I wanted to put together a few posts about our life here in the UK to commemorate our time here so far. There are three, this is the third. And the one that is the most fun.

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When we moved to London, I didn’t know what to expect on raising our children in this city. I have been so pleasantly surprised. London is a great place to have a family. It is  not without it’s challenges, but overall is absolutely amazing for children.

London offers a wide variety of fun options for families, and we have only explored the tip of the ice-burg.

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Public transit – OF COURSE – is our best friend.

Smooth, easy, safe, and clean. It is the way to go.

We find navigating around London with the kids to be relatively simple.

“Hold a hand, and don’t touch anything that you don’t have to touch.” That’s our main mantra while we’re out.

Things that make it more stressful: having a stroller, a big crowd, and the sun going down.

But other than that… We snack. We play. We get there safely and cheaply.

We even take public transit to Ikea!

Can’t exactly bring a couch back with us on the train, but it works when we just need small things. I told them if they wanted the giant stuffed animals, they would have to carry them home. And they did.

When not using public transit, we walk, bike, and scoot. The kids are complete pros at this – and naturally there are sidewalk walking/biking/scooting rules.

Our most regular outings are just to our local parks, playgrounds, greens and commons.

Ok! So we use public transit, we go to the park a lot.

But other than that here are the outings in and around London that we have done and really enjoyed:

One of the first outings we made after moving to London was to Battersea Children’s Zoo. We were just getting our bearings, and this was a good place to start.

We soon ventured with the big boys to Legoland, which is outside the city in Windsor.

During a visit with family we went to Diana Memorial Playground at Kensington Palace. It’s a woodsy-type play area, with lots of little surprises. Different, sweet and fun.

During one of my mom’s visits, she gifted the big boys with a trip to Kidzania – where they got to pretend to do a variety of jobs inside a little town.

We – naturally – visited the London Zoo.

A big hit for us.

A big favorite of ours has been the ginormous, beautiful and FREE! Natural History Museum. This is where the dinosaurs are. And, you can stop and talk with volunteers – who often have fossils or bones you can hold.

It’s a short tube ride away, and we’ve been there more than a handful of times.

The building itself is worth a walk through, if you’re in the neighborhood.

Another place that we LOVE and have been to more than a few times is the Magic Garden at Hampton Court Palace. It’s not free, but it’s not expensive either.

It’s not too far from the house.

And as you can see – it is, IN FACT, magical.

Also on the many “times visited list” – Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.

This is probably my favorite place in all of London to take the kids.

It’s massive.

It’s quiet and beautiful.

We’ve been there in all the seasons and there’s always something great to see….

The amazing green houses.

The gardens.

The tree top walk way.

The giant trees.

The Japanese Garden.

We like to bring a picnic lunch.

We like to go into the “Hive” where you can learn about how a bee-hive works, and how bees communicate.

We like to visit the manor house, with cafes and an ice cream shop.

During our regular visits, we didn’t get to explore the gardens as thoroughly as Finn would like. So, him and I went for the day on our own – where he was free to stop and read the scientific name of every tree and plant we saw. We explored the Orchid show in the Princes of Whales Greenhouse. We then went to the Horniman Gallery, which houses the permanent collection of nature paintings and wood samples from around the world and temporarily housed the exhibit of dried flowers.

It was cold and rainy and he just had the BEST time. And so did I.

Then in December, Kew lights up for Christmas!

It’s magical, complete with singing trees and toasted marshmallows, and we’ve gone every year.

Back in the city, during the winter is a spectacle called Winter Wonderland, the likes of which I have never seen. It’s a major Winter Festival and Carnival that appears in Hyde Park out of thin air. It’s got everything… a Bavarian beer hall, an ice bar, a complete-in-a-tent circus show, Christmas shops, an ice rink, MULLED WINE, smoked salmon, brat-worst…  etc.

I mean, it’s the real deal.

And, we have also been here every year.

Also during Christmas-time, London lights up in spectacular fashion.

Also around Christmas-time, we’ve had some great experiences at the theater.

London, obviously, has great theater.

But a fun surprise has been all of the great kids shows and children’s theaters that exist. Grandma Susie has taken the boys to the traditional British Pantomime show every year.

And of course… HAMILTON.

Moving on…

We’ve been for tea.

Both fancy and casual.

I love tea time and I’m in for it. All day, every day.

Another great part of town that we’ve visited a little bit is called Camden Market. Hipster central and home to some of the coolest shops and hippest food you will ever see.

