This post originally appeared in my old blog, www.the-alice.co.uk
When Will got asked to interview for a job down in London, I didn’t think anything would changed He’d been asked to do the same a couple of times before and nothing had come of it so I was happy for him to give it a go. We were happy in our lives in Nottingham – we’d bought a lovely house 2 years earlier, had good jobs and lovely friends and in my heart of hearts I really didn’t expect that to change.
When he got the job it was brilliant – the best thing that could ever happened for his career. I was so proud of him, yet the stress of organizing a move across the country in 4 weeks was pretty full on. Naively, not knowing London’s housing market, we allocated one day to house hunting two weeks before our moving date and managed to see three flats. We took the second one we found in Kentish Town, a beautiful 2 bed garden flat, though rent was more than twice our Nottingham mortgage payments at almost £1,600 a month (OUCH).
We quickly learned about London and the different areas we were spending most time and subsequently lived in Shoreditch and Islington, where we were the longest.
When we found out we were having a baby, one of the first things I wanted to do was organise where we’d be living. Our flat in Islington was lovely, but only had one bedroom and no garden. Perfect for that time in our lives, as we spent most of our time in restaurants and pubs! But I knew that when baby came I would want a garden and extra room for a nursery. So we moved out to Muswell Hill, Zone 3, in January. A big move – moving away from our friends, work and the bars we were in so often really cemented the change we were about to make in our lifestyles. But we 100% made the right decision.
This place is going to be our baby’s first home so it’s really important that the it’s as homely as possible. I’m a real homebody and love being here – pottering round the house, cleaning, doing laundry… so I’ve got a huuuuuge list of DIY things that need to be done before the baby arrives.
We’re getting there, though; the area is lovely, there are tons of kids on our street and we really feel at home in this house:
The lovely interior glass paned doors were one of the things that sold me on this house.
Hallway table.
My favourite room… the bedroom! Faux fur blanket a gift from my parents.
Sun streaming in through the garden into the lounge – I can’t wait for summer…
* My sinusitis alongside a cold has been giving me real pain the last couple of days so I’ve been hanging out at home working from my sickbed. Urgh! Hoping to get out the house for dinner with Will at some point this weekend – and of course to The Baby Show on Sunday with him and my parents. I’m sure photos of the baby-overload will follow.
what a lovely house, hope you feel better soon.
I think you know we think about moving. We are actually in the midst of selling our house in Islington. We bought there, because of the bars, the restaurants… but you are so right, you (we) are not making the most of it anymore, and I am craving more space for our little one. And maybe another little one a little later :)
I have tagged you over at mine, and I am really curious to find out what’s in your bag!
That’s a beautiful house – my big thing is to try and make my house a home and yours looks like a home
Get well soon
@MetMum – I have to say that moving away from N1 has been quite the culture shock, but a very enjoyable one so far. I still can’t get over how cheap our new local Zone 3 Indian takeaway is in comparison! Best of luck with your house sale. Standbye for what’s in my bag…
@Muddling Along Mummy – thank you! I’m the same; I have lots of homely bits and pieces and I think it’s very important to try and make a house a home, it has helped us settle into this place very quickly :)
It sounds like you really have made the right decision, and your home looks lovely. Good luck with everything…