Wow, it's been a hectic few weeks. I feel like I have been chewed up and spit out a few times, but I am resilient none the less...at least that is what I keep telling myself. Our house renovations have stretched me and challenged me in ways I never would’ve imagined. Let’s just say I probably don’t have a future in property development. I am no good at tolerating mess and I don’t function well without my cleaning lady. I know that sounds bad but I have limited domestic skills and cleaning is just not one of them. I can cook, bake, organize and alphabetize and I have lots of fun putting together organizational systems together but I am no good with mops, brooms or vacuums.

I’ve come to the realization that by the time we actually finish this house it will be probably time to pack up and think about moving back to the US. My husband and I moved to London from New York and even though I love New York, I think I may be ready for something else. New York offers many of the same great opportunities as London but you have to make similar compromises in both cities in terms of space and convenience. I am a big believer in moving where you want and worrying about finding a job later although this strategy may backfire on me at some stage but it hasn’t yet.

Without a clue as to where we might eventually go, I logged on to Find Your Spot, answered all the questions about crime, climate, culture, activities, etc and as it turns out my top five cities are:

1. Boston
2. San Francisco
3. San Diego
4. Chicago
5. Charlotte

I have to say this is pretty accurate because I love Boston, Chicago and San Francisco and I am headed to San Diego next month. Perhaps, I need to plan a trip to Charlotte in the near future as well.

After three and a half years living in England, I honestly think this must be the most asked question by American Expats at this time of year. So I thought I would put together a list of all the places I've found canned pumpkin in London.

1. Panzers - Located in St. John's Wood, Panzers caters to Americans so you'll find everything from Nestle's Chocolate Chips to Ziplock food bags and yes, canned pumpkin, too.

2. Waitrose - Most Waitrose branches that I've seen have canned pumpkin especially in November.

3. Selfridges on Oxford Street also has canned pumpkin in the food hall, but shop early because one year I went too late and they had already sold out.

4. Fortnum and Mason - I bought a pumpkin tart from the bakery counter on the ground floor one year and when I was there last Wednesday, I spotted canned pumpkin on the newly remodeled lower ground floor although at £2.50/can, which is nearly US$5.00 with the current exchange rate, you've got to want it pretty bad.

5. Skyco --If you don't live near in London or near any of these shops, you could try ordering it online from Skyco. To get the best value, you may want to combine your order for canned pumpkin with other products.

I am sure there are other places such as Whole Foods on High Street Kensington or maybe even Sainsbury's, but I try to avoid the crowds at Whole Foods and don't go to Sainsbury's very often so I can't say for certain.

If you're not much of a baker, but you'd still like to enjoy a taste of home then I recommend ordering a pumpkin pie from the Hummingbird Bakery, which has two locations in Notting Hill and South Kensington and is most known for their fabulous American style baking.

Colleague: Would you be able to attend an important client meeting in Boston?

Me: Um, YES! I love Boston! [I think to myself between Dublin this week, Baltimore in October and Belfast in November, I sure am doing a LOT of international travel]

Colleague: The meeting starts at 4pm on Monday. Do you think that you'll still be able to go to X client meeting at 10:00 in the City?

Me: NO! How is that even possible?

Colleague: We'll I think the train probably takes about three hours or so.

Face drops from excited glee to bewildered confusion once I discover, he is not asking me to go to Boston. He is asking me to go to Boston in Lincolnshire!

After three years here, I get most Brit Speak by now but this one REALLY threw me.

Update: Well, the good news is that I past the test!  You are given 45 minutes to complete it and I think I finished in about 6 minutes.   I spent about 3 hours reading the material the night before and that was probably the right amount of time after all.   It's not easy enough that you don't need to study at all but it is certainly nothing to worry about.



1. Crack the book the night before the test.

I'll give you three guesses as to what I am doing tomorrow.

One of the most challenging things about this weekend was trying to find white eggs that I could color for Easter. I looked at a few stores and was only able to find duck eggs like the ones to the left. I figured they were white enough and rather than eat them, I would just poke a hole in them and drain them.

But my British husband KNEW that you could get white eggs in this country and he dragged me around to about 7 different stores yesterday trying to find them. Needless to say, we found plenty of brown eggs and duck eggs, but no white eggs. He did redeem himself today when he brought home a dozen white eggs from our local farmers' market. £3.60 for a dozen -- um yeah, that's almost US $7.00 for a dozen eggs!!

