We were nomads during the first two weeks of our stay, crashing in people's spare rooms as advertised on AirBNB. We didn't do too badly though - the first place in Brixton had a pretty average room with lovely people, and the second place in Clapham South had a pretty lovely room with average people. But after 4 months of living out of suitcases we were definitely looking forward to getting our own place, and within 24 hours of landing in London we had 4 viewings booked. What an experience!
A few things we learnt:
a) Most things in our price range in London are either old, rundown, or nowhere near the tube
b) Australians will do anything (including living with up to 8 other people) to save money
and
c) It is never okay to rent out a linen cupboard minus the shelving in someone's flat and live in it (we seriously saw this happen)
At the end of that full day of viewings we came across the perfect place in Clapham Common, right next to the tube, which is exactly where we had wanted to be all along. In South West London, Clapham is pretty well known for being full of Australians, and a few of our friends who had lived in London before couldn't recommend it highly enough. The flat was just a two bedroom, and we would only be sharing with one other couple which we thought would be a much easier adjustment considering we have lived on our own together for over 5 years (something I was a little nervous about, but soon realised I was worrying about nothing). Our flatmates are fantastic - Emma is from Norway and Dan is from Uganda - and they're easy going, fun and considerate to live with. I already know when we eventually head home it will be hard to leave them! They've been in London for a few years and know all the good spots to eat, drink and visit so they've been a great resource for us in learning our way around.
So the house aspect came fairly easily - jobs were always going to be the harder part. Initially we were pretty confident as there are thousands and thousands of jobs available in London. We soon realised that there were thousands and thousands of people applying for them. I got lucky early on - after registering with a recruitment agency they sent me along to an interview with the London Nursing and Midwifery Council for a maternity cover Executive Assistant position, and I started the following Monday. I was lucky because the person going on maternity leave was finishing up two weeks after I was due to start, so they needed someone urgently. Brian was applying for roles in the finance and banking sector, and unfortunately nothing they do has a shred of urgency about it. Banking also love to put you through all their crazy testing processes, including multiple interviews, online testing etc - only to then advise that they are actually going to restructure the role internally. So after a few frustrating weeks for Brian (though quite good for me as I came home to a clean house and my dinner ready each night) my 'stay at home trophy boyfriend' started work with as a Sales Executive doing business development and account management with Hire Intelligence.
But it hasn't been all serious house and job stuff. Considering we'd never even been to England prior to moving here, we had a lot to see and do. Even though we're here for a lot longer than most people are for a holiday, we knew that if we didn't get cracking with the sightseeing, time would fly past and before we knew it we'd be on our way home without ever seeing Buckingham. Luckily, having Mum and Dad visit us for two weeks was a great excuse to get out and see London like the tourists do! So...
Things we've loved about London (so far!)
- Being at Buckingham Palace on the day Prince George was born. We actually went there and then left to get on the tube home, so we missed them setting up the easel with the announcement on it, but I'm claiming it anyway. The media were lined up all the way along the street, it was crazy.
- Walking through Green Park in the beautiful weather and seeing hundreds of people having picnics.
- Seeing Trafalgar Square and the beautiful statues. Particularly loved the new instalment on the fourth plinth 'Hahn-Cock', the giant blue cockerel.
- Hiring Boris Bikes and riding with Mum and Dad through Hyde Park (avoiding the psycho swans) and stopping for ice creams. It was interesting to see the Speakers Corner with all the people preaching their various beliefs - Brian went and listened to the 'Preserve the Purity of the Blonde Race' sermon for a few minutes but said he had no idea what the guy was getting at.
- Having a cider with my cousin Megan at Franks Bar in Peckham. What's better than having a drink in an outdoor bar on the top floor of a ten storey car park with a view of London City? Not much.
- Eating at Jamie's Italian in Richmond with Mum, Dad, Brian, Megan and Cousy and then drinking way too much wine and paying for it the next morning on the tube.