Most recently, we ventured slightly outside the city to a Lavender Farm. And although the lavender itself was a little lack-luster (from the dry summer, I presume) we still had a great time. We even mingled with the royals!

That concludes all the outings we’ve been able to accomplish in and around London in our three short years here.

Congratulations. You have completed the set of “Life in London” posts.

If you haven’t been to London… what are you waiting for?

I wanted to put together a few posts about our life here in the UK to commemorate our time here so far. There are three, this is the second.

It’s also the most wordy. Strap yourself in.

PUBLIC SCHOOL – 

When we were planning our move here from America, we considered private school options. We weighed our options carefully and decided to “gamble” on a public school. We knew very little about the education system, but we just went with our gut on the decision because we wanted the children to have an authentic British experience. And that meant putting them into British public school instead of an international private school.

We SO made the right call.

Our local public school is *awesome.* I’m aware of the fact that, like the US, the public education system is having a little bit of a hard time in the UK right now. But our experience at our school has been nothing but stellar.

Here in the UK, government funded public school starts at age 3 with half day Nursery. Then at age 4, children go into Reception – which is a full five days. From there, they move up into Year 1, Year 2 and so on.

When we first moved here, because of the American-UK curriculum difference, Harry was severely behind. The kids he entered into school with here were reading books and writing poems, while he had just begun learning sight words. Not only did the staff fully support him, they caught him up and he now exceeds standards in several areas.

Our school is considered relatively large, and we have about 30 kids to each classroom. Three classes per grade level. That room is staffed with a teacher and full time teacher’s assistant. Also, children who are behind in areas or ahead in areas get pulled out for certain times and allocated to other resource teachers. Students aren’t given grades, but are given a status in each benchmark of “working towards” “working at” or “working at greater depth.”

So, for example when Harry first arrived, he was “working towards” all of the curriculum goals in Reading and Writing. They would pull him out for certain phonics help with the resource teacher to move him towards “working at” – which he is now at.

In Math, he easily moved up and now he is “working at greater depth.” For ‘working at greater depth’ he gets pulled out at certain times, to work extra on Math to further challenge and increase his math skills. In other words, they have support on either side of the spectrum.

As part of the standard curriculum, they also receive French, Music, and Computing once a week. They also have Art/Design Technology once a week, taught in their classroom where they do everything from paint and design to sewing and pottery. Also, weekly, they have a lesson in either Religious Education or PSHE (personal, social, health and economic). In these lessons, they cover a wide range of topics including all types of religion, how to deal with stress, appropriate social and sexual behavior, and how to keep themselves healthy. Some of these RE and PHSE lessons have been more impactful for them than anything else they’ve learned at school.

For physical education, they have two hours a week of dedicated PE time. Something I think is interesting, is that they contract out the PE education. The whole PE staff is from a private company that the school hires, and they run their curriculum based upon national standards. And at any new year, they could shop for a new PE company and have a whole new one. In addition to the entire PE course, they offer before and after-school sports classes – like soccer and rugby – right at school that we can sign up for. For an extra fee… of course.

In addition to PE, our school participates in the “Daily Mile.” This is a dedicated 15m time, separate from PE or break time, that the children are taken outside to walk or run along a designated path for 15 minutes. My boys typically run most of it, they say. I think that is an excellent part of their day, and benefits them in so many ways. I’m so grateful that our school does it.

Swimming is a national curriculum requirement, so all Year 4 children are marched to the nearest pool for swim lessons. At our previous school – Riversdale – ALL students swam weekly because they had a pool in-house.

Also, most schools – including ours – have scooter riding safety and street bike riding lessons at the age appropriate levels as part of the school day in the summer term.

Another thing I think is really cool is their ‘yearly performance.’ Every school year each individual class puts on a performance. The performance is always tied into their “Topic” of the term, and it’s not only fun for them and a great way to socialize and bond with classmates, but it is very educational. The children write most of the lines. Every student will have at least one line. And some students have many. There will be music and choreography, basic costumes and lighting. Here are few pictures from Finn’s performance this year. 

Both of the boys have gotten very excited about their class performances in the past. Even though they don’t have huge parts and they aren’t the most outgoing, they both appreciate the teamwork and cooperation it takes to put the performance on and are happy to be involved.

Lunch – always hot. And, like PE, catered in by a private company. So, if the school isn’t  happy with the lunch service, the school is free to choose a different one. We book and pay for lunches online. And for children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 – lunch is free.