Apparently, it works just as well to color brown eggs so I might test a couple as an experiment and do a side by side comparison.

You don't need to live in England for very long to know that England is a very class conscious society. Although class plays a role in the US, it is definitely more noticeable here.

I've been reading an insightful and funny book for the past week called "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour" by Kate Fox.

Kate identifies the 7 deadly sins (aka words) that a middle class person should never use if they are trying to pass themselves off as a member of the upper class.

1. Pardon - Instead of pardon, the upper classes will say sorry. In my opinion, the word sorry is overused here.

2. Toilet - To act like a member of the upper class, you should say loo or lavatory. Toilet is a word I don't like very much and never use myself, but I don't say loo either. I usually ask for the ladies room because bathroom and even restroom prompt too many annoying responses.

3. Serviette - The upper classes call it a napkin. I guess the middle class or working class thought it sounded too much like nappy, which is a diaper in the US.

4. Dinner - The word dinner itself isn't the problem, but the upper classes would call the mid day meal lunch, not dinner. This is nothing new for Americans. What I always find confusing is when the evening meal is referred to as tea.

5. Settee - The upper classes sit on their sofas. I would say couch, but couch is not viewed favorably by the upper classes either.

6. Lounge - Settees are found in lounges or living rooms whereas sofas are found in sitting rooms or drawing rooms. Did you know that drawing room is short for withdrawing room?

7. Sweet - The upper classes refer to the course at the end of the meal as pudding. It doesn't matter if it's cake, sorbet, or berries and cream, it is still pudding.

London is just a collection of small villages and each village really has its own distinct personality.

One of the first decisions that every new expatriate must make is deciding where to live. When deciding where to live, you may want to consider several factors such as cost of housing, proximity to transportation, schools, work and shopping.

To get a feel for the different neighborhoods, I would recommend getting an estate agent or relocation agent to drive you around and show you a number of different properties in different areas so you can get a feel for each neighborhood.

American expatriates tend to congregate in few areas and I’ll profile some of the most popular neighborhoods for expatriates. With the description of each neighborhood, I’ll also include the postcode because the postcode is tremendously important in London and used to determine a location much more than in the US.

Popular Neighborhoods for American Expats

Belgravia (SW1) – Belgravia is located in central London near Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. It is also home to a number of consulates and embassies. It is one of the wealthiest areas in London and has some of the most desirable (and expensive) property in London. Home to lots of celebrities, CEOs and Nigella Lawson

Chelsea (SW3 and SW10) - Chelsea is in many ways similar to Chelsea in NYC. With its great access to the King’s Road and Sloan Square, it’s perfect for shopping.

Some of London’s trendiest restaurants are located in Chelsea, but that being said, there are also a number of more quaint pubs and restaurants, too. In my opinion, it’s not great for public transportation, but it does have some excellent schools. Chelsea boasts a number of mansion blocks and mews houses, but it isn’t known for its large Georgian terraced homes as much as nearby Belgravia.

Kensington (W8) – Kensington High Street has good shopping both practical and otherwise. Kensington is the former home of Princess Diana. Focus Information Services, which is a great resource for expats is also located here. Kensington offers easy access to public transport. For city workers, the Central line provides a straight shot into the city.

Knightsbridge (SW1, SW3 and SW7) – I would say that Knightsbridge is the equally exclusive cousin of Belgravia. Knightsbridge is home to Harrods and is very expensive.

Pimlico (SW1) – If you like the idea of living near Belgravia, but can’t afford the staggering prices, then Pimlico might be a good option. It’s close to Belgravia, has good access to transport via the Victoria line and is considerably cheaper than nearby Belgravia and Chelsea.

South Kensington (SW3, SW5 and SW7) – South Kensington is very popular with expatriates partly because it’s largely a residential area with a good selection of flats to let. Good transportation, restaurants and home to four of the city’s best museums.

Bayswater and Paddington (W2) – Bayswater and Paddington are pretty close to Oxford Street shopping and they are much cheaper than nearby Mayfair and Notting Hill.

Notting Hill (W11) – Notthing Hill has a number of both flats and large terraced homes. Notting Hill is home to Portobello Market and the Notthing Hill Carnival.

