house tour :: top floor

Down the hall from the craft studio and up a small flight of stairs (below) is the main bedroom. Please excuse the mess. I was too lazy to tidy up before snapping the pics! I am happy to announce that I found a nice, metal bed frame from gumtree (UK version of craigslist) this afternoon which will be delivered to us next Sunday. Originally a £500 or so frame for £120 from Habitat. Score! 

Don't get me started with UK mattress sizes. Omg. Apparently, our double (north american) is classified as a king size here, but it also depends on the retailer as they all have their different sizing charts. To top it off, Ikea makes one size of mattress for North America and then another size for EU which are both different from the UK sizes, so if you want an Ikea bed frame then you have to purchase a mattress from them too. 

 

Why yes, that is my bowl of cereal on the stairs! hehe

Between the craft studio and the bedroom, there is a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and washer / dryer (it's a combination, but the dryer part never works).

Here is a picture of me lying in the bed looking up. We have 3 skylights in the bedroom and one additional skylight in the hallway. Fantastic cross breezes! After sweating up a storm each summer at our old place, I can't wait for the summer here. There are also two speakers to the right of the room where the little window is. You can see one of them in the top picture. Have no idea what these are connected to. Seems so random.

This is the other half of the room. It's awkwardly shaped, but after looking at 22 different flats, this isn't uncommon. First floor pictures coming soon... may need a few days to take some proper pictures. Internet is finicky too. Our internet won't be properly installed until February 22nd or 23rd, so we purchased a temporary BT Openzone account for Rob's work.


Overall, things are coming along slowly. Missing Vancouver on and off... lots to learn.. sometimes feel like I'm living in a country of opposites... adjusting... can't wait for our boxes to clear customs... excited to visit Birmingham with e + m this Saturday!


PS. For those that are interested, I started a separate flickr account to post random London pictures. It's only visible to friends and family, but you can search for andreatongtucker.

house tour :: craft room and terrace

Here's the cole's notes version of us finding our flat...

Feb 1: leave vancouver

Feb 2: arrive in london

Feb 3: viewed 22 different flats, found "the one" - signed papers, offer accepted, listing removed

Feb 4: deposit paid, waiting for references, move in date finalized

Feb 7: reference approved, landlord is coming to the city to sign the papers on Wednesday

Feb 8: received call to say that since we don't have an UK income (eventhough they knew we didn't have this at the beginning), they need 6 months rent plus 6 weeks deposit. On a side note, it doesn't matter how much money you have elsewhere, they only care about what you have in the UK. Lots of back and forth. We negotiated 3 months, 3 months and then a monthly contract.

Feb 10: 30 minutes to us leaving to meet the agent for the keys, we receive a call to say that the boiler is broken and we are banned from the premises until who knows when.
(5 hours later): Finally moved in! Apparently partially furnished can be deteremined differently depending on the person. Let's just say, I started the next morning eating cereal with a plastic fork that I stole from the Waitrose deli.

(keys onto the terrace - love the skeleton keys here!)

We spent the last few days settling in and shopping for all the necessary staples. I know that a few of you have been asking for photos, so here is the first set. Our new place is technically called a maisonette (little house) that is split over three levels and built around the 1930's. We have a private entry with our own mail slot, two bedrooms, one full bath, one half bath, a craft room / den and the best part, a private rooftop terrace (see above)!

We had a few peaks of sunshine this afternoon, so here are some quick snapshots!

To get onto the terrace, you have to walk through the third bedroom which I have turned into my craft room (it's way too small for a bedroom!). In the UK, you can rent flats fully furnished (very popular!), unfurnished or partially furnished. We chose partially furnished, so that we could add our personal touches which is why it's looking pretty empty right now. We are still figuring out the furniture bit, so I will post "after" pictures when we are ready. Anybody know of any car boot or thift stores I should check out here?

Photo taken with the terrace behind me looking in. Not sure what they intended to do with the two display areas they made in the wall (picture above). Thought I would make some cute roxypop displays. ha! Suggestions?

Main bedroom pictures coming soon!

week one

via shelf

We left Vancouver one week ago and arrived Wednesday afternoon UK time. We've been busy adjusting, but here are some things that we have noticed during our week one...

1. When crossing the street, lights do not matter. Just start walking / running whenever you see a free moment.
2. When searching for flats, they still use carpet in the bathroom and separate cold / hot water taps (as much as we wanted to avoid this one, we have one in our bathroom)
3. Party walls = a wall that separates two buildings belonging to different owners.
4. If you purchase property in a certain distance of a church of England, you may be responsible for maintanence fees. 
5. Everyone in customer service (e.g. banks, transport) works behind glass and speaks through a microphone. 
6. They sure like sandwiches here!
7. Television shows start at awkward times - e.g. 18:05 to 18:58
8. The UK first floor is what we (Canada) call the second floor
9. Animated, talking animals (think bumble bees for vodafone, meerkats for insurance, etc.) are very popular in Commercials.

