Moving to London - general travels tips please!!
 

Hi all! We just found out my husband has gotten a job in London! We are very excited. We lived in Japan for three years with the military when we were first married, but this will not be a military move and our travel since then has been stateside. Our intention is to travel as much as possible for the time we are there (3 to 5 years). Do you have any general travel tips for me or must see places while we are there?

The travel guides I have purchased so far are:

London Spiral Guide
Great Britain Insight Guide
Discover Europe Lonely Planet
Eyewitness Travel Family Guide London

We have three boys (11, 8 & 5). I do love a good art museum, but the rest probably would only tolerate it to make me happy :) I have been digging on some expat forums, but I would love to hear what seasoned travelers would recommend!! I appreciate any help or recommendations!!

Your guides should be able to provide you with a ton of suggestions and you can ask the board to narrow them down from there. You're asking about must see places in a country of 70M+ people that has been the most influential nation in world history so your request needs to be pared down a bit.

London will be a huge playground for the boys. And here is a good day out with the hobbits: http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/.

You're going to be within easy reach of all of London and all of south-east England, so the day trip possibilities are extensive.

Go to Londontown.com and check out the whole website. It has a ton of suggestions for visitors and listings for what is happening in the city.

Ultimately, you're probably going to have to work hard to be bored.

Have a look at http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk - a US family visiting more of this country than certainly I've managed.

With a bit of research you'll be deluged with possibilities for trips out. Any good bookshop in London will have plenty of books for country walks you can reach by public transport from London.

For the youngsters:
Castles (http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/)?
Steam railways (http://www.heritage-railways.com/map.php) or industrial steam engines (http://www.kbsm.org/)?

Or you could go South Kensington and let them explore the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum while you enjoy the Victoria and Albert.

And then there are plenty of options for quick hops to the continent, if you shop around.

<<Do you have any general travel tips for me or must see places while we are there? >>

If you've only driven an automatic, learn to drive a manual car, which will open up travel options

Here's another suggestion: get your boys working on www.tfl.gov.uk to find out how to get about in London (and www.nationalrail.co.uk for suburban and long distance trains), likewise www.daysoutguide.co.uk

<<If you've only driven an automatic, learn to drive a manual car, which will open up travel options>>

What does that mean? Last check, manual and automatic transmission car models didn't exactly have different dimensions based upon the trim model and the type of transmission.

BigRuss - it means if the OP has only driven an automatic, she won't be able to drive a manual in the UK, which are far more common - nothing to do with size or trim???

I can drive a stick, but I am much more comfortable with an automatic. I imagine if we buy a car I will learn to be more proficient quickly (hills make me nervous :) ). My husband is very good with either - so no worries there.

Sorry - i realize it is a bit of a general question. What i am hoping for is either tips on hidden gems that I won't pick up on in guides. The steam trains look great, as does the Bekonscot, which i hadn't seen in any guides yet! So - perfect! Other places in Europe that wouldn't be necessarily expected would be nice to hear about. I am sure we will make it to Paris, Venice, Rome... But we aren't fond of huge crowds so we would love some off the beaten path type things or even best times to go to... I haven't had a chance to read through all of the guides and as you pointed out I am sure they will give me lots of info.

My great-grandfather was Austrian. He was born & raised in Beckersdorf, which from what I can tell is now in the Ukraine. So that will be interesting to track down.

I have also read on here things like don't leave your phone on the table in front of you in a coffee shop type things. With moving coming up quickly I am not sure how far back I can read on the forums just yet. But I am gleaning some great info from the trip reports! I appreciate any info!!

I would suggest you look out the RoughGuide series. Filled with information and history they could be described as awesome. It may help to think of Northern France to be pretty close (with a direct line into Paris so close). Beyond that it is worth understanding the cheepo airlines Ryanair, easyjet, jet2.com which fly out of many of London's 5 airports.

Off the beaten track in the UK. Look out for Dorset, Devon, Yorkshire. All countryside and easy to get away from the pressure of London.

"Do you have any general travel tips for me or must see places while we are there? "

What do you mean?

