A Day in Chiswick

A few months ago, J went on a scouting trip to London to check out areas for us to live in. He really liked an area called Maida Vale but in our price range, all that we could afford was a 3 bdr. flat. Realistically we felt that we were going to need a bit more room for the kids to run around in and ideally a backyard area so that we didn't always have to find a park when they needed to release some energy. So we settled on an area called Chiswick in West London, about a 30 min. tube ride to central London and my work.

On Thursday, J met up with a real estate agent and they saw about 12 houses 'for let'. At the end of the day J felt 2 or 3 were workable and we decided to put an offer in on the top choice. It wasn't the largest of them all, but it had a nice, bright open kitchen/family room area much like our space in California. After a little negotiation, it was ours. The fact that I didn't see it before we put a deposit down made J very nervous. So yesterday we took a trip out to Chiswick to check out the house and the area.

Someone at work told me the house is located in the "posh" area of Chiswick called Bedford Park. I'm here to report that our street is a bit less than posh and the curb appeal is somewhat lacking but the house itself will definitely work. There are two tube stations within a 10-15 min. walk from the house and there is a great park just a few blocks away. The kids playground has the basic swings and play structures but it also has a kids obstacle course. Here is C playing on part of it.

It's also right next to the train tracks so every few minutes you see most of the kids in the park pointing up and saying "train". Speaking of trains, we have been amazed at how many people have offered to help us lift strollers up and down the stairs in the train stations. And it's not just other parents - yesterday a group of teenage girls carried one of our strollers up the stairs while J and I carried the other with K in it.

After the park we walked to the high street which has cute shops and restaurants and a wide sidewalk occupied by lots of strollers. It reminds us a lot of University Ave. in Palo Alto and it's definitely a place where we fit right in (minus the accent).

We grabbed some lunch and then decided to walk down to the river. The idea itself was a good one and the walk was beautiful.

Unfortunately once you start there is no easy way to get off the path. About halfway through, J and I were both pooped, the kids were asleep and we were in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to do but just keep walking.

Once we reached civilization and a bus stop J coined our walk the "River Death March" in reference to a hike a few years back with my dad that he named the "Pinnacles Death March".

Still all in all, it was a great day in Chiswick and I think it will be a good location for us to be in. Now we just hope that we can find a good school for C nearby.

On our train ride back we struck up a conversation with a lovely couple who have lived in London nearly all of their lives. They were sweet as can be and when we said our goodbyes they replied "enjoy your life here". Their words immediately struck a chord with J and I, that yes, our life is now in London.