Six days have passed since Jen and I arrived in the UK. We've been staying with Jen's friends outside of London and have filled every day looking for housing. The first half of our search was filled with long trips to unsuitable rooms in locations (usually) too far from the Tube stations. We were getting to the point where the search felt hopeless, but then yesterday things finally turned around. We saw two places yesterday that seemed like definite possibilities, and one today. While the long search was definitely frustrating, the one good thing about it was that I've gotten to see lots and lots and lots of London. It's a huge city and each borough has a totally different look and feel. I haven't gotten to see the touristy places- the closest I've come was one day in between looking at rooms when Jen and I went to Westminster and I got to see Big Ben, the Parliament building, Westminster Abbey, and the Eye (all from afar). That trip probably lasted all of 20 minutes. I figure I'll see all the famous places eventually, so I'm not in a rush.
Here's the info on the place Jen and I chose to live:
It's a room in a row house in the Canary Wharf District just to the east of central London (cool area- not too city-like, but not too residential). The house is just a block away from a major street with pubs, cafes and bus lines, and the train station is about a 7 minutes' walk away. The house is being redone at the moment (they say it will be ready by Saturday) and we can look forward to all new furniture, floors, and a redone kitchen and bathroom. No one is living in the house yet, but the landlord has told us that the other roommates are two Japanese girls, two Colombian guys and one Spanish guy. All are about our age. We think the setup will be pretty good for getting to know the roommates since we're all moving in at the same time.
In employment news, I have an interview on Friday for the only position I've applied for so far. Jen and I have been so busy each day and so tired each evening that we haven't had any real time to look for jobs or send out our resumes. The job I have the interview for is at the American Express offices here, and it pays really well. I would be a team assistant for two vice presidents. The only potential issue right now is that the job is only through April 1, which works absolutely perfectly for my work visa but may dash my hopes of working and living here longer than 6 months. I'm definitely going to ask on Friday if there's any possibility of being employed past April 1st.
So yeah, things are coming together. I'm going to look for more jobs to apply for tonight, but I feel rather lost as to what I really want to do. The team assistant job sounds fine (and it's always good to work for a company that's well-known), but I feel like a more desirable job is probably out there somewhere...
Here's the info on the place Jen and I chose to live:
It's a room in a row house in the Canary Wharf District just to the east of central London (cool area- not too city-like, but not too residential). The house is just a block away from a major street with pubs, cafes and bus lines, and the train station is about a 7 minutes' walk away. The house is being redone at the moment (they say it will be ready by Saturday) and we can look forward to all new furniture, floors, and a redone kitchen and bathroom. No one is living in the house yet, but the landlord has told us that the other roommates are two Japanese girls, two Colombian guys and one Spanish guy. All are about our age. We think the setup will be pretty good for getting to know the roommates since we're all moving in at the same time.
In employment news, I have an interview on Friday for the only position I've applied for so far. Jen and I have been so busy each day and so tired each evening that we haven't had any real time to look for jobs or send out our resumes. The job I have the interview for is at the American Express offices here, and it pays really well. I would be a team assistant for two vice presidents. The only potential issue right now is that the job is only through April 1, which works absolutely perfectly for my work visa but may dash my hopes of working and living here longer than 6 months. I'm definitely going to ask on Friday if there's any possibility of being employed past April 1st.
So yeah, things are coming together. I'm going to look for more jobs to apply for tonight, but I feel rather lost as to what I really want to do. The team assistant job sounds fine (and it's always good to work for a company that's well-known), but I feel like a more desirable job is probably out there somewhere...
3 comments:
you could always sign up with temp agencies, they usualy have lots of temp to hire positions.
I recommend living next to a pud, cause then you can make lots of friends, and by that i mean drink lots beer, which is just as good!
I think I just died a little at how awesome all that sounded.
Check you out! Interview already!
Not to pressure you, but you kinda have to stay past 6 months. I'm not going all the way to England just so I visit long lost relatives!
Yeah, I think I'm going to sign up with a temp agency if I hear back a negative from American Express. I hope I don't though!!
As for staying longer, Jen and I are planning to take a daytrip to France and then re-enter the country to get a 6 month visitor visa! If I get the American Express job I should have plenty of money to stay longer. :)
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