May
2009
London is Calling Me
For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of living in a foreign city – foreign to me, and not necessarily of a different language. First I have dreamed of ‘making it’ in New York City, on the little island called Manhattan that never slept. Then it was the dream of living in Paris, eating macarons, drinking lattes, and writing by a little window whose view showed off the Eiffel Tower. After visiting Amsterdam I dreamed of living in a narrow little first-floor flat, minimal in design, with floor-to-ceiling windows that opened completely onto a canal, with little brick streets and a bicycle parked at my door.
Now it’s London that’s calling me.
I have always been a bit of a dreamer, these dreams were always generally out of reach, unattainable, and yet J seemingly makes all my dreams come true – is it any wonder that I’m in love with him? J is also a dreamer, but he knows how to make them happen, some how, and it is thanks to him that we are moving to London within the year.
It was an easy decision to make, London has good schools, it is English-speaking, and J can easily find work there, he has already made contacts, he is already planning out our future there. We are visiting London in early June and I simply cannot wait!
I’ve been doing a lot of research into where to live, what areas are nice, and what’s affordable - and although I haven’t quite figured it out, I do believe I enjoy the East side of the city, in terms of both affordability and that it seems to be our kind of neighborhood.
Hoxton Square, to be specific. From what I have found, it seems to be a hip, urban area, a little rough, a little industrial, and totally to our modern tastes. Unfortunately, it’s also a rather trendy neighborhood, and subsequently, I am looking even further east to find a place to live.
It seems a little funny deciding on a place to live, or even moving to a city, where one has never been before. But I have no doubt in my heart that we will love it in London, I have a great feeling about this, a very positive feeling. I have no concerns or doubts about whether or not this is a good idea – because it definitely is.
I would love to know from anyone out there, where would a good place be to move to London, that’s not overly expensive but still nice enough for a child, with a good school and a neighborhood close by with shops and restaurants? We are definitely leaning more to the East, but we will know more once we get there.
Where do YOU think I should move?
xoxo
Fab Brunette
Elle
May 4, 2009 at (1508 days ago)That is amazing – I’m jealous! I’ve only visited once so I don’t know much about it, but have an amazing time planning!!
thischicksgotstyle
May 4, 2009 at (1508 days ago)Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog! I live in Amsterdam, and I think that is great, but I would love to live in NYC too! Londen is an amazing city too!
Let us know what you decide on;)
x!
Nikolett
May 4, 2009 at (1508 days ago)Umms, I think you should NOT move to London LOL. But you know me, it’s ’cause I’ll miss you too much. I would love to visit, though. If you make it happen within the year, all the more happiness to you!
Potty Mummy
May 4, 2009 at (1508 days ago)Oh nononononon…. Not East. Are you crazy? It’s far too gritty and real over there. Go West, young woman, that’s what I say. So what that it’s one of the most expensive areas of London to live in, once you visit Chelsea and South Kensington you’ll be seduced by it’s charming garden squares, blossoming trees, good schools, and beautiful buildings. Then you’ll check the prices, fall over, and decide that Fulham (which is only next door, after all) is probably the place for you…
And honestly, you couldn’t have picked a better time. Rents are falling through the floor. Whatever the estate agent says, make a cheeky offer on somewhere you like. The area I just mentioned is banker-ville, and speaking as the wife of an ex-banker, I am in the perfect position to say, guess what? None of them have any cash, so they’re moving out and prices are coming down a at a rate of knots…
Maternal Tales
May 4, 2009 at (1508 days ago)Ok, so don’t listen to Potty Mummy – North (towards East) is the way to go!! Somewhere like Stoke Newington (good for children, loads of other Mums, etc). I would suggest Islington (lived there for years), but it is now tooo expensive – which is why we moved to Brighton – hold on, have you thought of that?? Much better than London…on a smaller scale, but similar – and by the sea…Come and visit in June and you’ll never want to go back to London again!!
Margarita
May 4, 2009 at (1507 days ago)Elle – I can’t wait to visit!
ThisChicksGotStyle – Thanks so much for visiting my blog!
Nikolett – how much fun would you have visiting me though??
Potty Mummy – Thanks fo rthe comments, I suppose I should go see how the market’s been affected in that area as well. It is gorgeous.
Maternal Tales – I will definitely look into North as well.
I need a real estate agent!
