Two Years Since Moving to London | LIFESTYLE

I am sure you have all heard the saying, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’?! Well in this case that statement is absolutely TRUE! I can’t quite believe it has been 2 years already since leaving the land of the long white cloud and moving to the land of... well... more cloud and rain!

On November the 14^th 2015 our adventure began when we touched down in LA for a month of sun, snow, burgers and Buffalo wings. From living the high life in LA and New York to watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon I couldn’t think of a better way to start a new chapter in our lives.

After travelling around London a few years previous, I had my hopes set on living in one of the beautiful white terraced buildings overlooking Hyde Park. Reality quickly set in when I saw the monthly rent was about the same as my YEARLY salary. Even though we did not live in a mansion in Kensington (one day when I win the lottery!), we did live in a lovely house in Chiswick with amazing flatmates. Who you live with makes a huge difference!

I didn’t know what to expect when moving to the other side of the world, away from the life that I was very comfortable with BUT it has turned out to be the best decision we have ever made.

I was extremely lucky in finding a job early on where I have made some of the most incredible friends. It is important to surround yourself, in any stage of your life, with good people around you. This is especially true when you far away from your family and friends.

Some of my favourite days were spend biking around on Boris bikes, exploring new parts of the city, having picnics in some of the many parks, drinking in pubs along the river with my friends and walking and exploring the little side streets that you wouldn't think to look down.

My life before London was (and I'll admit) quite boring and predicable. One thing that I have learnt from my 2 years abroad is to say YES to any opportunity. If I hadn't stepped out of my comfort zone I wouldn't have gone to all the beauty and fashion events where I met inspirational influencers from all types of social media platforms, I wouldn't have gone to a movie premiere in Leicester Square, I wouldn't have rowed boats in Hyde Park, I wouldn't have ended up in the audience of a television show, I wouldn't have seen my first concert, I wouldn't have got up at 4am to do yoga and watch the sun rise from the Sky Garden but most importantly, I wouldn't have the incredible friends I have now without saying YES to opportunities.

As 2017 drawers closer to the end, I can reflect on 2016 and 2017, 2 years full of new experiences, great friends, laughter and some of the best memories that I will never forget.

To those who have the opportunity to travel or even move overseas I would 100% recommend it! 2016 and 2017 were both challenging but exciting years and I cannot wait to see what 2018 has in-store.

Thanks for reading!

God Bless,
Amber x

Welcome to my Life

Hello! 

My name is Amber. I have recently moved to London from a small town in New Zealand.

Our travels began when we left New Zealand on the 14^th of November 2015. Saying goodbye to my family and pets was extremely difficult. Although it was easier knowing it wasn’t forever.

We arrived in LA after a 12 hour flight. We spent a few days in LA exploring the city and taking in all the sites. The highlights were Santa Monica, Warner Bros Studios Tour (where we went to the Friends set and Pretty Little Liars set!) and Disneyland. 

We then joined our contiki group, jumped on a bus and headed straight to Las Vegas. Vegas was amazing, even for someone like me who doesn’t drink a lot. We continued our bus journey through to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Durango Colorado, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Dallas, Memphis, and all the way to New Orleans.  

We said goodbye to all the friends we made on our bus tour and then we continued to Washington DC ourselves.

I fell in love with Washington DC as soon as we landed! It’s such a beautiful city that is very clean, has amazing parks, and an incredible history to tell. We walked for hours around the parks to all the major sites like the Smithsonian Museums, National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial Park and of course the White House. I decided I wanted to do some shopping (of course!) so we made our way to Georgetown and it was adorable with its picturesque streets and shopping boutiques.

After our few days in Washington DC we moved on to New York City. Let’s just say that this place is my favourite city I have ever been to! I couldn’t believe how much I fell in love with New York. Times Square, the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, 5^th Avenue, the West Village, Brooklyn Bridge, Bryant Park, the food, the yellow cabs, all the skyscraper buildings and it all at Christmas as well! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE New York!!!  

Now it was finally en-route to London... but not without a quick stopover in Iceland first. Iceland was freezing cold with a high of only -6°C during the day and only 4 hours of daylight. What a beautiful place though. We were blessed enough to be able to see an amazing display of the Northern Lights on our first night. That was the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen. I would highly encourage anyone who gets a chance like this to take a moment and put down the camera and just experience the beauty of Gods creation. The next day we explored Reykjavik and on our last day we relaxed at the Blue Lagoon Hot Springs which was also incredible. 

We finally landed in London after a month of travelling the USA and Iceland.

Now to start living and working again.

Amber