Elvis Sandwiches and Christmas Decorations

Say hello to our new car - a gas guzzling, roaring SUV monster that matches Alfie's tan colour perfectly.

Important message noted on garage wall

Christmas decorations in Hayes Valley near our street

Peanut butter jam sandwich - did I make it an Elvis with bananas and bacon? Hell yeah!

Our neighbourhood cafe

New Flat - Old Furniture

We have finally moved into our own flat here in San Francisco and oh my god did it feel good to have our own bed back. Finally a good night sleep without getting woken up at 6AM by construction work and the sun piercing your eyelids. Our new bedroom has black out curtains and it is sooo quiet. 

And I had forgotten how comfy our sofa is, with enough space for both humans and a dog on top. Now all we have to do is unpack our stuff and get settled before the Huttons come to visit for New Year Eve.

The study

The Study - best office ever!

Living room

Kitchen

Before moving in we took a trip to the local 'bed baths and beyond' shop and marvelled at the escalators for shopping trolleys. Never seen that before :-)

The Holiday with the Big Turkey

the view

We were invited to some friends of Jelte's family for our very first Thanksgiving party this week, so we packed up the car and drove down the scenic California State Route 1 to Dave and Judy in Santa Barbara. The highway is famous for its amazing views, and it did not disappoint but delivered one jaw dropping view after another. Although I admittedly missed some, as I kept my eyes closed in some of the sharp turns!

Pfeiffer Beach

We stopped at Pfeiffer Beach in the Big Sur so Alfie could stretch his legs a little, and it was well worth the extra drive to get there.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Alfie supervised the Thanksgiving dinner preparations, and guarded the room where the turkey was kept until it made its way into the oven. Then he stole a stick of butter from the counter top and finished off with sniffing out a chocolate wrapper from an upstairs room. Luckily he didn't manage to get his paws on the Turkey and we had the most wonderful meal on Thursday.

I know the turkey is in there!

I spent the day after Thanksgiving trying to photograph a hummingbird in Dave and Judy's garden. The sneaky little bird was very protective of his nectar and chased away any other humming bird trying to get near it, which was a lot of fun to watch.

Turkey

In other news

We have now picked up the keys to our new flat in Hayes Valley, but we won't be able to move in until we get access to our furniture. Our furniture has just arrived from its transatlantic cruise from England, New York via the Panama Canal to San Francisco, but it will take another week for it to clear customs so we're still in our corporate flat.

Alfie has just finished his course of antibiotics from the stick incident two weeks ago, so now we're keeping our fingers crossed he will make a full recovery.

Apartments, Breakfast Buns and Karl the Fog

Famous Breakfast Bun

Before we moved to San Francisco we were warned that it would be really difficult to find an apartment. Firstly because its not that many apartments available in the areas we like, secondly because we have a dog, and thirdly because landlords like to see tenants' credit score (something that takes longer than one month to build up!).

So we did some research and found out that it would be a good idea to prepare an info 'pack', with all our financial info and a cover letter introducing ourselves. In the letter we wrote about our recent move, included a paragraph about the dog explaining what a top specimen of a pooch he is, and we even put a little family photograph in there with the three of us. 

Open House Viewings and Interviews

Chased by the famous fog

Then we went to a couple of viewings, some of which were what's called an 'open house'. Open house is usually an hour in the weekend when all prospective tenants can come and see the flat, ask any questions they might have and get interviewed by the landlord in front of everyone else. 

We went to one viewing where there must have been twenty other people standing around as we discussed our income and why we haven't had time to build a credit score yet with the landlord - awkward to say the least!

Turns out we must be irresistible tenants because out of the two apartments we liked and applied for - we ended up getting approved for both!

Our New Flat

The flat we picked is a modern apartment in Hayes Valley. We'll have two bedrooms and bathrooms, a small patio outdoors and a gym in the building. We're aiming to move sometime in the last week of November.

Skype?

In other news - If you haven't already got our Skype details then get in touch and we'll send them over so we can chat. Alfie talked to his younger sister Bella earlier today - although we have no idea what they were barking about they seemed to enjoy it!

