housing....update 26th April 2011 and Hampstead Heath visit

Update 26th April 2011

This past weekend, we saw another house for rent which is located closer to the tube station (easier for Dave's commute), has 4 bedrooms, and is near shops.  However, the living/kitchen/dining are all separate and it's a bit too close to shops for our privacy, and we cannot move in until June 15th.  We could probably find something for the in between time, but it would be complicated.  We're trying to consider all our options, so our relocation agency has given us the weekend to reflect.  The tough thing is, there is just nothing else for rent "right now" in St Johns Wood.

 

Even though it is frustrating, we're going to have to accept the situation and move into the home for which we've signed the lease.  Dave's company is going to help us (meaning - pay for) if we need storage (that was our hope for the garage).  We still love that we'll have a large patio (most places don't).  We do not understand how it is legal for them to rent a house "with a garage" but then not allow use of the garage - I don't get it!!  We also have realized that we are not stuck there for 3 years...we'll re-assess in about 6 months when we know where or if the kids are in any schools, activities, etc. and we'll know the area better as well, and perhaps then we'll move somewhere in the neighborhood.

 

So, it looks like we will try to move later this week - probably Thursday.  We'll have another 4 day weekend ahead (because of the Royal Wedding!)...which will be really nice for moving in.

 

No news on schools still...and my homeschooling has been pathetic with all these other things we're trying to figure out.  Josh will have an "observation" at a school this next Wednesday. They have space for him this fall but he needs to "meet their expectations".  Lord help us!!

 

We went to the local church up the street for Easter Sunday service yesterday, then visited Hampstead Heath,

(http://www.hampsteadheath.net/) an area covering more than 700 acres just 4 miles outside of London, which they call "the lungs of London" for the afternoon.  There was an egg hunt, dense forest areas to explore, a chateau (Kenwood House) with amazing artwork including Rembrandt’s acclaimed self-portrait. 

(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenwood-house/)
You will also find the highest point in the London area, called Parliment Hill - where you can vaguely make out the London skyline through the haze, smog and pollution.  It's a wonderful place to fly a kite.  There are swimming ponds and a great adventure park/playground and wading pool.  They were running a carnival/fair for Easter so the kids even went on some thrill rides.  I'm sure we'll be back again, as it will be even closer to us once we move towards St John's Wood.

 

No, we're not settled yet, but.... we're getting there.... or at least trying to!!

April - summer in London

 

"Summer" in London in April.  The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain was discovered by our children today, along with 95% of the rest of the people in London.  Hyde Park overflowed with people, dogs, tourists, the young, the old, the strange - they were all there.  We spoke with a Londoner while at the fountain who said "when you are fed up with London, you're fed up with life".   

23rd April 2011

No place to live, no schools for our kids.....

Housing and school frustrations

20 April 2011

Here we are entering our 4^th week in London.  You’d think the kids would be in school, we’d be settling into our new home, and life would be good. 

Not so.

Things are not looking good on either front.

We still enjoy the experience, and there are positives, but here is the reality.

For housing – today we were supposed to take possession of our townhouse.  Unfortunately, there are several problems, and we did not take possession.  At this point we are waiting to hear back from the agency tomorrow, but both sides are already talking about legal action.  This has been a big learning experience for us, that’s for sure.  I don’t think we’ll ever sign a lease without some serious hesitation first. 

The house is supposed to include use of a garage.  Although we don’t intend to get a car, one of the reasons we could actually get this place was because we planned to put stuff that doesn’t fit into the garage.  It’s smaller than what we planned to find.  The location and layout are really nice so it was a trade-off.  We also cannot wait to get bikes for the family.  London is perfect for biking and there is so much to see and do within a few miles of our home.  It would be fabulous, and we plan to put the bikes in the garage, along with the other odds and ends and sporting equipment accumulated by children at this stage. 

There were furnishings in the house when we viewed it, and we said we wanted it unfurnished; we are bringing most of our furniture from the US.  Apparently the agency took all the furnishings out of the home and is storing them in our garage space.  We see this as absolutely unacceptable and our relocation agents agree.  You’d think the landlord would just make other arrangements (hello? Put your furniture in storage like we did in the US!) but apparently he isn’t budging. 

Hopefully this will be resolved (one option suggested by our agents is that the landlord pays for any storage that we need, and we’d accept that).  Otherwise, it may go into litigation.  SERIOUSLY.   UGH!!  We signed the lease and put a damage deposit and one and a half months rent already – a HUGE amount of money that we obviously need returned.   I’ve looked on-line and there are other options – good ones – in the area we want, so we have no need to stick with this place if we can get out of it. 

There were other problems as well.  The agent convinced us how fabulous it is to be in Westminster because the council taxes are so much lower, it is a huge savings.   It turns out, we are NOT in Westminster, but in Camden.   Secondly, in the brochure it advertises that there are AC units in all rooms – but none of them have the remotes to actually use them.  Finally, we did not want any furniture in the house (again – we don’t think what we have will fit as it is).  The landlord said a wall unit would be staying.  We stated we can accept that, if indeed it is a built-in unit and cannot be removed.  Yes, they told us, it’s built in.   It turns out, it is not – it’s a free standing unit!! 

