Things I'll Probably Miss

There are several things that I am expecting to miss about this neighbourhood once I have moved. I suspect I'll discover more... I'll report on those in future... As for now, they are...

Definitely the local pub... it is probably not everyone's favourite, but I love this place. I have been going to it most Mondays after work and have taken my beloved for several Sunday roasts.

The Tree! We have this wonderful tree outside our window. It has many birds in it. It is like a good friend now.

We currently live very close to Holland Park. It is quite a small park as London parks go, but inside there a Kyoto garden that I adore.

On a quiet afternoon lounging around the flat, frequently approaching and then fading 'clippity clops' will make an appearance. It is a pair of police horses trotting by below. It is a peaceful little sound.

I absolutely love walking under the canopy of the trees lining Holland Park Avenue (especially on the way to the pub!)

Did I mention I liked the pub?

Hope for the Future: Flatshare

We are soon to enter the world of London flatshare. Flatshare is how you get a flat that you could in no way afford by sharing it with others. We have put a deposit down on one. It has three bedrooms and two baths and we are sharing it with two other couples. It has several distinct advantages over how we live now. First, Patchwork John does NOT work there. For those of you who do not know of Patchwork John, he is the ‘maintenance’ man for the flat where we currently live. Because of Patchwork John, we occasionally get rained on… I mean inside rain because he can’t be bother to clean out the gutters. We have sometimes-hot / sometimes-not water because… you guessed it… can’t be bothered. And then there is the peeling paint falling into our soap and other bathroom supplies because while he has heard of priming… mm hmm… can’t be bothered. Don’t get me wrong. I really like John. I would love to sit and have a pint with him, but I wouldn't trust him to stack cans of paint, much less open them. But PJ aside, other advantages include living in a space larger than a closet…That’s right, there are actual rooms in this flat. Regular sized rooms and the sinks are larger than my fists!

We are moving in August. The flat has many awesome features. We get our own bedroom:

There is a sitting room:

And a real, normal sized kitchen!:

There is also a lift… that works! And a wonderful balcony that affords a lovely view of the city and not to mention a barbeque:

It boasts other great features not least of which is convenient access to the train station:

Well, that is all for now. Keep your eyes peeled for Moving On Up, the long-awaited sequel to Our New Flat: The Movie

Visiting Home

I have never been homesick before. I suppose that is because I have never really been away from home. From talking with others about homesickness, I always had the impression that homesickness was about food. I have no complaints about the food in London, and just like back in the states, food is generally a good value for the money. I have always wondered why food is so cheap… I mean, they really have us over a barrel on that one: no food = death. It seems that I would have to buy food no matter what it costs. Anyway, there is food from all cultures in London. I absolutely love all of the Asian and Persian cuisine everywhere. I can even get decent Portuguese food: while it is not my mother or grandmother’s cooking, it is quite good. So food definitely isn’t the cure for homesickness.

It is nice seeing family and friends, but it all rings a bit hollow somehow when you go to visit and I seem to be an outsider in my own family and old circles of friends. All kinds of dynamics have changed and the world I knew so well has gone on without me. This is not to say that I do not appreciate the wonderful new friends I have met along the way here. I have met some truly inspiring people I never would have met otherwise. And living here has given me a whole new perspective on things I had never considered before. But still: seeing family and friends, surprisingly, is also not a cure for homesickness.

I do miss having a base understanding of how everything worked: from what where to look for items in the market to knowing what questions are fair to ask in a job interview. I also miss most is working on my own house or garden. I always get a bit of an emotional boost when I listen to the Car Talk podcast. It may feel like any Saturday at home, but the big difference is that I am not working on the kitchen library or garden whilst listening. Mostly I miss that everyday stuff, like just popping by my parents or inlaws or friends in that everyday way. Or just working on stuff. Now, everything at home is an event. In some ways, I am more homesick when I am at home than when I am here. So I guess there is no cure for homesickness mainly because when I go to southern New England, I have no home to go to. I am just on holiday (vacation) in the place I used to live.