Thanks for visiting the site. This is our crew: Olivia, Ryan, the three kiddos, and Indy the dog. The blog will chronicle our time in London, the UK, and Europe over the next several years as we explore the adventures of expat life. It’s been a whirlwind thus far, and it’s hard to believe we’re here today in London given where we were less than a year ago.
Back in October of 2018, Olivia and I were sitting at home in Boise, perfectly content with the abundant life we had in front of us:
At the time, an international relocation was the last thing on our mind. We were busy in the fall with a trip to the Oregon Coast, adjusting to a new school, preparations for Halloween, and, surprisingly, citrus cultivation.
Yet two months later, in the weeks preceding Christmas, we were celebrating our anniversary amidst a whirlwind, first-time visit to London. With almost no foreknowledge of the city and zero expertise in the nuances of the London property market, Olivia and I were looking for a flat that could accommodate a family of five and our dog(s), as we prepared to make a life-changing move in the first quarter of 2019.
Much of London is beautifully lit in December 
Celebrating our anniversary in London
So, what happened? Since we were first married, one of Olivia’s goals has always been to live abroad. Those plans were put on hold as we became parents during our first year of marriage, with two more children to follow over the next four years. But the idea never fully left our mind. On one of our earliest anniversary cards I had even written to Olivia that we would someday live in London.
About the time we were settling in to a routine as parents of three children, Ryan’s company, which has been very successful in the United States over the last 15 years, was pushing to continue to grow its European presence. Unknowingly, just as we were open to revisiting the prospect of living abroad, Ryan’s firm was looking for a long-tenured employee to make the move to London to assist with our European sales effort.
Which was how we found ourselves standing in a beautiful London garden with, mostly, smiling faces, less than four months later, on the first full day of Spring. Our new home for the next several years.
But why blog about it? Isn’t blogging the ultimate self-indulgent trope of the Millennial Age. Yes, but we soldier on. First, because we have a big and involved family, and a small network of friends interested in our travels. This blog is the most efficient way to keep all of them updated about our goings on. For any readers who stumbled here by accident or even on purpose, our introductory note outlined a number of more likely, and potentially more entertaining avenues of inquiry. We whole-heartedly encourage you to explore them if we don’t hold your interest.
Second, as we perused literature on London, we realized there is a bevy of information about spending a week, ten days, or two to three weeks in London, and what you simply “must” see. What we didn’t find was any insight into how you prioritize your time when you have years to really experience and learn a place. Not only did we think we would learn a lot about how to travel in the future from taking such an approach, but we thought others might be interested in a glimpse of this thinking as well. Adventuring and exploring with a sense of pacing sustainable to, and commensurate with everyday life. What can repeat visits to certain attractions tell you about the value of place? What lessons can you learn from exploring a city over a series of years and pass to those who have a fraction of that time?
Lastly, since we arrived in London we’ve noticed how invigorating it has been to dive in and get to know this new amazing city and the surrounding area. It made us realize how little we knew and had explored our own hometowns, state and region in the US. When you live in a hidden gem like Idaho, or even a known gem like London, it’s easy to take it for granted. We’ve been amazed thus far at how little advantage many life-long Londoners take of their city, and how inspired they’ve been to revisit it by our experiences thus far. We hope this blog can help contribute to those exciting questions. This blog is a reminder and inspiration for us, and we hope others, to love the place you’re at and explore and uncover it for all its worth.
The Blog itself is organized by post categories: Family Life, London Living, and Travel. Family Life will showcase the highs and lows of our family as we adjust from living in the western United States to a metropolitan city of more than 10 million people.
London Living will cover the many nuances of life in The Big Smoke. Some posts will be related to our family, while others will cover topics of general interest like the education system in London, or navigating buses and the Tube with young children.
Travel will cover our experiences as we venture outside of London. Weekend day trips, bank holiday overnight excursions, summer vacations, etc. You get the idea.
Certain posts will span multiple categories, so you’ll see them in both sections. If you want to be updated with all the content we post, regardless of category, just stick to the main Blog header.
That’s our story. We hope you enjoy following our various adventures in the UK and Europe. If this little experiment catches on, we may expand the scope of the blog to one day include some original content on each of our individual interests and how we make time for them in the midst of raising three kids.
Olivia is a culinary artist 
Ryan plays chess, poorly
That’s all for now. Shoot over to the Blog to dive into the fun stuff.
Ryan and Olivia