We’ve been manipulated and lied to, and we’re feeling quite frustrated, and can’t believe this has happened. 

At this point, we just want our money back and we’ll start over – there are plenty of other options. 

FOR SCHOOLS:  my children still have no school to attend.   The three schools we’ve looked at are full for spring.  For fall, one child has a spot at our 3^rd and “questionable” (according to our relocation agency) choice (it’s a bilingual school).   We’ve also applied to one American school and one International school.  Both applications were grueling.  The American school comes off a bit snobby at first.  But upon further research, we’ve learned that most children do indeed get in eventually.  This week I was told that there is indeed space for our 6 year old, but he needs to “be observed” for a day at the school.  Now a 6 year old boy can be very unpredictable.  I’m hoping for the best, and he’s capable, but it sure makes me nervous!  They say our 10 year old is a good candidate but at the moment they are full for September.  Finally for our 12 year old, they say they are full for September and furthermore that his application is insufficient.  The reason stated is a combination of my homeschooling him this year and the fact that his teacher from last year did not provide details (the real story is, very very unfortunately, he is dying from cancer).  Our 12 year old may be invited to do a day visit but we have to wait and see.  In the meantime I’ve asked the principal from his school k-5 to write a letter of support to the school…we’ll see if he does that.   I’m not sure what else to do.

Here is a picture of the back of the house for which we've signed the lease, and now have learned that they put their furniture in "our" garage and closets for their storage.  This is taken the day that we expected to take possession of it.  I planted the kids in the back patio, instructed them to do their school work, and then spent 3 hours waiting & watching 2 agnents going through details inspections of the property.

So, to summarize, we have nowhere to live and nowhere for our children to go to school at the moment.

Lovely, brilliant (I’m saying this with my fake British accent – can you hear it?)!!!!

3rd Week of Life in London

3^rd week in London.  11-18^th of April

This week we tried to accomplish a bit of “school” at home, but mostly we enjoyed spending time visiting London with Belgian friends who were here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  We covered quite a lot of ground during those three days!  

I’ve successfully had groceries delivered – saving my back a great deal of strain, trying to carry enough food home from the supermarket to feed a family of five.  I certainly enjoy walking to the store, but I covet those little baskets on rollers that some people have…

I’ve spent some time searching on-line for tutors for the children.  If you follow my middle school homeschool  blog, you’ll see, I feel like I’m failing miserably these days at home education.  It’s time to call in the outside help….

We still enjoy visiting Kensington Gardens daily, especially the Princess Diana Memorial Park – it’s awesome, even the 12 year old enjoys it.

But the highlight of our 3^rd week here has definitely been the visit of our Belgian friends.  Belgium is just across the channel – less than 2 hours to Brussels on the high speed train.  They came by car, which is not so bad if you have a large group.  They parked the car at a hotel on the outskirts of London and easily navigated the city by public transport.  They showed us Portobello Road (fabulous little antique shops, colorful row houses and apparently a fabulous Saturday market) – just think of the movie “Notting Hill” – it was filmed there.  I kept thinking I might see Hugh, but we must have missed one another….

On Wednesday we visited Camden Market, which in one book about London says it is among the Top Five of things to do here.  It’s fabulous, I admit.  Huge, a great variety, something for everyone.  The strangest thing we encountered was “Cyberdog”.  This is an odd retail store where everything is “rave-like” neon, the lights are dim, there is massive rave music blasting, and the items looks like they are from the Jetsons or sort-of outer space.  You’ve got to see it to understand.   We ate dinner that evening in “Chinatown” of Soho.  On Thursday we walked around St. Katherine’s Wharf, took a city bus for some sightseeing, walked Oxford Street shopping area, and then took the tube back to Hyde Park. 

That evening, I served a meal at our apartment.  I haven’t told you yet, my friends are caterers and own a beautiful banquet hall in the countryside of Belgium.  They are professional cooks…and I invited them over to our temporary apartment for dinner?  What was I thinking???  Well, actually, I have known them for over 20 years, and they are fabulous, fun people, who were happy with the pizza and pasta and salad that I threw together with my limited equipment.  It was a fun evening and probably the only time we’ll have guests here at our apartment, in this absolutely fabulous location.

Our weekend could not have been better.  Saturday we were homebodies.  Sunday, we went to Palm Sunday service at Westminster Abbey.  Shocked at the fact that there were only about 30 people attending the service, we were actually moved to the smaller church just adjacent.  It was still splendid.  After the service, we lingered the streets near Big Ben to cheer on the London Marathon runners.  What a great atmosphere.   We were delighted to cheer for our own Jason Lehmkuhle, a Minnesota runner who was the first American finisher!!  

That evening we discovered Holland Park, a great park of Kensingon & Chelsea.  It has great soccer fields – Jonah played his first pick up soccer games, and he was beaming.  An adventure park is located within its borders which included ropes courses and zip lines.   I was surprised that it had no entry fee.  

 Our 3^rd week in London – and we anticipate our big move for next week!!

Second week summary/highlights

Second week update from London...

