With all the excitement of the last few weeks, this week has felt pretty bland by comparison. We’re nestled happily in our apartment (aside from figuring out the dryer and the shower pump (to help with water pressure since we’re on the 5th floor)) and we now have a UK bank account, debit and credit cards. And we’ve repurchased all the household items we gave to Goodwill and put in storage in the states (clothes hangers, trash cans, towels, sheets, baking dishes, dishes, etc.). When doing our analysis in the States, we realized it was less costly to buy new ones than to ship over our old…
G had his first day in the European office today. All’s well on that front, as well.
And since G was in the office today, I ventured out for the first time on my own. I’m very comfortable with the main tube lines in Zone 1 & 2 now, but Zones 3&4 are a bit more daunting (and scary to me). I made it to Ikea and back with no hassles or troubles today and was quite proud (Ikea’s in Zone 3 and requires walking, tube, buses and transfers).
I don’t get intimidated very easily and have examined this situation to figure out why I find zones 3&4 a bit daunting. Here’s where I’ve landed. Getting to specific destinations in zones 3&4 requires the use of buses. While the tube is self-explanatory, the bus system has room for improvement. Bus routes are not posted on the buses and the bus drivers don’t announce when stops are coming up. But, as a passenger, you have to press a button to make the driver stop. And bus route maps aren’t available in hard copy at the stops–you can just look at the maps posted on the wall of the stop to determine how many stops there will be before yours. Bottomline: Being new to the city, it’s difficult to know when and where your stop will be and when to press the button. AND walking the streets in some Zone 3&4 areas is scary. So, where’s the silver lining. For me, I think having a printer is the answer. We had to leave ours in the States and haven’t yet purchased a new one. Once we do, I’ll be able to print details journey maps to know landmarks along the way.
Other lessons learned:
1. Water pressure in the UK stinks. Leaky pipes underground lose an insane number of liters per day–lowering the water pressure. And I’m sure that there are other reasons… Bottomline, if you’re living in London, you have to have special shower appliances to boost the water pressure, otherwise it’s a trickle.
2. Dryers in the UK do not dry. Because all the flats are within converted mansions and other buildings, few flats have the ability to vent dryers to the outside. Instead, the dryers that they do have cycle and cool, steaming the clothes, but they don’t get dry. At the moment, our dryer doesn’t heat at all. The landlord’s looking into it.
3. If on a budget in London, head immediately to Ikea for household goods. Unfortunately, our first stop was at the Mall (we didn’t think about Ikea until Thursday). We bought a few items at John Lewis (a department store) on Wednesday and paid crazy prices (the equivalent of $10 for a hand towel, $8 for a grater, $20 for a cutting board. That might not sound like a lot, but at Ikea hand towels are the equivalent of $4–a grater’s $5 and a cutting board’s $14–it’s a bit difference by comparison. Thank goodness we didn’t buy tons on day one and thank goodness for Ikea!
4. If moving to the UK and particular about sheets, bring them with you. The premium sheets in the UK (300 thread count) are the equivalent of $165! Even the standard 180-200 thread count versions were the equivalent of $90. We needed sheets and ended up purchasing very basic ones at Ikea for much, much less. They’re not premium, but they’ll do.
5. If lost or in need of help, ask a person aged 60+. They’ll take you under their wing and get you where you need to go.
6. If you smile, people will want to talk to you–and they’ll also assume that you’re not a native. I naturally smile at folks on the street [I know–small town girl goes to the big city. It just seems strange to keep your head to the ground. I just can’t do it]. As a result, without speaking to others first, their automatic first question is “where are you from?” It’s got to be the smiling that gives me away. That–or my teeth (of course I’m teasing–I’ve met tons of people with nice teeth here since we arrived)
So, from your travels in London, what do you think would be hardest to get used to or to do without?