And then, in the afternoon or the morning depending on when they have lunch – the children have an additional fruit snack. This is just a piece of fresh or dried fruit that is packed by us each morning.

I have been very impressed with the school lunch companies. I think they offer a good balance of kid-friendly options while making it unique and healthy. Our current company boasts locally sourced milk and produce. They offer familiar dishes like pizza, and fish and chips. But on different days have Roast Turkey and Creamy Chicken Curry. Here is their current menu:

Click to access Summer-2018-Menu-Final.pdf

The kids have an hour for lunch and play. They are monitored by staff and cannot have their pudding (dessert) unless they’ve eaten most of their lunch. And, if your child doesn’t eat their lunch well enough, after a few days, you’ll get a note home. And if it continues, they will suggest you pack a lunch for them. The staff also helps, especially if they are in reception, to cut up their food.

The Reception and Nursery EACH have their own outdoor play areas, separate from the rest of the school.

Also – just like Harry Potter – there are “Houses.” I didn’t know this was a real thing, and now I feel so stupid. But, just like Harry Potter, the entire school is split into four houses. Our houses are Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. If you have siblings in the school, then you all go into the same house. I think it adds an extra dimension to the school of belonging and togetherness. For doing good things, you might get a house token or two. Sometimes you get a house token for eating all of your lunch, or helping a friend, or going above and beyond on your homework. Then, you put your house tokens into the house token tubes. The tokens are counted up and at the end of the week and – every Friday – there is a celebration assembly.

At celebration assembly, each teacher gives out a “Star of the Week” award. There might sometimes be additional school-wide awards for special work in Math or English. *Harry got the Year 4 Math award – the only one out of the class. Just saying. Brag moment.* Then, the students are updated on the ‘goings on’ around the school by either the student council representatives (yes, they have a student council) or by the house captains. Then the House Cup is awarded to whichever house earned the most tokens and that house is given extra play time. Then they usually sing a couple songs and are released. If your child is the “Star of the Week” then you are invited to attend the celebration assembly. Well… actually you are basically required to attend. It’s special and fun to go.

Also – absolute mandatory parent attendance is the yearly “Sports Day” where children compete in their house colors in various track and field events. Go Green House!!

If you’re wondering how they have time to fit all of these lessons and assemblies and long lunches in, here is Harry’s current schedule:

Click to access 5P.pdf

Currently a little bit under scrutiny because of funding issues, are the field trips. The field trips have been great experiences for Harry and Finn, and I hope that the school can maintain them. They’ve gotten to visit several museums, an urban farm, the London Eye, and Kew Royal Botanical Gardens.

Harry, in Year 4, got to go on a two-night “residential” trip to a countryside estate where they focused on outdoor education and team building. And in Year 5, the school takes them to France where they learn to bake croissants and visit a snail farm and historic town center.

The community around the school is very social and inviting. There are lots of parent social events – like Class Drinks, Class Coffee morning, Wine Night, Quiz night, Parent Social. And of course, there are lots of fundraising events.

Other fun things:

– Homework is minimal.

– There is Christmas at school. England doesn’t claim to separate church and state. So, while they recognize and respect other religions, it is officially a Christian country. No apologies. They have a Christas tree in the hall and sing-a-long night.

– THERE IS BOOZE AT SCHOOL. This one still gets me every time. For every fundraiser or event. Whether it be mulled wine at the Christmas concert or Pimms at the Summer Fair – there will be booze and lots of it. #LondonWinsSchool

– The school is often rented out for birthday parties and private events. This helps the school earn extra money, and is a convenient meeting place for families.

– Security is tight. The entire school is gated with a intercom system. And once you’re inside the gates, you have to be separately buzzed into the building. Parents are not allowed into the building at anytime during the school day unless authorized through the office.

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PUBLIC HEALTHCARE –

ALRIGHT. I knew nothing about UK healthcare before we moved here.

NOTHING.

Universal healthcare?

Free?

What does that even mean?

As far as I can tell, it means that if you pay taxes or are a UK resident, you receive healthcare as a *small* perk of that.

They call it care from ‘birth to grave’ and they’ve been doing it like this since the 1940s.

Here is all I know:

When you move to an area, you register with the local General Practice (GP). There are several doctors and nurses working in the facility and you can choose a doctor that you’d like to be your ‘main physician.’ Once you and the family are registered then you can begin using this facility as needed.