Corporate Housing, Apartment Hunting and Hiding a Dog for Two Weeks

Could you hide this guy in your bag?

As you might remember, we are not overly happy with the corporate flat we were given. To be fair there's nothing wrong with the actual space itself, its nice enough but there's lots of noise from the building site outside and its a very dodgy area.

But wait there's more

As I'm writing this we've just found out that we've been staying on the pet free floor for two weeks.

Not good news.

A man knocked on our door earlier today and asked if our dog is covered in the lease. As if we'd ever consider hiding a bouncy barky pup like Alfie in a flat without permission! He's not the sort of dog you can hide in your bag and sneak past security...

Lucky for us its not our fault - we have signed a special doggie flat contract so we're good. But the people who've rented the flat out to us are in trouble. The owners of the building have decided this floor is supposed to be a pet free floor, but somehow that was never communicated to our landlords, the company who rent our flat out to us.

Lucky for our landlords, they still have another flat free in this building where dogs *are* allowed so we will move there tomorrow or the next day. We will update everyone with our new address as soon as possible when everything has been confirmed.

Which is actually awesome news because now I won't have to hoover the floors!

Frozen Sandwiches - Don't worry, didn't buy them...

Flat hunting

In other news - we thought we'd found a lovely flat in the Hayes District and the landlords had agreed to let it to us. But then we got cold feet and decided not to go for it in the end. So we're still looking.

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Crackheads and Automatic Cars

tee heee

One week into American Living and I can only conclude that San Franciscans really are a friendly bunch and they love to chat.

The Elevator Chat

We live on the eight floor, and from stepping into the elevator to reaching the lobby floor, a short journey of no more than a minute, most of our neighbours have already introduced themselves, shook my hand and asked some polite questions about where my accent is from.

If the same thing would have happened in London, my natural reaction would have been to check all my pockets to see if I had been mugged and reply in one word sentences whilst starring down into the floor to avoid confrontation.

Here, I find myself happily shaking their hand and exchanging polite conversation. I can almost see our London friends shaking their heads and shouting 'told you so' as they're reading this - and I do realise its a slippery slope from this sort of behaviour to full on high fiving and picking up an american twang & expressions and I promise to tread carefully from here on :-)

The Corner Shop Weirdos

A couple of steps outside our building, on Market Street, things are a little different. People like chatting there too, but you often find that they are in actual fact asking you for money or worse, talking to themselves or some made up person. I've never seen so many crackheads and lost souls in my life. Going to the corner store is a bit like visiting an mental facility,  with equal numbers of staff and patients although you can't be sure who's who until they start having an argument with themselves.

Needless to say, we're not loving this area as its rather dodgy and we've already started looking for flats in the Marina, Cow Hollow and even Hayes Valley. There's not much on the market though, so it will probably take a while.

Alfie on Ocean Beach

In other News

I've had a driving licence since I was eighteen, but apart from a couple of driving lessons this summer in London I haven't really had much reason to drive in the last ten years or so. 

So this weekend I had a crash course in driving American cars with Jelte and today Alfie and I set off on our first trip to the beach on our own, a 20 minute drive from here. And I'm proud to say we made it back safe and sound. Driving an automatic is really like driving bumper cars though, but if I'm honest - I much prefer it now that I've tried it!

Settling In

Alfie and I arrived safe and sound in San Francisco on Monday, late in the afternoon.

Flying the Dog to San Francisco

Leading up to dropping Alfie off at the airport I was a complete nervous wreck. Luckily, my friend Sarah had promised to drive us there and she helped me keep Alfie entertained and calm, until it was time to put him in his crate and wave good bye. On the plane I was trying not to think about all the things that could potentially go wrong, it didn't help that San Francisco Airport had lost a dog a couple of weeks ago!

Turns out I needn't have worried. Alfie was cool as a cucumber as we closed the door to his box, and walked away. And when Jelte and I picked him up at the cargo warehouse on the 'other side', he seemed totally unfazed and played with his toy for a bit and then went for a long pee and a play on the beach.

