[ad_1]
So, we recently moved from Greater London to semi-rural Kent in southeastern England and that decision has shaped our lives in more ways than we can count!
But that is not the sole motivation for this personal life update. Returning to the simplicity of traditional blogging is something we’ve been yearning to do. We were storytellers first before we were travel and food content creators and some of our most impactful stories came from our personal lives and challenges. Folks who follow us on Instagram generally get a behind-the-scenes view of our lived experiences in near real-time. That relateability and creativity is something we feel has been missing from this blog lately.
To reclaim our agency from algorithms, and to preserve the joy we derive from storytelling, going forward, we will share more snippets from our personal family journey as we navigate different seasons of life. Since we started this blog back in 2015, we’ve had many changes and life events. The past three years have been some of the most significant.
There’s a lot to write about but the summary for now is that while we’ll keep sharing our travel and lifestyle content, we will be bringing more of our personality back into the stories we tell here.
So strap in and let’s go!
We moved to Kent, ‘The Garden of England’!
This particular life update is long overdue! Like many people, the pandemic and the enforced lockdowns (we shudder just remembering those dark times) profoundly changed the WAY we work and WHERE we work.
Emerging from that period, we saw a reduction in the frequency of our London commute as many of our clients switched to hybrid work models. This meant that we were spending more time working from home. These factors combined with a general desire for more physical space (not away from each other!) made us feel overdue to find a place that would better suit our future family and work needs.
We always had a desire to purchase a property at some point but it never felt like it was the ‘right time’. However, the proverbial ‘writing on the wall’ became clearer as the property market emerged from pandemic-induced economic shocks, house prices bordered on the low, and the UK government introduced schemes to try to inject pace back into the industry. If there was ever a right time to make that decision, it was then.
So we found a property (long story short) and moved to Kent, the Garden of England (more on that below)!
The highs and lows of purchasing a home
We loved living in Beckenham near Bromley in Greater London. The town is an easy ‘hop, skip and jump’ by train into Central London. In 13 years, we watched Beckenham evolve from a sleepy town known for its retirement homes and high street charity shops to what is now a thriving hub of independent restaurants and retailers, beauty salons, and coffee shops. Even the old golf course has been transformed into a hub for local cultural events.
However, we found that our efforts to purchase a home in Beckenham were constantly being thwarted by skyrocketing property prices. Developers and estate agents had long since realised its potential as a commuter town. Everything we saw seemed either out of reach or incompatible with our vision.
Home buying can be an emotional rollercoaster and is often a balance between needs and preferences. Therefore, we found ourselves constantly discussing tradeoffs and agonising over compromises. We kept increasing our search radius until we eventually found something we liked. Fortunately, our offer was accepted after a brief negotiation. Even better, we didn’t have to manage the intricacies of being in a chain. Those were exciting times!
Sadly, we had a rather negative experience with our solicitor (more on that later) that almost caused the purchase to be aborted. After a lot of angst, we finally closed on our desired property in the summer of 2021 and moved in a few weeks later.
Our new home in Kent is our first proper home together as a couple and we have grand plans for the space. We’ve completed some of those plans. Other we’ve had to scale back because, you know, money is a real thing. Regardless, so far, the outcomes of our indoor and outdoor home improvement projects have filled us with joy. We plan to share a few of those on the blog.
On the downside (one of those tradeoffs), our commute to/from London is now longer and has taken some getting used to. Although Gatwick airport is a short drive away, Heathrow is unfortunately now a pain to get to, no thanks to the unpredictability of traffic on the M25. However, since our move, we’ve settled into a London work commuting routine that seems to make sense without being too expensive.
Being close to the M25 has its benefits though. Road trips are easier because of the connection to a major road network!
What we are enjoying the most about Kent living
Easier access to the outdoors and fresh produce are top of the list on our Kent highlights.
We’re enjoying living in an area that we’ve christened the ‘Kent Lake District’ due to the sheer number of surrounding lakes branching off the River Medway.
Part of Kent has its detractors. However, our little town is located between the north Kent Downs and the River Medway and is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This creates several opportunities for outdoor activities – including walks and hopefully some cycling when we get around to it. Nearby Chatham Dockyard and St. Mary’s Island are favourites for casual days out that don’t require too much driving.
We are relatively closer to the coastline of Southeast England and have enjoyed forays to coastal towns like Margate, Whitstable, and Broadstairs. We’re also enjoying weekend excursions to the cathedral towns of Rochester (of Charles Dickens fame) and Canterbury (home to the oldest cathedral in England).
Kent wears the title of ‘The Garden of England’ and we two foodies are pleased to call this England county home.
We think we may have discovered our favourite seafood restaurant in one of the coastal towns – we’ve been back three times since! This family-run establishment deserves a separate blog post, so watch this space.
On a lazy day, our taste buds are well-fed by local farm shops from Sevenoaks to Folkestone selling fresh produce. Driving along countryside roads, we enjoy spotting handmade signs advertising fresh eggs, strawberries, cherries, and vegetables. It’s a lot easier to eat organic vegetables when you’re closer to their source. ‘Produced in Kent’ is a label local producers wear with pride.
Several Kent-based wineries and vineyards producing decent English Sparkling Wine offer a range of food and drink experiences. We have been to a few (shout out to the Wine Cellar Door app for being a trusted source of info) and look forward to sharing our experiences on the blog.
Oh…and there’s a sheep farm in Romney Marsh where we once spent a night in a rather cosy but memorable shepherd’s hut. That’s a story for another post!
Life is about making adjustments
Truth be told, exchanging the bustling London scene for the comparatively unhurried pace of the countryside has been an adjustment since we moved to Kent.
Friends have asked us if this is our ‘forever home’. We don’t know the answer to that at this point but for now, Kent is home.
We cannot predict the future but, each time spring comes, and we look out the window at our cherry blossom tree, it is not hard to feel a sense of gratitude for the here and now.
Related
[ad_2]