When someone is sick, you call the doctor. They have a certain amount of ‘on the day appointments’ and they also make appointments in advance. If you need to be seen on the day, and your doctors office is full, you then have the option to go to more of a Emergency Care or ER type situation.  Alternatively – if you can’t get a same day appointment, you can call 111. This is the NHS hotline (National Healthcare Service) and they will ask you a series of questions to determine the seriousness of your illness. If they determine that you need to be seen right away – they can call your local GP and request an appointment for you. Basically they can override the system.

The local GP also does any other regular appointments and shots that we might need. And thankfully they send me reminders on when to make those. They don’t see the children for yearly health checks unless you request it. But they have been great about preventive screenings for women – and reminders for those.

Also, our local GP has been great about calling me back. Most of the time I just want to talk to a doctor instead of come in. The receptionist takes my number, and the doctor has called me back within half a day every time except one (in which she called in the afternoon). They are always patient and helpful on the phone. Sometimes after talking with the doctor she has determined she would like to see us and gets us in same day. But also – after talking with me about a chronic issue, she just sent me a script right to the pharmacy and I didn’t have to come in.

Another thing our local GP is great about – is giving priority to children. If Rich or I call to make an appointment, they will tell me that the day is booked. But if I specify that it’s for a child – there will suddenly be space. And if there’s still not space – the doctor will make time to call you.

They will not give you an antibiotic all willy nilly. This is obviously better for long term health. But it was hard to get used to. If you bring your child in on a three day fever, they will often send you back home with NOTHING. If it continues and you make a second visit, then you will likely get an antibiotic for that.

However – if you are REALLY in need – as I have been TWICE – they will give it to you quickly. I started running a fever and was terribly sick the day before we were supposed to fly to Vegas. I went to the doctor in the morning before our flight, told them we were leaving, they gave me basically a Zpac and I was almost better before we landed in Vegas. Then again, I got terribly sick with a sinus infection right before we planned to leave for Barcelona. I went to the doctor the day before we left and she loaded me up with antibiotics, sinus medication, and high powered headache meds. I was back to myself by the time we arrived in Barcelona.

So, all I’m saying is…. They can tell the difference. They won’t just hand things out. WHICH IS A GOOD THING. But, if you are really in need. They’ve got it. They’ve got the good stuff. And they will help you.

I’ve never felt like our care at the local GP has been negative or unsatisfactory at all. Yes, sometimes I’m on hold for a long time and sometimes I have to wait for the doctor to call me back. But those are small things. And, when we’ve needed anything they’ve always cared for us promptly and effectively.

A fun little difference from America, at least at our GP, is that the nurses don’t bring you back to the patient room. The nurses work on the first floor and see patients, do paps, administer shots etc. The doctors sit on a different level in the patient rooms and buzz you through an intercom into the waiting room when they are ready for you.

OK, that’s the local GP. And allllll of that is “free” through our taxes.

Cost of appointments = 0

Cost of shots/tests/fees = 0

Cost of scripts for kids = 0

Cost of scripts for adults = flat fee of $8, or a monthly fee of $30 (if you need more than three), and certain people can apply for an exception certificate so that all of your medications are free.

CONTRACEPTION IS FREE.

With NHS you are not taking your children to regular well checks. This was a big change for me. However, your child will still get plenty of care. NHS sends out health visitors to your home when you have a baby, and as the baby grows they will come again. Also – there are NHS funded Children’s Centres where you can go and get them evaluated if you have concerns. Also at the Children’s Centres are free parent support classes and playgroups that are regularly attended by an NHS speech and language therapists. You can just drop in and ask questions.

Other than the regular GP, we’ve only needed an ER type situation once (knock on some wood right now). Viv inhaled some baby powder and I was a little over-reactionary. I called 111 and they recommended she be monitored. Anyway… nothing serious, we were home a few hours later. Happy with the staff and the care we received.

The only other time we’ve needed care outside of the GP was for Rich’s vasectomy at the hospital. We used standard NHS on everything. I took a few weeks to get an appointment, but in our situation it didn’t matter. It went great. Nothing exceptional to report. Which,  I think in this situation is exactly what you want.

And again – all of that…. completely free to us.

We are so freaking lucky to be generally healthy. I know that. In a situation where you have serious ongoing issues, or a chronic condition – I can’t speak to NHS on those subjects.

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE:

Even though there is a comprehensive health system available for every citizen (and tourist!), there is still a private health insurance route.

Through Rich’s company here, we pay for ‘private insurance.’ Some people at the company recommended it. So we have it. We pay an entire £70/month for our private insurance. I was like “Is that a joke? What does that even do?” And during our time here, I’ve told Rich several times to just drop it, because we never need or use it. By the way, that £70 disregards any previous medical conditions and covers us when we travel.

