Ten Reasons I'm Stoked to Move to England

Bognor Regis Beach, West Sussex, England

Yesterday I wrote about what I'll miss in the Southwest. I also promised in that post that I'd write about what I'm looking forward to about living in England. So here goes.

1. Living by the beach. We won't always live on the coast, but Mick's home is currently in a seaside town on the very Southern tip of England. Last summer, I loved waking up to the open window and hearing the gulls crying as they drifted over the back yard. And even though the water is cold in the summer and the beach is rocky, it's still nice to know it's there. And the paths that run parallel to the shore make a great place to jog, which I'm going to force myself to do a LOT of!

2. History. For those of you who know me, you won't be surprised when I admit to you that I'm a bit of a nerd. I love history, and so I'm really excited to live in a place where so many historically significant things happened and historically significant people lived. Henry VIII's reformation of the church, the magna carta, the Inquisition, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, countless battles-- the list goes on and on. All this fascinating stuff, and I get to live there.

A darling cottage in Wrotham, Kent, England

3. Architecture. I have lived my whole live on the West Coast (or near to it) and one thing this half of the country sorely lacks is architecture. Everything is built so quickly and thrown up so fast just to produce another neighborhood for all the yuppies that builders really leave out one thing vital to my soul's happiness- character. I love buildings with scallops and quirky windows, wood paneling, painted doors, thatched roofs, antique fixtures, secret passageways, stone work, bricks, exposed beams, archways, flying buttresses and so on. Everywhere you look in England, you see these things.

4. Rain. Oh my flippin' heck! RAIN! I grew up on the coast of California and while it doesn't rain ridiculous amounts, you get a fair bit. The town I grew up in had an annual average of 13 inches, and where I'm moving has an average of 28 inches. Where I live now? Yeah, annual average of 2.94 inches! I love rain. I love the taste, smell, the feel. The way it looks on the road and the sound of tires splashing through it. Nothing makes me happier than waking up to a cloudy and drippy sky. I am sick and tired of being in a place that is dry as a bone.

Arundel, West Sussex, England

5. What does all that rain result in? Green! I cannot wait to look out my window every morning and see verdant green. Trees, hills, grass. And for those of you who have never seen it, it's really hard to describe. England Green is a different green. There's California Green, which is really kind of a drab green. England Green is bright and almost sparkles for you. This photo isn't really the best example for how green it can get, but I love the photo anyway.

6. Kind of sticking with the weather trend I've set up here, I'm really happy to be moving somewhere that's not over 100F over 100 days a year. I've done my sweat time in the desert, and I'm ready to be finished. Thank you, moving on!

Photo from geograph.org.uk

7. Pubs. I. Love. Pubs. So many of my favorite moments in England have taken place in the pub setting. Great meals (even though Brits claim pub food is awful, I love it) and conversation and a homey, rustic setting. Some of my favorite moments include drinking a pint of Hobgoblin Ale in the Hobgoblin Pub in Canterbury. Also, after a long, misty trek in December through Hampstead Heath which left my hair fully wet (and not because I was sweating!), crawling and puffing up to a pub called The Spaniard where I gorged myself on Cottage Pie. My soon-to-be sister-in-law's birthday where she and I downed nearly two bottles of wine in The Bull Pub in Wrotham, Kent... which made for a very interesting and wobbly walk up the hill home. The Lobster Pot pub on the Isle of Wight, where we sat and had lunch while football fans screamed at the television when Germany stole the game from England in the World Cup last summer. The Moat, in Wrotham Heath, where Mick's mum bought me a Pimm's Cup which left me feeling very giggly and overly affectionate. I plan to clock many, many hours in pubs. Also, the names are just hilarious!

Photo from used-buses.net

8. Public transportation. I really love the fact that you can still have a life in England even if you don't have a car. Bus stops are located on nearly every corner, and nearly every town has a train station. And because everything is so close together in England, you are always within walking distance of said train station. And if you're not? Hope on the aforementioned bus and it will take you to said train station. Rock on! 

9. All the awesome things to do. We will be living less than two hours from London, and hopefully in a few months only 40 minutes away, and hopefully within the year, in London. It really is an amazing city and you can't really be bored there. Amazing restaurants, gorgeous parks, interesting museums (which are all free, by the way), concerts, markets, castles, cathedrals. It will be really nice to live in a place where I don't have to drive 3 whole hours to be somewhere interesting.

10. Getting started. For the past year and a half, everything has been up in the air. I didn't know where I'd be living, if Mick and I would make it, where our life would start, or even when it would start. It is so comforting to know that in two weeks we will be getting our life to some pattern of normalcy, arranging our wedding and not worrying who will fly where next. I am so glad the past chapter is finally ending, even though it's had its perks.