In London? In Britain? Within a five hour train ride or a two hour flight (effectively the same thing, and both at the extreme of a "there and back in a day" trip)? Within a day's journey?

The crucial metrics are:
- how much potential travel time you've actually got
- how much of that time you want to waste on travel and how much on living a real life
- the real elapsed time of journeys. The crucial fact you need to bear in mind is time taken to get from your house or flat to the relevant railway station, airport or start of a motorway. It's not at all unusual, even for journeys to quite distant-sounding places, for the intra-London bit to take longer than the city-to city bit. And, in much of Europe, for the same to apply at the other end.

Ach, there are automatics everywhere. I rented one in Scotland in 2004.

Check out the daysoutguide.co.uk website for ideas - they may even have a category for kids. For three boys, the Imperial War Museum is a must, and a trip to Dover Castle would be fun (take the fast train from St Pancras). Ton(ne)s of castles - that's fish in a barrel.

Natalie - you don't, [unless i've missed it] mention where you're going to be living. Clearly a lot of your time is going to be taken up at least at first with settling your boys into schools/nurseries, learning to find your way round your neighbourhood/village, making friends for yourselves and your kids, etc. etc.

here are my tips:

1. overland trains and buses are a great way of getting around and you get a better view than you usually do on the tube.

2. Get to know the other parents at the kids' schools by joining the PTA [parent -teacher association, if there is one] volunteering to run a stall at the Christmas/Easter fair, etc. etc.

3. Don't forget about seeing the UK - see indydad's threads or his blog as recommended by Patrick - they've seen loads more of the UK than i have and he's only been here for a year or so!

hope you have a great time, and Welcome!

Since you will be there 3-5 years I wouldn't worry so much about putting together the list of must-see's now. It will evolve and develop over time. That said, I think experiences are more lasting than just seeing things - so for England experiencing sporting events (a Formula One race, a football game) and doing outdoor activities (walking trails everywhere, boating on Lake Windemere, digging fossils out of the rocks on the Jurassic coast etc.)are great memories you will all share.
You also requested 'hidden gems' - there are a few great resources on the net that focus on these - they include http://londonist.com/ , http://londonunveiled.com , and http://www.tiredoflondontiredoflife.com/ . In addition, regular publications like TimeOut London keep you up to date on whats going on - so buy it regularly. Other European cities have similar publications. Lastly, doing a search in Fodor's London forum for 'hidden' or 'secret' will find lots of prior threads that discuss the less touristy locations. See http://www.fodors.com/search/results...=london+hidden

" i have also read on here things like don't leave your phone on the table in front of you in a coffee shop type things."

This has nothing to do with europe. This is a basic bit of common sense that you should practice everywhere in the world - including your local mall.
'
Other rules:

NEVER let go of your purse or backpack - even in hotels or restaurants - keep you hands on it at all times

Be aware of what's going on around you at all times - to avoid pickpockets.

Just all the basic safety precautions.

My son lives in London and my daughter down on the coast and we are from the states.They love living there and have enjoyed all of the aspects of living in the UK!

I would recommend two more books for your list-ROUGH GUIDE LONDON or BRITAIN and a book called DAYTRIPS from London (By Steinbecker?).Both of these have been used extensively by our family over the years.

A bookstore that we love that is devoted to travel with three floors of wonderful goodies is called Stanfords in Covent Garden. You will find any map,guide and other info in that store-fabulous and truly a travel junkie's favorite place.

Both of my kids have used Easy Jet and FLY BE discount airlines for inexpensive weekend trips all over Europe especially if you do it a few weeks out.Trains within Britain are expensive unless you book weeks out.

Enjoy the great museums,gardens,zoo and all of the freebies that are yours for the asking. HAVE FUN!

I would suggest you think about going to places that you wouldn't otherwise travel directly to from the US - either because they are places you would go for a short period of time or that aren't easy to get to from the US. When we lived in the UK we were relatively close to Stansted airport so we went places for a few days... Dublin, Sardinia, Bilbao, Lisbon, Madeira, Provence...

Thanks for all the great tips! We will be living in West London or the outskirts. My husbands job will be near Heathrow, so zone 4 or 5 at least, maybe a little farther out. We will do some research when we get there.