Our Corporate Flat

Jelte had already spent a week in our flat and stocked it with groceries, dog food and some awesome welcome presents for both me and Alfie. Alfie quickly found his new bed and toy, and seemed totally at home straight away. We were both really surprised as Alfie was really stressed during our last move (from one side of Putney to the other!).  This time around we had prepared with some DAP spray, and a DAP collar which is supposed to help dogs feel better in stressful situations - I can only assume they really do work.

The drilling & digging starts at 7AM - the Entlebucher supervises all day!

The flat itself is like a big modern hotel room with an open plan kitchen/living room, separate bedroom and a washer/dryer cupboard. We have views over a building site and the Mission district and we wake up to the sounds of drilling and digging at 7AM. Yes they really start work that early here in San Francisco! Alfie loves his window views and keeps an eye on the construction works in-between naps. Jelte and I are perhaps a little less impressed with the big machines...

The SOMA area

Alfie making friends in Alamo Square Park

I spent a couple of hours walking around our new neighbourhood yesterday and I'm slowly starting to get an idea of what's what. I took Alfie to Alamo Square park and the Hayes Valley District is really lovely with some nice looking boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Market Street, close to our house is not quite so nice crammed with homeless people, 'up to no goods' and people who probably would be better off receiving medical or mental care. From what I understand this is quite common in San Francisco, but it still feels kind of strange to see so many people who clearly need help just out and about on the streets like this.

Settling In

Garden Fertilizers?

We went to the supermarket yesterday and spent ages choosing even the most basic essentials. I'm not sure if I imagined this, but it seems to me that all bottles and containers are one size bigger over here! 

It took us some twenty minutes to find laundry detergent, fifteen of which were me trying to get over the ridiculous sizes and shapes of the containers. Americans going to Europe must think we are living in a miniature world or something.

40 degrees?

Those of you who know me, know that I have a special love for doing the laundry. Yes I am that sad! So of course I had to try out the washing machine straight away. Americans don't seem to worry about actual temperatures - there are three main settings - cold, warm and hot. Same procedure for the dryer. Only a matter of time before I shrink something...

The jet lag is slowly fading away and I'm starting to feel a little more human again. All the stress before the move, combined with not sleeping on the plane has joined forces and created a jet lag from hell, sending me to sleep at 8PM!

In other news

Our flat has been packed up today with a little help from our friend Kristin who's been supervising the movers. They packed our entire flat in just a couple of hours, totally amazing.

Dear Pilot

Here's a letter & a drawing from a friend of ours that I will give to the pilot of our plane  today - just adorable.

Dear Pilot,

Please can you look after my friend Alfie. He is on your plane. He's never been flying before and I think he is afraid of heights. I think pilots aren't scared of flying & good at taking care.

I drew a picture so you can see what he looks like and he loves lots of treats and fetch so he doesn't get scared.

Thank you,

Alana

xxx

Ready to go...well almost

My lovely shiny new wallet and passport holder from Radley arrived yesterday so now all I need is a bunch of shiny credit cards to go with it and I'm ready for America!

In other news - Jelte's driving licence arrived safe and sound in San Francisco wednesday morning, so he is off to pick up our rental car. 

Alfie was a brave boy and passed his pre flight health check, and will be sleeping in his crate for the first time tonight...

Until next time...
 

Our San Francisco Corporate Housing is looking pretty good

Jelte has arrived safe and sound in San Francisco and managed to get to our temporary flat despite the fact that I had his driving licence in my purse. Whoops! Oh well, luckily there are companies who specialise in delivering things so he should get his licence tomorrow morning...

Our Temporary Housing

Judging by the photos Jelte emailed me last night, our new home is looking pretty nice, with a little balcony and even a little food bowl with treats for Alfie. I was worried as the marketing materials showed the flat had cream coloured carpets (imagine keeping them clean, competing with four muddy paws) but its looking pretty good. Our plan is to stay in this flat until our own furniture arrive & we can find a flat of our own...

Meanwhile in London

Alfie is getting to grips with staying in his crate for short periods of time with the door shut. His initial comments went along the lines of "Roooooo  wooooooof wooof, let me out of here you bitch", but later he went back in the crate by his own initiative so he seems to be coping well. 