--we're all sleeping much better.  It's incredible what a difference a good night's sleep can make.

--the adjustment to less personal space and no yard to run out to play in seems to be especially difficult for the boys.  They get in the way of people as we walk down the street, wrestle in the apartment, have a harder time controlling their actions on the subway, etc.  This is a big adjustment and I feel like I'm constantly reprimanding them. 

 

--no news on acceptance from schools, and all schools have 2-4 weeks off now for Easter/spring break

--*trying* to do "school" at home, mostly math pages!

--Ally is on a swim team, still looking for a soccer opportunity for Jonah

--we've mastered using the tube and buses

--we continue to spend a fair amount of time across the street in Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park

--spent a day with Minnesotans: our friends from Edina who've been here for 2.5 years and live in a beautiful
English cottage near Kew Gardens (famous botanical gardens), her husband works for General Mills and they'll be back in MN this summer...(first photos with them)

--visited a couple great museums:  The Natual History Museum and the Imperial War Museum

--saw the iconic London spots:  London Tower, Tower Bridge, Westminster, Big Ben and the Parliaments

--wandered one of London's best markets (Covent Garden), the kids loved the street performers

--attended a traditional Catholic mass, sung in Latin "Norvus Ordo" - wow.

--Belgian visitors scheduled this next week

--Dave is adjusting to the British work culture! 

So much to set up - 2nd week here

It's not easy to completely re-settle a family household.  Setting up house, getting utilities running, getting internet service, phone service, TV, figuring out electronics, buying almost all new electronics from scratch (different voltage - it's just not worth taking them from the US), getting kids into activities, just getting groceries or personal items can be a large task.  All while navigating a new city, public transportation - WHEW!  

Things are moving ahead here.  No word from the schools yet.  The British schools have 3 or more weeks off starting this next week for Easter/Spring Break.  My friend's kids have 4 weeks off!  Crazy!!  They are actually going to be in MN for a few days and then in Pennsylvania or something and then Canada.  We went out to see them yesterday.  They have a really beautiful English cottage style home, it's gorgeous.  And they are near England's most famous Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens) which we got to go and tour with them.  It was a "lovely" outing.  And we all felt so at home to be with some other MN locals!

Ally has started with a swim team that will be just 1/2 mile away from our house once we move.  Right now we have to take the tube from our temporary lodging to get to the pool.  We will most likely move on April 21st.  It will be very interesting to see how things fit into this little house.  But actually, it's been fun to be here in this apartment.  It's an amazing location.  Still working to get Jonah into some kind of soccer team.  You would think that would be easy!!  Isn't England a mecca for football?  We'll see what we can find....

First week in London....

Whew - not only was the last week in the US hard, but whoa - the first week here was difficult as well.

We were all exhausted from the hour change and the disruption to routine.  The flight was overnight, and of course nobody sleeps well.  Thus you arrive in a comatose state.  I must say everything went smoothly, the plane ride, traveling with a massive - the maximum - amount of luggage, finding our transport at Heathrow - all of that was without incident.  We even got to take the classic black "London Taxi" type vehicle to get to our lodging.

 We have been place in temporary accommodations at Prince of Wales Terrace near Kensington Gardens in London.  A beautiful, convenient spot.  We've got 3 bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms and a separate WC as well.  There is a living area and a kitchen and out the window, a lovely view of Kensington Gardens.

Here's the play-by-play of our 1st week here:

It took us a while to sort through our things once we got here last Monday (about 3:30 pm).  Those who saw the sheer amount of STUFF we brought can understand that one!

Then we walked in Hyde Park - the kids really loved the Princess Diana Memorial Play area (there's even a huge pirate ship to explore). 

Dinner was scavenged at the conveniently located Whole Foods Market about 3 blocks away.

We were Exhausted. 

We were happy to be away from snow - here it is very green - trees are flowering and gardens are planted.  The greenery is renewing.

Tuesday Dave was home and we sort of tried to establish a "home" temporarily here, getting groceries we needed and unpacking our belongings and setting up internet, etc.  I've established an internet phone service which allows us to maintain our phone number from the US for a monthly fee.  This way, family and friends can call us directly and we can also call them.  The only hitch is the tricky hour change!   And, it wasn't that simple to set up.  We didn't have an extra internet port, so we had to buy a port splitter and then figure out the wiring.   Not our specialty!

Wednesday I had an agent from the relocation company take me out to look at houses and visit the American School.  It was a full day, and I actually was able to line up a sitter through a reputable company, and thank goodness. 

Thursday and Friday were filled with more running around looking at some schools, neighborhoods, and apartments with 3 kids in tow taking public transportation and that is totally exhausting on all of us. 

I've come down with a terrible cold, no one is sleeping well, we run out of necessities like water and toilet paper and have to run out or do without, I can't get our dryer to work and everyone is out of sorts.

However, every day is going so much better and we put an offer on a place to rent to day, so now we'll wait to see their response.  It is small but in such an awesome location.  We decided to prioritize location over space....we are here to enjoy the city after all!

We've enjoyed the green grass and going out with just light jackets.  The kids love the parks.  We know that once we get settled and get in a routine we will really love it here.