Jessica {lovely jubbly london}
May 5, 2009 at (1507 days ago)It’s too hard to say, you really need to visit the different hoods. I never like east London and when we lived in the city preferred NW London. Hampstead was our old pad and it really is wondeful up there. Affordable? Probably not so much! I love SW London as well. For good schools, if you want free, it will difficult. Definitely not east in that regard. Church of England schools tend to be a bit better as far as free schools go and the Times publishes a good schools guide ranking schools. Definitely google it and you should find the list. It does go by area as to what school you get, but competition for free schools is fierce and you may not even get into a school that is on your street. (Like nyc!)
Metropolitan Mum
May 5, 2009 at (1507 days ago)North! North! North! Islington is lovely, with lots of beautiful squares and restaurants. East isn’t far away – if you are in need for an arty fashion fix on Brick Lane or if you want to have a drink on Hoxton Square. And prices are coming down here, too… (I live in Islington and love it!)
B
May 5, 2009 at (1507 days ago)Hi, thanks for adding me as a friend on Bloggamama. I have lived in Toronto (well, Unionville ;O)) for 4 years and I’m heading back to London (my home town) in July. I grew up in South London and went to school in Greenwich but we moved out to Hertfordshire (much more house for your money and GREAT schools) when we had the kids. Hoxton is UBBER COOL if that sounds like you, then go for it but to be honest (and I’m incredibly biased) London is the best place ever and there are sooo many places you could move to and be happy; good luck with house hunting!
MoaningMum
May 5, 2009 at (1507 days ago)if you want my two cents worth – East (Hoxton) is definitely cool, but with a kiddie not so much. you will feel old, fat, over-the-hill, and decidedly UNCOOL amongst all those teeny-weeny uber-trendy little things who saunter around waster with a lot of attitude….trust me….i used to be one
I’m rather partial to SouthWest London – esp. near the beautiful Commons, good schools, tons of children, relaxed, but still close to West End when you fancy a proper shop
good luck!
GreenwichGirl
May 7, 2009 at (1505 days ago)It depends how much you can afford to pay! Once you’ve paid rent, council tax and bills in a trendy area of London, you’re looking at £2,000 plus a month for a 2 bed flat. Move further out, more into the ‘burbs, and you’ll find rent is more reasonable, plus you get more green space, better schools, a place to park your car, and so on.
Hoxton is not a suitable place to bring up a child, I wouldn’t move there if I were you. It might be trendy but it’s not particularly safe, is mainly made up of council estates and good state schooling would be virtually impossible to find within a reasonable distance.
I’d recommend Greenwich, in South East London. It’s trendy, has got great tube and train links, the beautiful (and huge) Greenwich Park, lovely historical buildings and museums, you can walk to Canary Wharf via the under river walkway, and it’s family friendly, has lots of good schools, shops, restaurants and bars. It’s got a young crowd but it’s also popular with young families. Rent is between £1000-1500 a month. It’s not in Central London but it’s only 15-20 mins away by tube from all the action in the centre of town.
Can you tell I live there?? I love it!
Lexi
May 7, 2009 at (1505 days ago)I would love to live in London! I’ve lived abroad a few times (Krakow, Poland; Luxembourg and London, ON), but London UK would also be such a great place! I’ve been a few times and it was fabulous. I’m trying to convince my bf that we should move somewhere, but so far, he’s not going for it, haha. I say, move!
Amy @ The Bitchin' Wives Club
May 12, 2009 at (1500 days ago)I just finished going through all of this and until you get there and actually go see the ‘hoods and schools…. it is all just talk. My husband will be in school in Southampton, so I started knowing we would have to be withing commuting distance of that. I had my heart set on Winchester (great schools, only an hour from London) but we ended up deciding to move to the country, instead! Now we are going to be in a gorgeous, spacious house on 2.5 acres of land, half and hour from Winchester or Southampton. It will be a huge change, but we felt it would be the best for our 3 spirited boys, and maybe a magical change-up for our family unit. It is so exciting to choose to make a change like this and then just go for it. And terrifying and exhausting, too.
Good luck!!!
nappy valley girl
May 14, 2009 at (1498 days ago)I’m frpm Southwest London, and if I hadn’t just let my house in Clapham to live in the US, I would direct you to it! Seriously, ‘Nappy valley’ is everything you could want, ultra child friendly, lots of great space, lots of schools, easy access to central London. Not as hip as Hoxton, granted, but there are lots of bars, restaurants and boutiquey shops.