But anyway – we pay for it. And I’ve “gone private” exactly two times.

Having this private insurance doesn’t really do much on a regular basis. Like, at the GP, it serves no real purpose. And that took me a LONGGG time to figure out. Where it comes into play, is when you need to see a specialist. When you have an issue that needs to be seen by a specialist, the regular GP will offer you a referral. The referral will be with NHS. But they may also tell you about your private options, depending on the issue.

And here’s how it worked for us:

Finn needed to see an ENT because he essentially couldn’t hear out of one ear. The NHS ENT could get us in for an appointment in three weeks. A local private option could get us an appointment in one week. This was not necessarily an emergency, obviously. But I decided to go private because we were already paying for it and because the private ENT was marginally closer to the house.

Similar to American health insurance, we pay our monthly payment and then we pay any additional costs associated with our plan.

Finn went for three visits. Each time, his hearing was tested by a technician and then we visited with the doctor and discussed the test results and treatment.

The total cost of his visits was £925.

We paid £150.

We paid £150 because that is the maximum annual out of pocket expense per person on our plan. So if he went back 10 more times in that year, or had an operation, we still wouldn’t have to pay more than that.

The second time we “went private” was to have Vivian’s eye mole evaluated. Again, not an emergency, but definitely a case for a specialist. And I went private, again, as a matter of convenience. The GP recommended she go straight to a pediatric plastic surgeon to have it evaluated. The nearest private option is closer to the house than the nearest NHS option. All of the same payment information applied. Her mole is healthy.

So, even though we do pay for health insurance, it’s ridiculously cheap compared to what I’m used to in America. And most of the time, I don’t even need to use it.

ALL PRICES ARE POSTED

WHAT’S HANDY in this whole situation is that a private hospital or doctor has all of their prices listed on their website.

AH what??

Yes.

There’s no phone calls to the insurance or paperwork to fill out or we’ll see how much we get billed.

There is no mystery around here. For all of this I knew exactly how much I was going to pay up front.

It’s completely awesome.

And so simple it’s ridiculous.

DENTAL AND EYE – 

Through NHS, all children receive basic free dental and eye care.

For adults, NHS offers basic care. And it’s similar to the medical system in that you’ll have to wait for some things. We carry private dental insurance, because once again it was recommended to us. We pay £13/month for our family and for each adult we have a yearly spending limit around £120. We can shop dentists – all of the dentists post their prices up front on the website or at the office. You know in advance how much you will spend, and you pay upfront. Then, you put in for reimbursement from the insurance company.

Now that I’ve gotten used to how it works here, I’ve come to rely on it. It was a big adjustment, but I love it now. I know that healthcare is complicated, but here it at least SEEMS more simple.

I thought that the doctors might be mundane government employees with no motivation. That was a stupid, inconsiderate thought. I have found all of the doctors to be genuinely kind and wanting to help. They are sometimes blunt and no-nonsense, and might tell you the truth if you aren’t seriously sick enough to be in there.

But if you are, they will listen and take care of you. In fact, in this system, I think they are more protected by their employer (the government) vs their American private counter-parts. I imagine they have less to worry about, since they aren’t also essentially running a business and worrying about mal-practice. And this allows them to just focus more on patient care.

In addition, I think there are economic benefits. My housekeeper can charge me her hourly rate. And if she breaks a finger or gets cancer, she doesn’t have to worry about the cost of that. She can freely work, and keep her rate competitive. And since everyone can do this, from nannies to gardeners, to electricians to small business owners, to waiters to artists – this keeps the cost of low level labor down. Which makes it easier on everyone.

All I’m saying is… I’m here.

I’m an American living in the UK directly experiencing a successful Universal Healthcare system. And I have to say, I’m convinced. I’m not only convinced that it can work, I’m jealous. It’s a good thing they have going here. And I’m mad/sad/jealous that I won’t have access to it for the rest of my life.

IN CONCLUSION – 

All prices for healthcare are posted on websites and easy to find.

If it’s not life-threatening you will wait.

If it is life-threatening, you will be cared for.

If you get cancer you won’t also go bankrupt.

There are no bogus fees and no insurance paperwork to fill out.

Sometimes there are long waits, modest buildings, and minimal staff.

Possibly better patient care because doctors are less burdened.

Possibly keeps low level labor costs down.

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Alrighty, that concludes part two of the “Life in London” series.

Public school and healthcare.

