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| Tea & Scone- yum! |
Hello everyone- it's been a while since our last update and a lot has happend. We traveled another 2 months in South America (heading to the Atacama Desert, Bolivia, Peru, back to Bolivia and Argentina) and spent a few months in Colorado saving money and working out visas before continuing our adventure by....MOVING TO LONDON!
I have been here now for 5 weeks and am settling into life in the city. Living here is absolutely incredible and I'm really loving it! I am also looking for a work and spend a ton of time job searching, networking, etc. but that can wait for future posts. I wanted to share a little about my neighborhood and what life is like here.
I am living in a fantastic 2-bed flat in Earl's Court. It's a neighborhood in West London and really central (Zone 1 on the tube). From my experience, there are 2 parts to Earl's Court, a touristy area east of Earl's Court Road with a ton of hotels, and the area north of Cromwell Rd and west of the station near Warwick Rd, which is where I am. People familiar with London may think of Earl's Court as looking like this:
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| Beautiful terrace houses with the quintessential red Mini out front |
But this is where I live:
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| My building |
Yes, I live directly above the West Ken Tesco. The arrow points to our place, right on the corner on the 2nd (US 3rd) floor on the first level of flats above the Tesco. Yes, this is looking across a 6 lane highway (the A4), but the flat has newer "double-glazed" windows and is pretty quiet. Not the prettiest exterior but it is super convenient. Our postcode is W14 8NJ- if you google that you will find our building on the map.
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| Living Room |
As I mentioned before, the flat is really spacious by London standards. I have one lovely flatmate, Lydia, who is here for a few months before heading off to medical school in Wales. Her mom owns the flat and it was their family home for 10 years. It's a really comfortable place to be!
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| My room- (UK) King size bed! |
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| Being the corner unit, we have a fantastic patio! |
Living in London, beside the flat itself, the nearest Tube station, high street, and park are major influences on the neighborhood.
Earl's Court is the closest tube station and has 2 exits. I think of them as:
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| The "tourist" side- with it's own TARDIS (actually a memorial to a policeman) |
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| and the "local" side |
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| This is Earl's Court: a convention center across from the station |
My high street is Kensington High Street, about a 1/2 mile walk from the apartment. The "high street" is where the major stores are, and in central London that means mostly large chains. Ken High Street has a M&S, TK Maxx (same as the TJ variety), H&M, Topshop, among others, AND the largest Whole Foods in the UK.
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| Looking down the high street |
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| Whole Foods- Spread over 3 floors full of local and European goodness |
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| This is Argos, it's like a Target without a sales floor. You pick out your purchase from a catalog or online, pay for it, and pick it up at a counter. Haven't bought anything here yet, but def want to check out this unique retail model soon. |
My nearest real park is Holland Park. It's a really lovely park with manicured gardens (there's even a Japanese garden), sports fields, and wooded areas that make you forget that you're in a major city. I am also within walking distance of Hyde Park (SW corner) but I def prefer Holland Park. Lovely!
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| Park entrance off of Ken High St |
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| Sport fields- they have batting cages, but not for baseball! |
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| Gardens |
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| Feels like you are in the country |
To clsoe this post, here are some pics of my favorite tree. I make sure to always walk past this square on my way to the high street. Hope it blooms all summer!
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| Another one across the street |