- Having drinks at the White Cross in Richmond, where the water from the Thames comes up so quickly and so high that patrons at the bar are offered Wellington boots to wear while they drink.
- Seeing the beautiful Westminster Abbey - though its eerie to think how many dead Kings and Queens are in there.
- Hearing Big Ben chime and seeing the sun reflect off all the gold at Parliament House.
- Walking past MI6 and seeing all the surveillance and Brian feeling like he was in a Bourne movie.
- Seeing a squirrel digging through a bin and watching it pull out a breadstick and eat it all in one go like Bugs Bunny.
- Catching up with people from home who drop into London for a day or two; Lucy from City of Bunbury, Pat from Ansac - we both appreciate that you make the time to see us!
- Catching up with people from Contiki and that we've met on our travels; Jack from Berlin, Victoria from Sydney, and Nikki and Alex before they move from Brighton to Brisbane.
- Catching up with school friends like Caroline who live in London, and feeling like no time has passed at all since school finished.
- Making it through the Notting Hill Carnival alive. 2.6million people partying to reggae in the streets and eating Caribbean food. Totally insane!
- Riding the Emirates sky line while Mum freaked out about the height.
- Eating pulled pork burgers at the Borough Markets and buying Turkish delight and cherry pie for dessert that night.
- The awesome care package we received from our families - Vegemite galore, Busselton Jetty snow globe, jerky, books, CDs and chocolate. Our parents rock.
- Watching my dad rearrange my cousins apartment so that the outdoor setting didn't block her view.
- Our weekend in Cambridge with Uncle Max, Aunty Julia, Tim and Katy. We loved punting along the backs of Cambridge University, especially when Uncle Max dropped the pole (we will never let him live it down). Cambridge itself had a magical feel - it felt like Hogsmeade in Harry Potter. The town is full of little shops and markets, interspersed with cathedrals like Kings College and the living quarters of the students. It's really beautiful and was really nice to see where Uncle Max Went to uni. Aunty Julia spoiled us with amazing cooking and made us wonder why the hell we had never had Yorkshire puddings before.
- Going to see a dog pageant in Spitalfields Market the day after Mum and Dad went home to cheer us up. And cheer us up it did - no one can be sad when there's a whippet gallivanting around in a pink coat and hat.
- Tasting our first jug of Pimms under an old apple tree at a house Emma and Dan were dog sitting at.
- How amazing the supermarkets are. Tesco is like heaven. Within two minutes of stepping inside Brian has ducked off to the cereal aisle where he painstakingly selects a box, or two, or three. We have so much cereal in our flat its not funny.
So that's a few of the big things we've seen so far. But it's the little things that I have to pinch myself over each day; walking down Oxford Street after work to catch the tube, seeing fans camp outside the hotel near my work waiting for Lady Gaga who is staying there, and seeing the glitzy Broadway show theatres scattered all over the West End. The weather has been so beautiful, though many a Pom takes joy in telling me 'Oh, just you wait!'. At least when the cooler weather sets in my hay fever might subside! Its the third day of Autumn and already I can see the days getting shorter - it will be Christmas before we know it, which I am exciting for because it means Winter Wonderland and outdoor ice rinks, Christmas lights on Oxford Street and more friends from home visiting at New Years.
Until then there are a few things on the itinerary:
- Day trips to York, Bath and Brighton
- Weekend trips to Edinburgh and Paris
- A snow trip
- And when we head home, a stopover somewhere warm on the way. I'm already devastated at the prospect of leaving a winter and heading home to another winter!
I hope everyone is keeping well. Thanks for everyone's emails, texts and Facebook updates - we love hearing from you all, it makes us feel less far away. Sorry if you get random text messages or emails at 2am your time - just remember it means we're thinking of you in another time zone!
Much love old chaps
Kobi & Brian
Xxx
Brian and Dad moaning about the Ashes over platters at The Slug and Lettuce
Cambridge University
Kings College, Cambridge University