I suppose the amount of time available to travel will be determined by real life when we get there. My intention is to get at least one or two day trips per month in or around London & SE England. One overnighter/weekend trip every two months or so. And one bigger trip outside England every 3-4 mos. I am sure we will adjust that according to how much time we are can manage with a real life.

I know my question is a little vague/too general - but everything that is listed here is what I am looking for.

The common sense safety is what might be lacking in out household. We live in a mid-sized South Texas town and most of our vacations tend to be to the midwest and south - so not really bigger cities or places you would normally associate with pickpockets or such (not that it doesn't happen), with the exception of Disneyworld. We have been to NYC and fared well, but I am a little nervous that we might learn some common sense things the hard way. Honestly, if I hadn't read a thread about someone who set their cell phone on a table in Starbucks and had it stolen while someone shoved papers in their face it wouldn't have occurred to me not to place it on the table while I looked for something in my purse or the like.

I appreciate all the responses!

This website is very good for out the way things to do in London. http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/

Here's a useful website put together by a primary school (5-11 year olds), so it may be interesting to your youngsters as well as their parents:

http://resources.woodlands-junior.ke...oms/questions/

"Honestly, if I hadn't read a thread about someone who set their cell phone on a table in Starbucks and had it stolen while someone shoved papers in their face it wouldn't have occurred to me not to place it on the table while I looked for something in my purse or the like. "

That was Paris, that is not to say it does not happen in London, but I think the thread was also about lack of interest from the police and starbucks staff etc.

Generally you are coming to a big city and stuff is different in a big city. I think Nytraveler gives some good advice in this area which is worth noting, however I also think that approaching this adventure with confidence and trust in your heart will make it a great tour.

Welcome to London!

One site I dont think has been mentioned yet is www.walks.com they are great for affordable walks in London, but we also love their daytrips! Highly recommend them!

Some things that we learned when we first moved here from Vancouver:

1. Setting things up here takes MUCH longer than in North America. Because the houses here are generally conversions they dont have all the necessary wiring etc for the utility companies to easily install things like internet. Expect it to take several weeks (up to a month sometimes!!) to get your tv, phone and internet set-up. British Telecom (BT) couldnt even tell us what our phone number was in our rented flat and our landlord wouldnt let us change it - we had to track down the former tenant in Japan to find out what it was before we could set up our phone line. Internet took 6 weeks to get installed as well.

2. Setting up banking takes longer then you would expect. You need to bring in photo IK (passport), and proof of address (utility bill in your name to your home address) before you can open an account. Then you get sent your debit card in the mail, and a PIN in a separate letter in the mail before you can use a bank machine. To get access to cash in the meantime you will need to bring your passport into the bank to get it from the teller. Internet banking is similar. Once you have your account you need to register and get sent a PIN through the mail. This whole process can take a couple of weeks so be prepared.

3. Dont expect 24 hour shopping. Most grocery stores close on Sundays at 5pm or 6pm. So dont wait till dinner time to run to the store!

4. Online grocery shopping will change your life hahaha - best thing ever and the produce is fresher than you get in your stores!

Hope this helps!

"That was Paris, that is not to say it does not happen in London, but I think the thread was also about lack of interest from the police and starbucks staff etc."

I am sure that kind of stuff goes on everywhere, stateside and Europe. I just remember being taken aback that it would never have occurred to me to watch out for that kind of thing (though I do remember the point of the thread was more along the lines of "no one seemed to care"). I am not a suspicious person by nature and grew up in a very small town.

Working in a restaurant in college I was flabbergasted that one of the cashiers was skimming of her drawer by not ringing up beer and pocketing the money. I would never, ever have thought to do that - much less actually done it.

Of course, I am not in college anymore - and I am sure we will do great. I just don't want to be the tourist that leaves her purse on the floor while eating only to have it snatched!

Thank you for all the links everyone! I will enjoy checking them all out!!

Because the houses here are generally conversions they dont have all the necessary wiring etc for the utility companies to easily install things like internet.>>

conversions from what, jamikins? - just curious! though I agree with you about the difficulties of setting things up like bank accounts - ridiculous.

natalie - we even have 24 hour shopping here in Cornwall, though jamikins is quite right when she says that they close early on a sunday - it's 4pm round here for the main supermarkets, though you'll probably find a corner shop open for longer.

