And we’re back…
Hello friends. I wonder if anyone still reads this semi-retired blog? After getting our PR last October, I’m lacking serious inspiration to write, partly because our daily life has become more routine, but also because we’ve decided to scale back on personal travels so we can focus on other goals, namely Project House; hopefully Project Pet shortly after; and Project Passport in October. After spending five plus year sharing our adventures about London and travels on this blog, I agreed with Kenz that I couldn’t let the blog just retire without a proper “exit strategy.” So I’ve decided to back date a few blog entries on our trip back to California and our “sun” trip to Playa del Carmen for January, and perhaps write on few back posts about living in northwest London.
If you can believe it, Kenz and I managed to stay in London for a whole 3 months! Yes, three months. This is the longest stretch since 2008 where we did not travel outside of London. Feels a bit strange, and I’m starting to get travel withdraws. It’s good that we have a siblings trip planned to Thailand over Easter break so definitely looking forward to some trekking, beaches, and islands with my family and little niece.
So you may be asking what we’ve been up to as of late? Well, we’ll start with Project House. Since returning from California/Mexico, Kenz and I have been hitting the ground hard with flat viewings every weekend, and learning the ropes of this utterly crazy London housing market. Yes that includes a few episodes of Location, Location, Location; understanding the difference between a leasehold vs a freehold; and being best friends with the estate agents whom I speak to almost on a daily basis.
We viewed over 40 properties, most of which were “open days” when 30 or so would be buyers view the property within a two hour time slot, mostly in Southeast London. The whole experience can be summarised in this Guardian article that my colleague sent me who just sold his 1 bedroom Hackney flat for a handsome profit and bought in family-friendly Kingston in anticipation of the arrival of his son. Trying to buy a property in London is like the wild, wild west. Stay tuned for more… Until then, we may reflect a bit and share with you some our favourite places.
