I wrote in the past about tax situation that a humble expat family is stuck in. Now, there is a little twist to ours. As explained in that post, there are several tax brackets in the UK with very straightforward progressive taxation amounts applied to them. Calculating your tax liability…
Socialism in action! The Royal Mail has been on strike on and off for the last couple of weeks, throwing all mail delivery into chaos. Ok, ok, strike actions are not a socialist phenomena, but rather an attribute of a healthy and democratic industrial society. Yet, it is in those…
I have long planned to write an entry on the cost of living comparison between London and New York/New Jersey area. Such an endeavor, being of questionable value from the start, is certainly hard to make compelling. Or exhaustive. At long last, I decided to still do it, but in…
On our first weekend back together, we couldn’t just stay home, could we? Suppressed for the last couple of months, the urge to resume our explorations dominated our thoughts and ultimately led to a couple of excursions. If you’ve been following our adventures for the last year or so, you…
My last entry has reminded me of a topic that I wanted to dedicate a separate post to, along the lines of Things You Tend To Not Spend Time Thinking Seriously About When In The Process Of Relocating Abroad. The previous article in this series discussed finer points of relocating…
I frequently rant about things that we do not like in England (the last obvious example of that was the driving license treatise), and even wrote a post once about things that we took for granted in the States. But occasionally, we come across a concept that makes us think,…
There is nothing quite like a classical music concert to take your mind off mundane happenstance, even if the first piece of the program is somewhat disturbing Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss (which has been immortalized by Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey, but is more likely to be associated with…
One of my free rides has finally caught up with me. To the tune of £830. I explained in that post how my gas and electricity service with EDF Energy was switched to British Gas without my active participation. And how I never saw a gas bill afterwards, although an…
Saturday Got a haircut, then spent all day in front of the PC, working through the list of computer-enabled errands. Stock market has been beyond depressing. Watched a previously recorded movie – crap. At least, the football season started, caught some games on the late-night re-cap. Sunday Woke up at…
On our excursions with cousins to the central London over the weekend, we have been talking about the advantages of living in a big city. Now, it should be noted that they live in a small town well north of Los Angeles, while we spent the last seven years before…
In my posts, I occasionally touch upon subjects that could be collectively described as Things You Tend To Not Spend Time Thinking Seriously About When Making Decision To Relocate. Since I’ve gathered a few of those after all these months, I figure I can devote an occasional post to such…
Weather again. Some portions of England have experienced the worst flooding in 60 years over the last couple of days. Watching the news last night, I’ve noticed a clear convergence of events. Deluge in England… Floods in Texas… Inundation in Bangladesh and China… Is it too late now to start…
England went smoke-free on July 1st. Smoking in all public establishments is now expressly prohibited. The word pub is actually a contraction of public house, so these quintessential Anglo-Saxon establishments are certainly included in the ban. The rooms previously perpetually filled with thick smoke are suddenly clear and breathable. In…
Getting up in the morning full 40 minutes later that normal for an otherwise regular arrival at the office did nothing for my customary beginning-of-the-day discontent – I still felt denied the pleasure of staying in bed a bit longer… I also ended up staying late at work. Hope there…
Becky’s school year is over. A bit more sleep in the morning for me until September (although I was foolish – that’s another word for professional – enough to agree to an 8:30am meeting on Monday, signaling to all those willing to notice that I no longer have the drive-daughter-to-school…
Of the newly selected Seven Modern Wonders of the World, I’ve only been to one, the Colosseum – and actually was left underwhelmed by it. I have been to a few places that did not make the final cut – Alhambra, Neuschwanstein, Eiffel Tower, Red Square, plus a tour boat…
NEWSFLASH: Natasha has passed the theory test for UK driving license with flying colors. I guess I might as well take an opportunity and describe what the test entails. It consists of two parts. The first is your basic multiple-choice how-well-you-know-the-rules-of-the-road affair. The questions range from very specific “What does…
The American School in Central London costs around £20K per child per year. Unless you receive on-going subsidies as part of your expatriate package (see my treatise on relocation packages for further reference), you would probably be put off by this price tag. We obviously were, although the cost was…
Resuming our London-based activities, we went to the Taste of London festival on Saturday. Several dozen tents have been erected on a large cordoned-off lawn in Regent’s Park. About 40 restaurants, over a hundred food, drink and appliance vendors, and 20 sponsors have set up exhibition booths under the tents.…
Do you know the most common form of greeting an acquaintance in England? It’s Are you alright? On the surface, it is just another way of saying How are you? But to a person who is not familiar with its widespread use, it may have a connotation of expressed concern…