Sorry annhig - I meant many flats are Victorian conversions (thinking of my old flat in Clapham). Since they arent purpose built they have interesting quirks, like switches that no one knew what they did, or phone lines that actually werent phone lines etc.

In Canada I could sit in the apartment I was moving into on the morning of the move, call the cable company and stay on the phone while they flipped a switch and turned on the cable and internet in the house...whereas in London we have found that it is a bit more complicated (wiring is done throughout the Victorian conversion and the box is somewhere central that requires someone to come sort it etc). Everything just took way longer in our experience!

A guide to British English, as you will find that quite a few things are different.:-)

http://www.effingpot.com/

ann, haven't you come across big (or even quite small) Victorian family houses converted into as many different flats as possible? A lot of gash jobs were done in the 60s and 70s (I know, I bought one......), and I can well believe some of them were left with the cheapest possible re-wiring.

Incidentally, bearing in mind the fun and games on a certain other thread, should we point out to the OP the necessity of checking their liabilities in respect of council tax and the TV licence (I'm assuming they may not have a relocation expert handling all this for them)......

ann, haven't you come across big (or even quite small) Victorian family houses converted into as many different flats as possible? >>

aha- it was the converted "house" that threw me - say "converted flat" [which is what it's been converted into] and I'm there.

lol - they aren't the only properties with old wiring - a house we bought in the early 80s had pre-war wiring. [don't ask which war!] it's what estate agents call "character" i suppose.

Ok - that slang glossary includes fanny. As long as there's that input (a source of humor for Brits when they hear Americans say "fanny-pack"), it's legit.

Definitely agree that you should take the boys (all four, if possible) to see Brit sports - football, racing and if the boys are getting fussy - a Cricket match for napping. "West London" is Fulham/Chelsea territory, but tickets won't be cheap. And Premier League matches aren't necessarily family friendly - the words uttered by the surrounding fans won't be the ones you want the 5-year old to learn (even if he's heard his older brothers say them).

Also rugby - that's always interesting but the rules are so different for rugby league and rugby union that they're nearly different sports.

bigruss - we do not have a relo expert, but i was lucky enough to find and expat forum where I found plenty of info on budgets. So - my tentative budget does include tv license and council tax, among other things, including rent that is more than double our current house payment, lol!

We will definitely be hitting up some of the sports, but we will steer clear of the Premier League until the boys are a little older I think, lol!

I have already warned the boys to not refer to their pants as pants, but rather trousers or risk being laughed at. I think it will be quite amusing all the way around :)

Natalie, not that I want to add to your preparatory homework, but you might find this thread on another forum interesting and possibly of some value:
http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a...4/m/4101007861

<i> Because the houses here are generally conversions they dont have all the necessary wiring etc for the utility companies to easily install things like internet. Expect it to take several weeks (up to a month sometimes!!) to get your tv, phone and internet set-up. British Telecom (BT) couldnt even tell us what our phone number was in our rented flat and our landlord wouldnt let us change it - we had to track down the former tenant in Japan to find out what it was before we could set up our phone line. Internet took 6 weeks to get installed as well.</i>

1) Most internet access in the UK comes down the phone line. It's a matter of plugging in an adaptor and connecting your router to it. Rarely do you need wiring installed. Getting signed up to an ISP can take longer
2) Dialing 17070 will give you the phone number
3) In most of the UK TV is a simple case of plugging in the aerial lead, turning on the TV and retuning it.

Thanks for the blog plug, Patrick.

We are 1.5 years into a 3 year assignment (though living in Derby not London). With 3-5 years you'll have plenty of time to sort out the travel bit. We had some pent up travel desires (Paris, Rome) but we then shifted focus to more UK endeavors figuring we could always come back to the typical holiday but wouldn't necessarily for some of the closer, UK ones.

We've found that we really enjoy the scenic bits (Scotland, North Wales, Peak District, Lake District, etc.).

