Where in the World Are We?

 

Moving overseas for a job presents many opportunities and also some conflicting priorities. It was important for us to have a good start, keep travel to a minimum as we were both new drivers in the UK, without official UK drivers licenses when we arrived. Keeping things as simple as possible was a smart move. We decided that we should be close to where my partner worked because of the long hours involved in working on both sides of the Atlantic in the same day. Finding a furnished apartment was a key goal and proved more difficult than we had imagined.

One difference between the US and UK that I hadnt really understood was how the real estate market and rental markets worked or, really, didnt work. UK property estate agents are trained to know where to direct someone to sign the lease on the paper and perhaps meet prospective clients with the key to the property. And thats about it. They will facilitate repairs and issues that arise once you have moved in, but even that can be sketchy if the agent isnt motivated. Finding a furnished apartment in this part of the UK also felt like winning the lottery. There were simply very few suitable apartments/flats/cottages/terraced/detached/insert local colloquialism here.

Where were we looking? Essex. Specifically within about a 20 mile radius from Colchester where my partner works. The country here is really beautiful. Gently rolling hills, hedgerows, farms, villages and crazy backroads with massive potholes makes a memorable landscape for a photographer or driver, but hunting for a place to live it seemed that there were not many places fully furnished. Especially in January. Small towns and villages simply do not have enough inventory available at any time and word of mouth seems to travel faster in these parts than internet searches.

I believe we did hit the lottery with the home we found to rent. It was, naturally, the most expensive home in the area to rent, by far, but it was available with 4 bedrooms (gasp!) a small back garden, and right across the road from the waterfront. It has a fantastic view of the port at Felixstowe across the River Stour. We took it immediately. I particularly loved the decor and describe it as modern lesbian chic. PERFECT. And only a 20 minute drive for my partner to get to work. The downside is that its at the end of Essex and between a 2 and 3 hour drive from Heathrow Airport, or a 3 hour train journey.

The distance to Heathrow hasnt been that much of a problem, unless the trains arent running which can be totally random and frustrating. Traffic on the motorway can also be unpredictable, seemingly more than in the USA. We had planned on traveling a lot so this location wasn’t necessarily perfect, but in time we would come to love it.

Harwich is an old town in one of the oldest parts of the UK. Colchester is the oldest city in the UK. Roman ruins abound. An hour away is Sutton Hoo where an Anglo-Saxon ship burial is located and made famous in the movie “The Dig” with Ralph Fiennes. The Mayflower, yes THAT Mayflower, was built and flagged in Harwich and left from here with Christopher Jones captaining her. His home has a plaque across the street from our local pub, The Alma Inn where, back in the late 1500s Christopher Jones’ first wife lived. Perhaps there is a sweet irony or gentle symmetry in moving to the place where the original pilgrims built the ship that would carry them to the new world to found the United States of America.

I particularly have enjoyed being close to the sea. I love the water. The largest container ships in the world doc right across the river from our bedroom. We can hear foghorns, ship whistles, bells and the storms rattling the windows when the squalls roll in from the North Sea. There is a nice seafront to walk in the evenings when the weather is hospitable. We even have a Banksy! It has been the perfect place to settle into life in the UK. We are far enough from London to still be an oddity as Americans, yet close enough to take a train that leaves from a station that is a block away and arrives in downtown London in an hour and twenty five minutes. Not bad.

Not bad.

The Year in Review

The year 2023 whizzed by like so many pints at the Alma Pub in Harwich, Essex on a Friday evening. Technically speaking, the whizzing started back in the middle of 2022 when we first entertained the option of perhaps picking up and moving to the UK. One daughter graduated from university and started medical school. Our son started his senior year at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Our oldest daughter settled into her job in Madison, Wisconsin. We sold our house and cars. Sent the dog to Wisconsin to live with our daughter. Packed up our belongings and moved them across the USA and put them in storage. My wife finished her MBA, finished teaching a college class, got promoted, and we hopped on a plane on New Years Eve and landed in a new year and in a new country.

So, what is the first thing one does when you move to a new country? Immediately leave it.

Thats right. 8 days into our adventure, I hopped on a plane with my son and we flew to Dublin. Even at the source of the most majestic beer in the world, the revered pint of Guinness, I couldn’t get my then 21 year old son to “like” it. Oh well. Someday he will appreciate that he got to learn to pull the perfect pint in Dublin itself.

Two weeks later, I was back in Dublin for another weekend. This time my wife came along at her insistence. Music, pints, art, literature. We jumped straight into Dublin. Ireland was comfortable and welcoming, like putting on a favorite old sweatshirt.

Flowers in Keukenhof Botanical Gardens were so flowery.

Copenhagen was also photogenically fantastic.

The following months were just as adventurous. Lisse, Netherlands, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Faroe Islands, Azores, Lisbon, Cork, Mainz, Frankfurt, Rotherberg ob der Tauber, Zurich, Liectenstein, Zematt, Luxembourg, Verdun, Chateau-Thierry, Amiens, Amsterdam, Brighton, Canterbury, Norfolk coast, Nottingham, Chicago, Madison, Quetico Provincial Park, Baltimore, and of course, many weekends in London. I’m sure Im leaving a few off of the list. We had visits by many friends and family members. Visited the Colchester Zoo, saw the Cubs play a 2 game series in London, saw the Baltimore Ravens win in London, Made new friends and sadly lost some old friends. We wrapped up the year with a visit back to Chicago to see our family for the holidays.

The upcoming year is also starting to fill up the old schedules. Future adventures are being planned. Many hijinks. Much ridiculousness. So much fun! So please follow along with our adventure here and I will do my best to go back and revisit 2023 while bringing you up to date with all the excitement in store in 2024.

Cheers!