Okay – first of all, I am SO glad we moved to London. I really like it here – even the rain, even the noise of living in a big city, and I have even come to look at the high prices as a personal challenge to get the best deal. Having said all this, moving sucks and moving to a new city is really hard. Here is a list of some of the things that are difficult about it:

1. Finding a suitable place to live. Key word here is suitable. There are about a million places available, but it is so challenging to find a place that is reasonably priced, and is actually livable. About a week ago, I finally found a place that I thought would work, and Michael and I went to sign the lease the day he arrived. However, Michael, with  his eye for fine craftsmanship (thanks for the good genes, John), noticed the 20 degree slope to the floor, and vetoed it. I think I blocked it out because I was so tired of looking at apartments that I just wanted the first place I saw that day (though technically it was the 2nd place I saw). Anyway, we have an appointment to sign the lease on our final choice…. I will post something if and when we actually move in.

2. Getting accounts set up. You can’t have a bank account without an address, you can’t get an apartment without a way to pay them. You can only take out 150 GBP a day from the cash machine, so you can’t pay a proper deposit…

3. Figuring your way around. On the one hand, you get to see a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally see, on the other hand, you’re usually running late so you don’t even see all the stuff anyway. I think this bothers Michael more than it bothers me, because I get lost all the time, sometimes even in my own house, so I am used to it. Michael has a built in GPS system, so even if you go the wrong way, a little voice corrects you immediately. So when we do get lost together, he gets mad. When he is mad you just take him to a playground for awhile and let him burn off his excess energy and he is right back to normal, so that’s good.

4. Carrying heavy things. Thank God Michael is here now – for many, many reasons – among them I only have to carry heavy things if he is already carrying too many heavy things for 1 person. I think he LIKES to carry heavy things, so out of courtesy I let him (does that sound believable?).

5. I miss some things from home (sorry family, this one might sting a little – you did make the list, but you came n 2nd)  I miss my Tempurpedic bed. I long for it, I yearn for it, I dream about cozying down into its soft, gently yielding cushion of comfort. I miss sleeping for 8 delicious hours and not waking up with a spring in my elbow. Sigh… they cost about $1500 – $2500 USD here , which is just a stupid amount of money to spend on something you can’t bring back home. Michael induldged me and bought me a mattress topper thing, which we will put on the bed in the new place. I CAN’T WAIT. After the bed, I miss family, friends, my doggies, and cheap stuff.

I am so looking forward to being settled into our new place. I can handle not having a permanent home, but I have learned I need to have a somewhat long term place to organize and nest into, being, as I am, a bird of the nesting variety.