A couple of other tips:

English Heritage (castles and such)
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

National Trust (manor homes and gardens)
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

Friends and Family Railcard for rail discounts
http://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/online

Good Luck.

alanRow - great that things have been so simple for you. I came over with KPMG expats (about 30 from around the world) and probably 20 out of the 30 had the same issues getting internet hooked up as we did. Maybe it was the IPO but every single one of us had to make an appt about 6 weeks after our move to have someone come to our flats to get internet hooked up - I have never heard of this being the case in Canada. Maybe this is just in London - my point was to be prepared for things to take longer here.

Interesting that no one at BT thought to give us that number - sure would have been more helpful than telling us that we had to figure it out!

....alanRow - great that things have been so simple for you...
It surprises me too. I just got onto BT, they sent me a router and some splitters for the telephone line and Robert was your proverbial. Perhaps it is different in an older flat conversion.
I suppose that TV might be more complicated if you want cable or satellite, but if you are happy with Freeview, you just plug your set in, attach it to your aerial and tune it. If it's a pre-digital set, you might need a digital box, but they are not expensive.

Maybe I should clarify - it was the satellite/cable. Freeview was no problem.

I'm not trying to argue with people and I am glad others have had a such smooth moving experiences. My point in posting was to provide my experience moving from N. American to England and the things that struck me as challenging compared to back at home.

One of the struggle in the UK is buying energy. There are loads of gas and electricity suppliers but the contracts are very difficult to understand. As a result there are a bunch of comparison websites (all of whom are good) who can tell you which is the best contract.

TV can be pay to view (great if you like sports) or freeview (which has just about everything else and is free). Access is normally by a simple arial plug, though of course you can just use internet TV. However for all or any service you will need a colour TV license. If you don't want a TV (and some don't) you have to convince the powers that be that you do not have one.

Telecoms. Worth understanding the BT hub service and how the telecoms package can run with an internet package. BT is not the only supplier but it does run the last few metres of cable for everyone.

BT are expensive and their customer service can be awful. For phone and internet check out Plusnet, excellent customer service and cheaper.

You can get a broadband connection either through your phone line or via cable depending on which supplier you go with.

This is a very useful comparison and advice site for many things http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

A few good resources I loved in Lonson Time Out Magazine. You can get the magazine by mail and also access on line. Has a special category for kid activities. And for travel when I was there I think it was Time Out also published a guide as to what was at the other end of the budget airline routes that fly from London. Many of them are not your usual suspects for European travel, some of them are not exactly in the large cities but it was a good guide for inspiration. And finally one of the more off-beat books is a couple of guides on Medievil and Tudor England matching the history with how to travel to see it and what else to do there by Kettler and Trimble (there is one for London and two others for the rest of England). Finally the CAMRA travel guide. It's the "real ale" association and has good information for pubs and B&B's wherever you might travel around the UK. Enjoy!

Sorry - normal safety precautions are NOT just for big cities.

A friend of mine had her purse stolen from her grocery cart while she was putting bags into her trunk. In a very nice middle class area. And I saw a women have her purse grabbed off the chair next to her in an outdoor cafe - in extremely upscale Greenwich, CT - by a youth on a bicycle. and the battery was stolen out of my father's car while sitting in the driveway overnight - again in a very pleasant middle class suburb.

You should be following thee rules everywhere - since it happens everywhere. And every child over the age of 4 or 5 should know all of these rules - as well as the standards (full name, names of parents, address, phone numbers) - since you never know when they might be separated from you. I've seen enough screaming, terrified kids in busy malls who seem to know nothing but their first name and that their parents are called mommy and daddy - to understand that you must prepare your kids for the real world. (And sometimes they don;t even seem to know their own names. How many times have you heard security asking for the parents of a child - read description of child and clothes - to come and get them.)

We've been expats for over five years now. We love the UK!

Here are a few travel tips:

Don't forget Wales! It's a straight shot down the M4 and has some of the best castles in Great Britain.

www.castleexplorer.com has already been mentioned but it's worth mentioning again. The big castles with exhibits are great, but we've always preferred the smaller (often free) castles. Much less crowded and make for long games of hide and seek.

www.mumsnet.com is a great UK website for mums!