#10 is the biggest hurdle that we are overcoming. It seems that everything here is a catch 22 and if you speak to anybody that has relocated here, they completely understand, because they went through the same thing you did. 

Cell phone: We have the phone, but need a new SIM card. We can't get one unless we have bank statement with our UK address listed which means that a) you need to have a UK address b) you need to wait a month or so to receive one in the mail. We ended up getting a cheap (£7 pay as you go phone) as a temporary number.

Banking: We signed up for offshore accounts prior to landing and are hoping to move them to a local branch this week. If you arrive here without a bank account, you can't open one until you have a job no matter how much money you are trying to give them.

Coming up... I will tell you how everything went from "the flat is yours" to "the flat is only yours if you do X and X" to "the flat is yours again" in 24 hours. And yes, I will post pictures as soon as I can!

on the radar

found via the other side of the shelf by Paul Octavious

My brain still wants to be on holiday mode. MmmmmMmm.. how were your holidays?

Feeling better these days. Was hit with a fever half way through Got Craft back at the beginning of December which then progressed to strep throat due to stress and a virus that turned my eyes bloodshot. My eyes cleared up in a few days, but the throat persisted through Hawaii and left me with a cough that I am still experiencing. One more trip to the clinic today confirmed that something in my throat was still partying it up, so hopefully this more powerful and $$ antibiotics will clear it once and for all. Better to nip it in the bud here then overseas.

As for our move, the apartment is emptying out and we are starting to hear echos. Apartment viewings started earlier in the week... my mom came back and rummaged through a bunch of stuff that she wanted ... international shipping company picked up our 7 boxes and 2 pieces of furniture that are being shipped. Next on the list is photographing and listing everything for sale and tying up some loose ends.

A lot of mixed emotions coming from me. I have also been tossing and turning a lot these last couple of nights. Stress? Sadness? Fear? Excitement? All of the above? Time is just w-h-i-z-z-i-n-g by!

london :: driving

photo credit: k e n c h i e

So while I plan on getting a fantastic job in London with a driver (just kidding!), Rob is going to attempt to learn how to drive. We have no plans on purchasing a car, at least not yet, but we will be looking at rentals and possibly trying out Zipcar.

A unique element of the UK driving system is that you can either have an automatic only licence or a standard/automatic licence. The vast majority of cars in the UK are standard, even the ones from rental agencies and Zipcar. While in the UK, Canadians can drive using their current licence for a period of 12 months. After 12 months, or sooner, you can choose to do a direct exchange for a UK licence. The only restriction is that by exchanging your license, you can only operate an automatic vehicle. This is due to the fact that in Canada, we do not normally test on standard vehicles. If you are interested in starting this process, you can read more on Directgov.

To help prepare Rob with obtaining a full license, he ordered an assortment of training materials that you can find online including the official DSA complete learner pack and the official highway code. Which, by the way, took over a month to get here, so we contacted them and they resent the package to us. Of course, the day after, the original package arrives followed by the new ones a day after that which we then give to friends who are also thinking of moving abroad.

Overall, the rules of the road are pretty similar to what we have here in Canada. Some odd facts include:

• No yellow centre line to divide traffic travelling in opposite directions. They just go with a white line in the UK.
• Pedestrian crossings are named after the zoo: Zebra- Standard crosswalk, Pelican- These have a button at the sidewalk and a walk signal that appears on the other side of the street, Puffin- These have a button and a walk indicator at street level and Toucan- Same as a Puffin, but includes controls to allow cyclists to legally cross.
• Sidewalks are called pavement.
• Curbs are spelled 'kerbs' and during your road exam, you must be able to back up along the kerb and around a corner without striking the kerb.

Two driving schools that I am currently look at are the Automobile Association and the British School of Motor.

Wish us luck.

london :: relocation pt 3

photo credit: Living, Etc. UK

Welcome to our final installment of our interview with Colleen Wagner from London Relocation in preparation for our move overseas next February. Hopefully, these Q&A sessions have given you a clear idea of what the process is in setting up shop overseas. Missed the first two interviews? You can find them here and here.

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R: When applying for a flat what does the management company or owner look for? Do we need to see our Visa, employment records, submit a credit check or show proof of savings?
C: Letters of reference from one’s employer and previous landlord, passport (well, hopefully you’d have this with you!), and bank account details (including a statement showing you’re good for the funds) is necessary.

