Officially a Londoner

Officially a Londoner and Student, plus the rest of this years travel plans.

All the change is finally coming to an end: I’ve moved away from Glasgow, started university, settled in to my course and now finally the last piece of the puzzle has come together and along with my boyfriend I have finally moved in to a little flat in East Sheen, London.

It has been stressful and soul destroying going through the process of finding a flat to rent: put in an offer, have said offer accepted, get our references cleared and finally sign the lease. There were several points I thought it was all going to fall through especially when the referencing company came back to us saying we didn’t earn enough to qualify – getting a flat when you are a student is very hard work. Luckily our savings and the fact my boyfriend has a great contract starting January scrapped us through. I felt so relieved finally signing those papers after two weeks of commuting for four hours a day, I was so ready to finally be settled in London. If anyone is currently looking to rent in London, I wish you so much luck, it is hard work.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been a Londoner, back in 2012 we lived in Hackney. Properties there are cheaper and there seemed to be much less competition, or we just got lucky. Moving in to south west London is a totally new area for us and I’m excited to start exploring the area. Richmond Park is right on our door step and I cannot wait to get my running shoes on and check it out! East Sheen is home to lots of cute stores and a huge array of restaurants from all over the world – I’ve noticed all this from walking the same stretch of road for two days, so looking forward to what else I might find. However I am also a little apprehensive as last time I came to hate London by the time we left last time and I don’t want my hate for London to ruin things this time round. The whole situation I am approaching this in is completely different this time, so I have faith I’m actually going to enjoy it.

Last weekend I headed off to Amsterdam for a weekend and although that was before I actually moved in to London, it made me realise how ‘doable’ a weekend in Europe is. It has made me even more determined to explore as much of Europe as I can (and get a part time job to fund me to do so!) London is the perfect place to be, if you want to explore Europe and I’m so excited I have so many transport links at my finger tips. So do not think this blog is going to sizzle out because I’m settled in London studying a degree.

My Travel/Event Plans for the Rest of 2014

Gigs – This month I have two gigs planned: One at the Brooklyn Bowl in the 02 Arena to see Lady Antebellum an awesome country band I discovered while I was in America in 2011. It will be the first time I have seen them live and this their only date in the UK this year. The second in Birmingham at the NIA to see Ed Sheeran I have seen him once before at Hackney Weekend but am very excited to see him doing his own tour. I booked tickets to this show very late when he added an extra date so feel very lucky to be going.

NFL at Wembley Stadium – For those of you who don’t know NFL is the American football league and my boyfriend loves it. I have attempted to get in to it, and do find it enjoyable – just not as much as English football. We will be seeing the Detroit Lions vs Atlanta Falcons for an early lunch time game instead of the typical late night game. There will be pre-game entertainment and after game fun too.

World Travel Market – It seems like months ago I actually applied for a bloggers press pass for this event. I distinctly remember bloggers being their and tweeting about it last year, so it seemed a good idea to get myself a pass. Trying to fit the event around my hectic university schedule might be a bit difficult but I’m looking forward to seeing as much as I can. Although currently I’m not 100% sure what to see and what I’m really going to get out of it. If you are heading to WTM, let me know I would love to hang out with you.

Credit

Brussels – In November I will be heading off to Brussels for part two of my #parkinnexpress challenge. I will be meeting another fellow blogger and taking the train from London to Brussels – which will be a very new experience for me, I haven’t done much long distance travelling by train. I am excited to explore the city, try some good waffles, chocolate and beer and take part in another scavenger hunt.

Iceland and NYC – The ‘big’ trip of the year although it is only for five days long. We will be heading out just before Christmas to enjoy some festive fun in the big city but not before exploring a little bit of beautiful Iceland. It is only a 24 hour stop over but we already have a northern lights trip booked and some time at the Blue Lagoon. I just hope we do not freeze in the chilly December temperatures! In NYC we will head to another NFL game, explore the city, go ice skating, Christmas shopping and generally enjoy revisiting a city in a different season.

I’m excited to embrace this next chapter of my life and cannot wait to keep sharing all of my adventures with you on the blog. I may even delve into v-blogging about my time at university but we’ll see, I’m not feeling brave enough yet!