Why we moved from London to NYC: We always wanted to live abroad and fell in love with Brooklyn

[ad_1] Londoners Ian and Helen each work for a similar U.S. agency. A number of years in the past, they determined to expertise NYC like New Yorkers and dwell right here full time. Brooklyn felt extra their pace they usually landed at a just-finished new growth in Prospect Heights. Right here’s their story as informed to Kelly Kreth.

Ian and I had been each raised in Suffolk, UK, and have been collectively practically 15 years. For the final 10 years, we lived in Upminster in East London.

Our two-bedroom, two-bath UK condominium was somewhat massive and had exterior house and underground parking. Nevertheless it had no different facilities, except for laundry. It was a small growth, 9 residences in whole. We paid £1,500 [about $2,000].

We appreciated that we had two loos and a storage. We had our personal terrace with a BBQ that we used repeatedly in the summertime. There was nothing that we significantly disliked about our condominium.

[Editor's note: Brick Underground's series The Newcomers features first-person accounts about why a renter or buyer decided to take a chance on NYC.]

The world was nicely situated—it solely took us 25 minutes to get into London. Upminster itself is a superb city with a number of eating places and retailers.

We had a Waitrose 5 minutes from our condominium so we might store there for objects midweek. We might do a month-to-month order from Tesco, which might be delivered to us. We additionally went to an area farm store as soon as per week for recent produce.

At the very least as soon as per week, we visited the Upminster Taproom, the place they've a wide selection of rotating beers and ciders. We had a number of nice Indian eating places in Upminster; The Village is our favourite. Sorrento’s can be nice; it's a family-owned Italian restaurant that has been in Upminster for 15 years.

I work as a shopper govt and my associate, Helen, is a portfolio supervisor in personal fairness with the identical agency.

Why they moved A number of years in the past, we fancied a change. The agency we work for is predicated within the U.S. and we all the time wished to be overseas, ideally in an English-speaking place. All the pieces began to come back collectively.

First we lived in momentary housing in Chelsea for a month earlier than signing a lease. We had visited NYC earlier than and explored some neighborhoods, however this gave us an opportunity to actually look.

We introduced clothes in suitcases and shipped bigger objects, which arrived round six weeks after we obtained to the U.S. All of the electronics are completely different in the usso we had to purchase plenty of new ones, together with a TV.

Rents are greater in NYC. However that’s okay, we baked it into our price range and there are some benefits for renters right here (corresponding to taxes and a few utilities included within the hire). Within the UK, the owner pays the dealer payment, so the idea of getting to pay an agent was unusual. We needed to issue the payment into our price range.

Promoting the automotive was one of many saddest components of transferring. I beloved the automotive. It was a Porsche 911 Turbo.

How they did their search We appeared on Google, StreetEasy, and Reddit. We eradicated areas with lengthy commutes—we didn’t wish to change trains and wanted to get to our workplace in Midtown ideally in half-hour or much less. I’d say we toured 10 properties whole in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Initially we thought we wished to dwell in Manhattan and we searched throughout. We wished a more moderen constructing with facilities, however there weren’t lots of these on the Higher East and West Sides. We didn’t wish to dwell in Midtown as a result of we work there. We thought FiDi would work out, however the shadows forged by the tall towers right here put us off. So we expanded our search to Brooklyn and Queens and appeared in Williamsburg, Lengthy Island Metropolis, Prospect Park, Park Slope, and Downtown Brooklyn. We spent days strolling by way of neighborhoods.

Once we visited the Prospect Heights space, we simply fell in love with it. The transportation choices are wonderful, there are such a lot of good bars and eating places, and there's a actual neighborhood really feel. It’s walkable and simple to get to Downtown Brooklyn or Fort Greene. You’re actually in the midst of all of it.

What they consider their new place Once we first checked out 595 Dean, a brand new growth in Prospect Heights, and we initially checked out a distinct condominium, on the bottom ground. That one was good however had much less privateness. Then we noticed a fourth-floor condominium and immediately we might inform it has nice storage. Again in London, we used our second bed room as a closet and dressing room. We observed the entrance room on the fourth-floor condominium has built-in wardrobes for that function.

The condominium additionally has a fuel range. That was a non-negotiable as Ian enjoys cooking. We wouldn’t transfer into any condominium except it had a fuel range.

Probably the most difficult factor whenever you transfer from abroad is you don't have any U.S. credit score historical past. Thank goodness the property’s administration developer, TF Cornerstone, labored with us on that.

As soon as we stated sure to Dean Road, we moved in inside two weeks, leaving our Chelsea place a bit early. We had been a number of the first individuals to ever transfer into the constructing so within the early days, it was particularly quiet. For probably the most half, it nonetheless is.

We pay $5,030 a month for our one bed room, one bathtub, and obtained one month free. The condominium is about 900 sq. ft. We love all of the facilities, particularly the pool, fitness center and the homework communal areas, which you name a earn a living from home house right here. There’s a laundry room within the constructing.

What’s their tackle the neighborhood As for eating places and grocery buying, we’re into doing meals prep for the week. I like going to Mr. Mango in Fort Greene for recent produce. We additionally hit up the regulars, Cease & Store, Foodtown, and so on. However we solely get meat from London Meat Co. in Manhattan, and have it delivered. It’s the very best. Mr. Wonton hits the spot for takeout.

We actually wished a pleasant neighborhood bar. That was vital to us. We discovered McMahons Public Home and that was it. Now we pop in a number of instances per week. It’s an Irish bar with nice meals and vibes. We really feel like we've buddies right here. It’s additionally solely a brief stroll to Finn’s Nook, which is a superb spot. We additionally like Miriam for Mediterranean, Brooklyn's Homeslice Pizza, Patsy’s, Climate Up (they make the very best cocktails), French Louie and Chez Moi (good French meals). And Idashi Omakase and Sushi Lin are nice for a solo meal (Ian doesn’t like sushi, so I like to go to sushi sports activities when he's away).

Our commute to work in Midtown is a couple of half hour. It’s not unhealthy in any respect. We largely commute collectively since we work on the identical place. You may get wherever from Barclays Heart. We often take the B however also can take the D, Q, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

We've no regrets. Our lease is up in Could and we’ll doubtless renew. We're so comfortable that we moved right here and really feel actually settled. You see a lot unhealthy press and feedback on-line about New York not being secure, however we've by no means felt unsafe right here.

We've solely had a few guests to the condominium and neighborhood, however they've all actually appreciated it. All of them commented how way more relaxed it's in comparison with Manhattan, which is most individuals’s expertise of NYC.

One factor we're doing whereas within the U.S. is attempting to go to all of the NFL stadiums. Up to now, we've visited 16, so we've 14 left. It’s a good way to see the U.S. Two of our favourite cities to date have been New Orleans and Nashville.

We've made some buddies by way of work and the native bars however largely it’s simply the 2 of us, going out in our neighborhood. We like it. We’ll return to the UK ultimately, however not anytime quickly.