Hi everyone - thanks again for all the helpful comments I got last month. I'm back from the trip and we have been mulling what we've learned thus far. One thing we've decided on is that with the dog, it seems crazy to live in London and not be close enough to either Hampstead Heath or Hyde Park to visit regularly.
Of the original list, here are the final top three:
Belsize Park/Hampstead
Notting Hill/Bayswater
Wapping
I loved Belsize Park. I did not go up to Hampstead, but from what I hear (and remember from living in London as a student - but that was 7 or so years ago) it sounds quite similar. When looking at rents and tube stops, I'm wondering if I should check out the area around the Kentish Town tube as well? Looks cheaper, but I'm wondering if that is because it is less safe. Anyway - I loved the village-y feel to Belsize Park right around the tube, liked that it is close to the heath, and liked that the shops and such were clearly for people who lived there, rather than for tourists. I liked that the streets around the tube felt comfy and residential - I could imagine walking Piper around them.
I was not a fan of the Notting Hill/Bayswater area. My husband liked it a lot more - he liked that it was busy and that there were tons and tons of shops and restaurants and stuff. I really like Hyde Park, and would probably enjoy visiting the area for shopping or dinner or something, but I'm really not interested in living there. I did, however, have the best cappuccino and scone of my LIFE. Which was desperately needed by that time, as I'd been wandering around Ealing Broadway for hours that morning (and had gotten COMPLETELY soaked in a huge thunderstorm - I didn't know it was possible to get that wet that quickly short of jumping straight into a lake), traveled all the way back to the City to towel off and change, then had wandered around Bayswater/Queensway until my feet were threatening to fall off.
By the way - I LOVED Ealing Broadway. It's just too darn far from the City. And I found the central line of the tube very unpleasant to ride on, which was not what I had remembered when living there. I completely forgot that there is no such thing as an express train. Also, the central line trains didn't seem to be air conditioned. These factors combined to make a relatively easy 35-40 minute train ride feel like 35-40 years. What was odd is that the Northern Line trains were significantly more comfortable - they seemed to be air conditioned, there were fewer stops, and it was just much more pleasant, even though it was still 25 minutes, which wasn't that much shorter than the trip to Ealing. Having heard rumors that the Northern line was unpleasant and unreliable, I was expecting the worst, but it was completely fine for me (on a Monday). I'll have to check it out during rush hour, though.
Wapping - we have some friends living in Wapping who love it. I can certainly understand why they love it - The apartments tend to be extremely cool converted warehouse type things, it's right on the Thames, good pubs, good restaurants. However, there were very very few green spaces, it was like a ghost town when we were there (Saturday) which was weird, and the tube will no longer service that area starting this winter. It is also (according to crime statistics I found here:
http://www.met.police.uk/crimefigures/
the least safe of the areas. Since we have to be able to walk around the neighborhood (I regularly walk Piper in a 2-3 mile radius of our current apartment), and with the sun setting so early in winter, it'll mean walking around after dark a lot. So it's important to me to feel safe while doing that.
Out of equal parts fear that we won't have a place to move into when I fly over with the pets, and excitement on my husband's part, my husband is now planning on moving out there mid-October, and looking for a place while working. However, we are currently in the middle of coming up with a slightly different plan, where I come out the first week in October for a week or so (I'll have left my current job as of October 1st, so will have complete flexibility - yay!), Dave stays in NY so we don't have to pay someone to look after the pets, and I look for an apartment in that week, and hopefully find something we can start the paperwork on. If all goes well, Dave would then hold off on his move until the paperwork is all set and he can move straight into the apartment. If all does not go well, and I find nothing, he'll revert to the original October 15th plan, and look himself once he's there.
Of course, part of the genius of this new plan is that I desperately want to be able to search for the apartments myself, and he desperately does NOT. So, assuming I can find something, this could work out ideally.
Anyway, that's the update on areas we're considering. And for fun, here are some pictures I took while there, although I'm an idiot and it didn't occur to me to take pictures of the areas where are actually considering LIVING. Oh well - there's always next time!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10334786@N00/sets/72157601030335423/
Thanks again for the input last time - and of course if anyone has any comments on the current list of areas, I'd be very very interested in hearing them. Looks like some great posts since the last time I visited, so I'm going to go and check them out.
Gwen
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