One month in – settling in as London residents

A month ago today was our first day as official residents of London. Since arriving, we have started to settle in. Some things still seem very different and difficult. For others, we feel right at home. The following are some random observations we’ve had based on our first month in the UK.

Language is easier here than we experienced during our first weeks in Tokyo. Most everyone here can speak English. But, we’ve found that English has many, many variations. Even British English comes in different dialects, and sometimes our American ears just can’t quite relate. And then, there are so many other variants, all with a good command of English – but with accents from China, Russia, France, and a multitude of other countries. And… we often find that when walking around we hear more foreign languages than English – some we recognize, and others that don’t sound familiar at all. The diversity of the population here is truly astounding. London is absolutely an international city.

The bureaucracy here is imposing – there is a lot of it, and we’ve found it doesn’t always work as intended. Case in point – we applied for a British bank account on 3 April, while still in the US. Followed up several times to no avail. Finally, a week ago we got a message – oops, sorry, your application can’t be found – please submit again. Talking with other expats, all seem to have had a long and frustrating path to finally establishing a bank account. Our second application was submitted 10 days ago…no acknowledgement, no status update, nothing. It’s all done on-line, and it is nearly impossible to talk to a real human (and those who are available are kind – but (sorry) clueless). Similar frustration with the corporate credit card. Got the card, but no user ID, password, or PIN. Called customer service and they assured me they would email a user ID and temporary password. That was 3 days ago – still no word. PIN is supposed to be delivered in 3-8 business days by mail. We will see if that actually happens.

But all is not bleak. We have had some great experiences in the area where we live (one of the highlights was the arrival of a tall ship in the Quay outside our apartment), and we’ve also ventured out a bit further to Greenwich, central London, and Cambridge. Public transportation is easy and cheap (and… with our senior passes, London trains and buses are free!). You have to be aware of occasional strikes that disrupt service, but overall public transport is great. And it is also a very walkable city… for the most part. Certainly not as clean as Tokyo, but easy and safe.

Unlike Japan… which was very much a “cash preferred” or “cash only” society, London is almost exclusively “card.” We have little UK currency in our wallets. We pay for *everything* with a credit card. Most people have their cards stored on their phones, and everything from transportation to shopping to restaurants is paid for with their phones. We still use actual cards, but we haven’t used any cash *at all* in the past month here.

Some things are more familiar to us after living in Tokyo. We are still afoot, with shopping and grocery stores at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. There is a Tesco Express down below our apartment, but it is more “convenience store” size. It does have remarkably nice produce, if not the greatest selection. There is an Asian market about 1/2 mile away. Since living in Tokyo, we still cook a lot of Asian foods, so an Asian market is a definite plus for us. We have found what we refer to as “the Walmart of the UK” about 1/2 mile away… ASDA. No offence to those of you who *love* Walmart… but we go there as infrequently as possible. Similar crowds, clutter, and chaos, but they have some things we just *need* to buy. And, since we walk to the grocery store, we only buy as much as we can carry. No more having multiple bags of food that are conveniently placed in the trunk of the car and stored in a huge pantry. We pretty much have to do grocery shopping on a daily basis.

So a month in, we are enjoying our relocation. There have been frustrations, and certainly differences in lifestyle. We’re still awaiting the shipment of some items from the US (probably won’t see those before August). We have great amenities in our apartment, including a 56th floor outdoor terrace/indoor lounge with stunning views of the city, and a nice pool and gym. We’ve met some really nice people, including another Georgia transplant who lives in our building and a couple who live in a nearby building who have agreed to kitty sit when we travel.

After a traumatic close out of our lives in the US, selling belongings, house, cars, etc., we are starting to feel more “at home” in London. Unlike when we lived in Tokyo and still had our house in the US, this is truly now our home. We’ve just started to explore how that will work, and we’re looking forward to the possibilities and opportunities.