Admittedly, I don’t know everything.

I only know (as is the usual with everything else on MY blog) my experience, in 2018, seen through my American-colored glasses.

I wanted to put together a few posts about our life here in the UK to commemorate our time here so far. There are three, this is the first. A love letter to our neighborhood.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

We live in Southwest London. Known for green space and raising babies.

“Affordable” housing and good schools.

Low crime.

Good links to transport.

Let’s walk around….

Heading out, pretty much every street in our entire universe looks just like this:

Here is when two streets meet:

The entire area is heavily residential, with 98% of the homes being a version of this:

Victorian and Edwardian homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And if you want to live in this neighborhood, this is the type of house you will have. Just one after another – street after street after street. It’s amazing how similar they all look at first, but they become so different as you get to know them.

Housing is expensive. But like all the other people living in a major city anywhere else in the world – it’s just a reality we put up with. I feel like we make up the housing cost by saving in other ways. One of those ways – is by NOT having a car. No car payment, no car insurance payment, no fuel costs, no parking fees. London’s public transit system makes this very practical for us – both around our local area and around the city at large.

Every thing that we need is within walking distance. If it’s not, we can take a quick train or bus. Occasionally, something is inconvenient by public transit and we can take an Uber or call a cab. We’re used to it now and so are the kids. They walk. We walk. And, although my children regularly challenge their safety by “constantly trying to get run over” as Rich says, walking is generally much safer than driving, I just like that little added bonus.

One of the major draws of SouthWest London is all of the green space. And I’m going to take you to the parks first because it’s my FAVORITE part of our neighborhood.

We have three neighborhood parks. And we are here ALL THE TIME. In the summer…. sometimes, everyday. Our largest and most well-accommodated park is Wimbledon Park (10m walk). It has 12 lit tennis courts, two play areas, a splash pad, an active sand volleyball scene, a lawn bowling league, a putt-putt golf course, a cafe, a sailing pond, a track, beautiful landscape and a HUGE green. This park is my favorite of the three and it’s always milling with people, kids, and families. And it also happens to be where the masses camp out for Wimbledon tennis. So during those couple weeks, there is extra mayhem.

The Wimbledon Tournament Crazies:

The opposite direction from Wimbledon Park is King George Park. This one is probably the kid’s favorite because they like the playground the best. We can reach the tip of King George in about 5 minutes walk. It’s huge. The green space, again, huge. In King George there is a community center complete with a indoor swimming pool, gym and climbing wall, a second ‘leisure’ center, and a private gym – all of which we’ve used. In fact, it’s where we go for the kids’ swim lessons.

There are multiple fenced-in soccer fields, 12 tennis courts,  a children’s center, landscaped gardens, two playgrounds, and a river walk. Plus, it is conveniently behind our nearest shopping center.

Thirdly, our smallest, but most visited park is the one behind the school and nearest to the house (3m walk) – Durnsford Recreation Ground.

It has two playgrounds – one that is perfect sized for Viv. It also has a small walking path – where the kids learned to ride bikes – and a nice open green where we can fly kites. This is Viv’s favorite place to come and (probably illegally) pick flowers. There is also a fenced in basketball area.

On all three of these parks, I would just like to mention that the ‘playground areas’ at each are completely fenced in. AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

Ok, since we’re over by the school – I’ll take you by there real quick. It’s a happy little place.

And here is the sweet little garden reserved for the nursery kids:

The school is also the location of the farmers market that takes place every Saturday, all year long.

From here we can circle back towards the house, out on the “main road” and we will find the bus stop, a cafe, a barber, a laundry mat/cleaner, a fixture supply store, a pharmacy, a mini-grocery store, an electronics repair shop, and a general store.

I can literally see this grocery store from my front porch…I love it in here. I have almost every shelf memorized, I know all the employees (by face), and my current record for visits in one day is 4. Sainsbury’s is a big grocery chain in the UK and they have large ‘big box’ type stores, but they also have mini stores all over the place called ‘locals.’ It doesn’t have everything, of course, but it has all of the staples. And I know of several meals that I can now whip up in a pinch from ingredients bought only from the local.  Heart.

Also on the love scale – across the street, is JJ’s. It doesn’t look like much, but JJ’s is there for us.

When we need anything. JJ’s has it. All TWO isles are cramped, the shelves are almost too hard to manage – but they have at least one of everything in the world. And they’ve been there when I needed a dust pan, a mouse trap, a bottle of wine, a fidget spinner, San Pelligrino, a safety pin, latex gloves, a baby potty, and garden shears to name a few.