Holland Park (W14) – Holland Park is close to both Notting Hill and Kensington High Street. Holland Park features both large detached homes as well as a good selection of flats located in mansion blocks.

Hampstead (NW1) - Beautiful leafy area, just outside of Central London. Perfect for nature lover’s because of its proximity to Hampstead Heath.

Islington (N1) – Large number of Georgian terraced homes, a good selection of stores and shops and popular with a growing number of bankers and lawyers because its proximity to the city.

Regent’s Park (NW1) – Good access to Regent’s Park and close to the great shops of Marylebone High Street. Easy transportation access to just about anywhere in London

St. John’s Wood (NW8) – The American School in London is located in St. John’s Wood and is popular with quite a few families.

Shad Thames (SE1) – Shad Thames offers great views of Tower Bridge and has quite a few warehouse style buildings that have been converted into flats along the River Thames. Close to the popular Borough Market and great restaurants such as Butler’s Wharf Chop House

1. Patricia Keener
From her website, “Patricia Keener is a speaker, writer, coach and consultant whose focus is on cross-cultural adaptation, personal effectiveness and organisational communication”. Patricia was a tremendous source of inspiration to me when I was just beginning the process of finding a job in London.

2. Zena Martin
Zena is the founder of Acknowledge Communications, a public relations professional and truly a non-stop wonder woman. I truly don’t know how she does it all.

3. Elizabeth Kuhnke
Elizabeth Kuhnke, founder of Kuhnke Communication, is a dynamic speaker and truly passionate about helping others.

4. Celia Brooks Brown
Celia came to the UK from Colorado in 1989. She soon discovered her passion for vegetarian cooking. Today, she is a talented food writer and presenter, author of numerous of numerous cook books and popular instructor at Divertimenti and Books for Cooks

5. Caroline Beery
Caroline is one of the founders of Coghill & Berry International, which is an intercultural management consulting firm that provides training and coaching for global companies.

6. Talane Miedaner
Talane Miedaner is a life coach and author of "Coach Yourself to Success". She recently relocated to England from New York City with her husband and daughter.

7. Kathleen Tessaro
Kathleen Tessaro was born in Pittsburgh. She worked as an actress for ten years before discovering her talents as a writer. Her debut novel, “Elegance” was published in 2003. Click here to read an interview with Kathleen.

8. Jennifer Joyce
Jennifer Joyce is originally from Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and spent a number of years working in the corporate industry before discovering her true passion in food and travel. Jennifer writes for Elle Decoration, The Daily Telegraph and other notable publications. She is also a successful author and cooking instructor.

1. You’ll lead a Glamorous Life
You’ll start your day with a brisk jog along the Thames, mid day join some friends for tea at the Ritz Carlton followed by shoe shopping on Bond Street. You’ll grab a drink a trendy Soho lounge in the early evening before heading to the theatre and then cap off the evening with dinner at the Ivy. Sounds fabulous, right? Who wouldn’t want this lifestyle? Have I done all of these things? Absolutely. It is not, however, a true reflection of my day to day life. As an expatriate in a new city, you’ll quickly find that simple tasks, which you once accomplished with ease and complete competency, now absorb an incredible amount of your time.

2. Every Day is like a Holiday
Again, even if you live in a vacation destination, in your day to day life, you’ll still face the same challenges as you would if you lived anywhere else. Don’t forget you’ll still need to find time to pay bills, grocery shop, run errands, etc.

3. London is a Dangerous City
London is no more dangerous than any other large city. In fact, I believe that violent crime is far less than many other major US cities. I think there are probably more instances of petty crime such as pocketing and there also seems to be a large number of home burglaries. Be smart just as you would be in any major city and chances are, you’ll be safe.

4. The Food is Rubbish
I have to say that I spend a great amount of time debunking this myth. I actually think that London has an amazing selection of restaurants. London is incredibly diverse and you can find excellent food from nearly every corner of the Earth. There are amazing markets like Borough, Camden, Portobello and Pimlico dotted throughout the city, which sell a variety of high quality produce.

5. If you loved vacationing in a city, you’ll love living there too.
Not necessarily, as you can imagine the challenges and experiences that a traveller would have are quite different than the experiences of someone who is building their life here.