Our New Place

So, the first item of business when we got here was to find a place to live. The realtor showed us all of the available properties with four or five bedrooms that were within driving distance of the kids' school--a total of one property. After being assured that it was a nice house and quite a good value for such a safe area, we signed on the bottom line (mostly so that we could be done moving and be out of the phenomenally expensive hotel we were staying in near Heathrow Airport). Our rent is going to be 2200 pounds a month (which will be somewhere between $4000 and $4500 a month U.S. depending on the exchange rate!). We're trying not to think about that too hard...

Our new place is duplex (here they call it a "semi-detached house"). The main floor has a small entryway/hallway, a medium-sized kitchen, two main rooms that are about the size of bedrooms in the states (family room and dining room?), and a tiny closet under the stairs that was converted to a bathroom almost big enough to use. The upstairs has a bathroom with a shower, two good sized-bedrooms and three "box rooms" (closets the Brits think are bedrooms) just big enough for a single bed and a small space to stand next to the bed. There are no closets, which makes storing the things you packed across the ocean quite problematic. It also has a one-carriage garage and a partially finished attic. That's it. I would guess it's no bigger than 1400 total square feet, but that's a very rough guesstimate, and it might actually be generous. It does have a garden (back yard) for the kids to play in when it's warm enough or not raining, which is nice.

Though we keep shaking our heads and chuckling as we turn sideways to get past each other in the hall, people from the U.K. keep telling us how spacious it is, and one of the missionaries (from Italy) said that it is "quite posh for England." Go figure!

All things considered, it's a nice little place, and we're quite comfortable. We try not to think about the astronomical rent, and it is definitely larger than our camping trailer!

Hmm, the picture makes it look WAY larger than it is. Maybe it's true what they say about photography adding 10 pounds--it even applies to houses! If you look closely, the front door is a standard size and the garage section (far right) is about 7' across; it'll help put it in perspective. :)