If we continue to walk down the street we find Papa Johns, a couple other restaurants.

And then our favorite take-away, our beloved, cannot live without it, hear the angels sing, Pasha. The only place in London, I hear – south of the river – where you can get a kebab made fresh within in the restaurant…. is this little hole in the corner of the wall.

For educational purposes, a Turkish kabob is this business right here:

Across the street from Pasha is the doctor! And a second local pharmacy. Pretty standard.

If you continue down the main road you would also find a few local pubs

Also (since gambling is legal here) a gambling… store? I don’t really know what to call it… and a butcher, various other general stores and services, and a Gymboree/karate combo building, and a luxury car dealership.

From there, we can walk down a little ways to our nearest overground rail station, Earlsfield Station. It takes us about 10m to walk here, 8m if you’re Rich (or me when I’m cold) but more like 12-14m if the kids are with us. From here, you can catch an overground train to lots of places, including a train that will take you to city center in three quick stops. This is Rich’s preferred method of commute.

Also by Earlsfield are piano lessons at the SWS Music School. Several great restaurants and pubs. A bakery and a Starbucks. Another ‘local’ type grocery store called “Tesco Express,” our rental management company’s office, a small local Theater, a “Flip Out” indoor trampoline park, THE BUS I TAKE TO THE HOLY GRAIL – ALDI, and a couple other odds and ends.

As I said – you can take the train to city center, BUT, you can take it the opposite direction – one stop – to Wimbledon Station.

At Wimbledon there is more shopping – but of most importance to us – the Centre Court shopping centre, the gaming shop where we have to check EVERY TIME for second-hand SkyLanders, my hairdresser, the eye doctor, the dentist, a large Kroger-type grocery store called Morrisons, and a couple other “local” type grocery stores called Little Waitrose, M&S simply food. There is also several other restaurants (including the BEST MEXICAN ever – Wahaca!), pubs, clothing and shoe stores, specialty stores, and toy and electronic stores. The YMCA. The library. A regular movie theater. A high-end BEAUTIFUL exclusive to Wimbledon department-style store called Elys. The Polka Theater (children’s), and the New Wimbledon Theater (100 year old landmark that puts on major productions and our local source of the English traditional Christmas Pantomime).

From Wimbledon station, called the ‘Broadway’ area we can walk up the hill towards “The Village” where there are more great restaurants and some fun boutique shops. This is also where we can access the Wimbledon Common. From the pictures up above, you can sort of see how large “Wimbledon Park” is. In this following picture, Wimbledon Park is the circle – it’s there as a frame of reference for how absolutely gigantic Wimbledon Common is. And butted up to that, Richmond Park. Even larger.

These are massive nature preserves.  I’ve been surprised and impressed by the green space London has saved aside. From our location, a 40m train ride will take you to Big Ben, and a 10m car ride will take you to Wimbledon Common.

And here we are exploring part of Wimbledon Common:

Ok! From the Village – there are multiple ways to get back home. We’ll take the bus and tube.

We go one stop to Wimbledon Park.

When we pop up here, we can walk down the road and find several restaurants, a post office, an other ‘local type’ grocery store called The Co-Operative, a couple hairdressers, a community center, estate agents, and more specialty shops.

We can’t forget Finn’s favorite store to buy tic-tacs “Best One”

From this Tube station is also Rich’s second best commute option.

Door to door, about 50 minutes from home to work.

If we walk from the Tube station towards home, which would take us about 10m, we would also walk by the church that we prefer to attend (St Luke’s Church), and the local Mosque.

But, we’re not going home yet. I’m taking you the opposite direction. Up the hill!

If we walk up the hill from the station, we enter a very different side of the neighborhood. You know how I said that 98% of the homes look like those Edwardian ones. That is true. Then, maybe another 1% are flats and lofts above the store fronts, and then the last 1% are up the hill. They have a smidge more space and cost just a little bit more money.

That’s how the other half lives. Or the other 1%.

ANYWAYS, if you walk up the hill you are also treated to a view of the London skyline on a clear day:

If you continue up the hill and around the corner you will run into The All England Lawn and Tennis club (AELTC), which is where they host Wimbledon – or as it’s referred to here “the tennis” or “the championships.” When The Tennis is in full swing the neighborhood is in a different sort of state. People camp out in the park to get spots for tickets, the stores decorate with tennis like it’s Christmas. They change over the platform at the next Tube stop to a tennis court and obviously there are more people and more traffic.

