiny, or on major thoroughfares.
• Earl’s Court. A nice multi-cultural area very near to the airport and convenient to the major tourist sights. Lots of great ethnic food here and home to lots of nice beer pubs. Centrally located and a good place to call home (depending on where you’re commuting). For us, Earl’s Court would have been too far from K’s business school.
• Bayswater. Nice area, lots of ethnic food choices. Definite “city feel”. Just north of Hyde Park. Bayswater tube stop is nice, but many properties are out by the Royal Oak tube stop–trains only run every 8-9 minutes at this stop–not ideal.
• Marylebone. Highrise buildings and old, mansion conversions give this borough its character. It’s a wonderful place to call home with lots of shops, restaurants and other conveniences. And its very close-in. Convenient tube stop.
• Fulham Broadway. Southwest of the City, this borough has a big city village feel. We saw an adorable two bedroom flat tucked across from wonderful shops and restaurants and fell in love with it. But, this location isn’t convenient to K’s business school and was cut early-on.
• West Hampstead. Trendy, young place to be. Wonderful restaurants, safe leafy streets and lots of old conversions. Convenient to the overland and tube. Affordable. Big city feel. Very near to Hampstead Village, Belsize & St. John’s Wood.
• St. John’s Wood. The High Street here is adorable with lively pubs, restaurants and markets. The locals are friendly and the housing’s affordable. It’s not convenient to the overland, but the tube stop is on a major line and very convenient to the major city sights.
• Camden Town. Popular, young, trendy and affordable. An “alternative” town. Home to a Saturday market with ethnic food stalls, lots of piercing supplies (?), trendy clothes (some cute), fun beads and jewelry and a few furniture stalls. The canal also makes its way through Camden Town–you can see an old-style lock in action.
• Maida Vale. Beautiful mansion conversions line the streets of Maida Vale. Part of Hampstead, the average age of its residents seems to be 40+. They call the town “Little Venice” because the City’s Canal runs through it. It’s a beautiful place with small restaurants and markets on its major streets, but it lacks a major market and flats let for a bit more than in other areas.
• Docklands. Very trendy and popular with the 30ish crowd (pre-children). Old warehouses have been converted to cool flats with exposed brick, old glass and lots of character. This is generally an area we would have seriously considered, but it isn’t convenient to G’s office in Chiswick.
• Hampstead Village. An old-style English village perched on a hill just North of London. With tree-lined streets, old converted mansions and trendy boutiques, restuarants, and markets at every turn, this borough has a village feel. This is a place where you’ll know the butcher, grocer, and baker. Affluent young-ish couples and couples with young toddlers share this borough with many of the world’s rich and famous. Convenient to the tube, overland and (essential) an oversize Marks & Spencer grocery. The Hampstead Village name and zip code comes at a premium.
• Belsize Park. Just a 10th of a mile downhill from Hampstead Village, Belsize Park maintains much of the character of Hampstead Village, but at a lower cost. This town does have markets, restaurants, pubs, and bakers of its own, but is also only a short walk from the trendy shops of Hampstead Village. Also convenient to the (very important) Marks & Spencer oversized grocery, overland and the tube.

There are, of course, other boroughs. But, the ones above were the frontrunners in our search–mainly due to their location. G’s commuting to Chiswick and K’s commuting into the City. We needed a place with convenient transportation connections to both.