Once your offer has been accepted and the lease signed by both you and the landlord, you will be expected to pay your deposit and first month’s rent upfront. The deposit is equal to 6 weeks’ rent, so—barring students—the typical upfront amount totals 2.5 months’ rent, plus any added admin fees the agency may charge (again, London Relocation clients do not pay these fees). We have a blog post offering guidance on facilitating international bank transfers along with some pros and cons of different payment methods.

R: When should an Expat make initial contact with a relocation agent?
C: It can never be too early, really, for getting initial questions sorted out as you try to brainstorm the above key housing questions. It is often easiest to schedule the appointment, though, within a couple months of the actual viewing date when chances are better that your arrival dates are confirmed and you know there will be no hang-ups with the visa. While we can accommodate last-minute enquiries if we have availability, it’s best that we have at least a week’s advance notice to go over the terms of service with you and start researching.

Property searches themselves can be scheduled for as early as 6-weeks prior to the desired move-in date, as by this time existing tenants should have given notice as to whether they’re staying or leaving a flat; thus, we have a clearer idea of what properties will be available. If you can look in advance like this, that’s always great as it helps you beat the competition; however, many of our clients view properties within the same week as moving in—some have moved in as soon as the next day.

R: If someone decided to take up the home search alone what should they look out for? Are their common scams or hidden fees that catch people by surprise?
C: I briefly mentioned earlier the infamous Craigslist scams. These may occur on other classifieds sites as well and basically entail a “landlord” or “agency/property manager” offering a flat for an unrealistically low price (don’t count on finding much for under 200 GBP per week) and then asking you to transfer funds for the deposit/rent without having even seen the place in person. NEVER DO THIS! Always, always view the property in person or at least have someone you trust do so if you can’t be there—money should never exchange hands otherwise. I also mentioned before the absolute sketchiness of a situation where you’re required to pay upfront in cash. No legitimate agency/landlord would ask this.

It is typical for lettings agencies to charge an administration fee for handling the paperwork, and they may charge another fee for performing the reference check. The amount of these fees are not regulated within the industry, so there is no rhyme or reason as to what an individual agency might charge—it could be one to a few hundred pounds in all.

Another aspect of doing it on your own (which I did, oblivious to the relocation agent option…and it took me 2 weeks to see 23 properties) is that it takes a lot of legwork to many different agencies to see an exhaustive representation of what’s out there in your budget and desired area. Any one agency will have a few to show you any given day. They do not use MLS (multiple listing systems), however, so the particular office that you step into only has listings in that immediate area. So you will want to educate yourself on the different neighborhoods and narrow down your preferences straightaway.

R: How does one go about figuring out their monthly rent due to the fact that everything is quoted pw?
C: As a bit of trivia, London rent prices are quoted on a weekly basis because residents used to also be paid weekly; thus, the outflow was scheduled to coincide with the inflow. Why they continue quoting it that way now? No idea ☺ People are paid monthly, and you’ll pay your rent monthly as well (the monthly amount will be specified on your lease).

In any case, to achieve a monthly rent figure, multiply the weekly figure by 4.33.

Why not just by 4? Because not every month is exactly 4 weeks long. So, multiplying a weekly figure by the 52 weeks of the year and dividing by the 12 months is the equivalent of just multiplying by 4.33 (i.e., 52 divided by 12).

R: Are there pet friendly buildings and owners out there? This is very important element to us and one of the reasons we plan to work with a relocation agent.
C: Finding a building that allows pets is indeed an obstacle to flat-finding. If the building doesn’t allow them, it doesn’t matter if the individual flat’s landlord doesn’t mind them. If the building says no, it’s a no. If the building says yes, but the landlord says no, that might rest at a no as well.

However, while many landlords may not be keen on having a dog or cat in their owned property, they may be willing to negotiate. Ways to sweeten the pot for them when negotiating your lease is meeting the asking price rather than trying to haggle it down, if not offering more than the asking price (indeed, some landlords may require an additional fee). In addition, they may be inclined to allow it if you are able to offer them additional months’ rent in advance as a way of bypassing additional costs.

Though having a pet versus not is more of a property-finding challenge, it IS possible, and employing the services of a relocation agent will give you extra backing thanks to their contacts. Beyond flats, London is a very pet-friendly city!

R: What does council tax get you and how much can you expect to pay?
C: Council tax pays for city services like waste disposal, maintenance of sidewalks and streets, social services, etc. It can be paid annually or on a monthly basis and is a cost that the landlord always passes on to their dear tenants to deal with.

How much it costs will vary property-to-property. Each residence falls within a “band,” which is based on the property’s appraised value and in which borough it’s located. In the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, for example, annual council tax ranges from several hundred to a couple thousand pounds depending on what band the flat falls into.

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Thank you so much to Colleen for taking the time out of her busy day to speak with us. For more information about Colleen or to read her blogs, you can check out London Relocation and London Living. Stay tuned for more UK goodness as we move closer to the big day!