Across from the AELTC, back towards home, is a convenient golf course. I had to peek myself over the hedges and try a couple times to get a picture, but don’t worry, it was fine. I only distracted two to three golfers.

From outside the golf course we can walk back home, if we cut through Wimbledon Park.

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RECYCLING – 

Not long ago, our neighborhood rolled out an entirely new recycling program. New trash bins arrived at my house with all new recycling instructions. Including the new service of recycling clothing and batteries.

Now everyone’s cramped front gardens are filled with bins of all shapes and sizes, but I don’t care.

I think it’s totally awesome.

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OBSERVATIONS AND CULTURAL ADJUSTMENTS – 

The cable, phone, and internet market is much more competitive here. We have a great internet package for CHEAP.

There is no tax on children’s clothing.

Parents making under 100k/year receive subsidies for 30hrs of daycare per week.

Needing and wanting childcare is not frowned upon, but almost expected. There are lots of nanny/Au Pair/mother’s help options available for a reasonable rate. And mothers don’t judge each other – or themselves – for using them. It is expected that a child will start attending some sort of part-time Nursery around two years old. And in addition to that, it’s very common for mothers – even ones that are home full time – to hire some daytime help.

Also very common, and available at a reasonable rate – housecleaners. Everyone I know has one.

Packaged food ingredient standards are STRICT. Food additives and preservatives are minimal – expiration dates are SHORT and should be taken seriously.

Eggs are brown and unrefrigerated.

GOOD bread and GOOD cheese are cheap.

Antibiotic is practically a naughty word, and is only siphoned out in small doses, when desperate. Better for the long term health of the patient, but took me a while to get on board with this.

Competitive sports for children are hard to find. Everything is more of what an American would think of as ‘rec league’ style.

Often, you have to pay for a public toilet. Consequently, they are (usually) cleaner.

There are no flat bed sheets.

Cigarette boxes have pictures of cancer on them.

Food containers are more often glass than plastic.

There are open-air urinals in areas around lots of pubs and bars. Helps with the street-pee smell.

There is no such thing as cream in your coffee. But there is definitely cream in your tea.

Also – no ice.

Leash laws are much more lax, and most pubs allow dogs.

The cultural view of things like nudity, body odor, and bras are more casual or seen as more “optional.”

What looks to you like a one-way street is just a regular street. When a car comes from another direction – we simply play chicken until someone can pull into or back into a parking space.

Dryers are optional. Kill me now.

First floor bathrooms are optional.

A 20 minute walk is acceptable and considered “within walking distance.”

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Even though the US and the UK have many cultural similarities, sometimes the divide is big. And I think, by now, we’ve made a good transition into this culture and my list of “things I miss from American life” is small and looks like this:

casual active wear as acceptable attire when NOT working out

air conditioning

sturdy food packaging

Target

public smoking laws

spaghetti squash

a real dryer

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*** on the accents ***

I get asked this question alllll the time, by Americans and Brits alike.

Are the kids getting a British accent??!?

And the answer is: sort of.

They say a FEW words like a Brit. Like water. And nearly. And car.

When they were first thrown into school they quickly started picking it up. And then they would spend a few days at home or on school break, and it would wear off a little bit.

I would tell friends that they sounded like someone TRYING to do a British accent and doing a bad job.

That’s how they used to sound to me.

Because they would fall in and out of it, were inconsistent with it, and incorrect with it. But they weren’t and aren’t TRYING to do anything.

They’re just little sponges, trying to make sense of the languages they are absorbing. On top of that, when we moved here Harry and Finn were both in the middle of trying to learn to read and getting taught British pronunciations of phonics.

But now, after being in school for almost three years, I think they’ve settled in to their mash up of accents, and have met their absorbency maximum. I notice the inconsistencies much less, and I will be surprised if we notice changes from this point on. It rose, tapered off, and now has plateaued.

To an American, they will sound part British. But to me, or someone who hears a full British accent all the time – they only sound… like, a quarter British.

When you hear their FULL Brit friends speak at school – they sound nothing like them. And I don’t think they could if they tried.

More than developing an accent, they now speak all of the Brit lingo. And, NOW, in order to communicate with them, I also speak the lingo. Most often: jumper (sweatshirt), trousers (pants), pants (underwear), bin (trash can), tell them off (to tell on someone).

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And… that concludes post number one of my “Life in London” series!

All is so good in the hood.

Read on for mysterious and exciting tales of doctor visits and trips to the museums.