Phase Three: House Hunters International

So now and for the next two weeks we are staying in temporary housing near the financial district of London.  Lincoln's company paid for us to have one day with a relocation real estate agent to help us find a permanent house for the next two years.

Prior to coming to London Lincoln and I researched various commuter towns outside of London and decided on the Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

Thursday came and we were due to meet our agent Sue at TW's train station at 10 AM. So we had to carry two babies and two car seats to a tube station and then switch to a larger commuter train.

We lovingly call Livvy's car seat the "cow" because it not only has a cute cow print, but it weighs about as much as a small calf. So Lincoln hauled the car seats (working up a good sweat) and I carried the little miss who had only slept for about 4 hours the night before through the sea of commuters to our train.

Sue, our agent, looked just like I thought she would. Violet lipstick, crazy teeth and she used words like cheeky and loo. We loaded our kids into the car and were off. From 10 am to 4 pm we drove around TW and looked at houses and neighborhoods. We were ready to sign on a cute three bedroom townhouse, but went to a last minute appointment to the house we ended up choosing.

We will live in the bottom floor with a sweet little old British couple living above us. They raised their four children in the home and seemed thrilled to have kids around again. They have a separate entrance and the living space seems quite separate. The house's location really sold us. It's only a few blocks from an upscale shopping center and large grocery store, but it's immediately located on a very quiet, residential road.

I love the entry way with the stained glass windows and molding. The house has two large bedrooms located in the front of the house both covered in windows and each have a feature fireplace.

 We gave up a third bedroom, but I think the home makes up for it in character and room size. The kitchen has been updated and the owners agreed to put in a dishwasher for me.

The house also has a wonderful garden in the front with a little patio for the kids to play on. I love all of the windows and the light that streams into all of the rooms.

I was so relieved to love Tunbridge Wells and to find a house that we love. It felt like we picked a town out of a hat and then had to make a very quick decision about the house. The entire experience was exciting and a bit stressful (at one point I nursed while standing up in a gas-station bathroom), but overall a good one.

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These house hunters are glad that our English town has a home for us to make a new start in.