Posts

Everything is Different

Image
We've been in UK for just over a month, and loving life here. We've spent time with friends, met our neighbors, and I've caught up with coworkers in the London office. Quite a few people here and back in the US have asked what been the most surprising/different for us. Here's just a few: Bathrooms : 1: The light and fan switches are usually on the outside of the door. 2: If there is an outlet in the bathroom, it will be a "shaver only" one. 3: Toilets are a different shape, have two buttons for flushing, have less water in the bowl, and are often set into the wall.  Kitchens/laundry:     Fridges are much smaller, freezers are usually all drawers.     It's common to have a built-in drainboard as part of the sink.     Washing machines are often in the kitchen(though not in this house--we have a very nice utility room).  Tumble dryers are not as common as in the US because of limited space and higher energy costs. Most people have a folding clothes r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (and a Ferry)

Image
After 3 days of travel, we finally arrived in Twyford, just in time to retrieve the keys to our rental house from the letting agent. We left Pflugerville before 9am on Tuesday, July 8th, intending to arrive 4 hours before our flight left for Boston. I had read just a couple of days earlier, that even though we had booked the dogs on the flight, if someone else arrived before us and checked in, we could lose the dogs' spots on the plane. It did take some time to get checked in and all of their paperwork approved, so it was good we arrived so early. We walked them through security, hoping to minimise the amount of time they spent in the carriers (We were worried about Gabby overheating and Louis become too anxious.) They both seemed to enjoy the attention, and made quite a few people smile. I'd given both their initial sedative the night before, and gave Louis the second doses right before we left for the airport. We ended up chatting with a young woman while waiting to board wh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Something always goes wrong, usually at the least convenient time

This is the very first post of my new blog, documenting our move from the Austin, Texas area to Berkshire, UK. We are sitting in the house we have rented back from the buyer. All of our belongings are in a container on the way to Houston where they will be loaded on a ship and hopefully arrive some time this summer at our UK rental house. We're each down to one suitcase, one backpack and a dog each. The whole process started about a year ago, with us getting two houses ready for sale, by selling, donating and throwing away lots of belongings. We decluttered, painted and finished incompleted projects. Once both houses were in contract, I applied for my spouse visa and started the process for getting all the paperwork getting our belongings, including five motorcycles and two dogs to the UK. The most complicated part of our move is without a doubt, getting the dogs over. You can hired companies to do any of all of this, including getting all paperwork arranged and physically ge...
2 comments
Read more