I have sprayed Alfie's bedding with a calming spray called Adaptil which is supposed to reduce stress and make him feel happy inside. With all the stress of the move I'm thinking of drinking the whole bottle myself before checking him in on the plane! :-) 

Alfie will be on the same plane as me, but he will be travelling in his crate along with the luggage. I know he will be safe and comfortable in there, but I have a feeling I will still listen out for his rooo'ing over the jet engines as soon as our flight takes off.

Here are some more pics of the flat:

Preparations & List Making

So as the big date for our move is drawing closer, we find ourselves incredibly busy trying to get organised. We've had our leaving party already, the VISA's are sorted and now its just a matter of figuring out the final logistics.

The big plan is as follows

The whole move is following a big masterplan consisting of hundreds of 'todo's' laid out in a neat planning tool called Teux Deux. Yes its geeky, but if you're planning to move two people and a dog across the atlantic you have to be.

The pub we had our leaving do in decided that the party was just for me as they couldn't spell Jelte's name!

Jelte is flying to San Francisco in a couple of days on the 14th, and Alfie and I follow on the 21st. That leaves only a couple of days working what he should bring in his luggage, what I should take and what can go in the big move.

Jelte is going a week earlier than me and Alfie so he can arrange the practicalities like getting dog food, a rental car and anything else before picking us up at the airport.

In the meantime, over in the UK,  I'll make sure that Alfie gets his final vet checks, and that the flat gets rented out and making sure that Alfie is used to staying in his crate before the flight.

We have arranged for the movers to come and pack up our flat after Alfie and I have left for the airport as we don't want the dog to get upset by having strangers going through our stuff.

Temporary Flat

We are going to stay in a temporary flat in the SOMA district for the first two months while we're waiting for our furniture and stuff to be shipped over, so we need to make sure we pack the right things in our check in luggage. While we're staying there we will of course start looking for a flat somewhere in the Cow Hollow or Marina District which is where we'd like to live eventually.

That's it for now - the next update is likely to come from across the pond.

Getting a bank account in the US - surprisingly easy

 

Planning ahead for our move in October we thought it might be a good idea to set up a bank account in the US whilst on holiday in San Francisco. 

I remember how incredibly difficult it was to get a bank account when we moved to London, and thought it would be just as difficult here in the US. I still remember the snotty receptionist at Natwest turning my Polish friend Ania's application down because the cover of her passport was worn. And that was before she even got to see a banker! Jelte had to call about a hundred UK banks before finally finding the UK branch of his Swedish bank, willing to take him on as a customer.

American Bank Account requirements

Turns out, as long as you have money to deposit, an American bank will be happy to open an account for you straight away. All we needed to show was the following:

1. Two types of Id - we brought our passports and driving licences

2. A letter from Jelte's employer

3. An address in the US where the bank can send the bank cards - the employer address is fine.

All in all the process took about an hour and a half, and when we left we had both bank account and Internet banking set up. Easy peasy.

On our way out we saw a little dog leading his human to the dog biscuit bowl, demanding a treat for his good behaviour in the bank. Very cute...

San Francisco Neighborhoods

Tried and Tested South London Neighbourhoods 

When we moved to London all those years ago we didn't really research which area we might want to move to. In hindsight, we probably should have spent a little more time looking into where we were going.

I (Linda) ended up in some awful student accommodation all the way out in Eltham where I had to share a flat with six stinking students and a pigeon and her egg (we left the windows open and she moved in). Jelte found a horrible flat in the London Bridge area where he nearly got mugged and his landlord tried to trick him into paying her outstanding electricity bills. Oh and lets not forget there was only a bath tub and no shower in that flat. 

Since then, we've tried and tested pretty much every south London postcode on the map before finally settling in wonderful Putney a couple of years ago. And yes we do have a decent shower now!

San Francisco Neighborhoods 

So what's all this got to do with San Francisco? Probably nothing, or possibly everything. This time around we've done lots more research into areas we might want to live in and we have a loooong list of requirements including dog friendliness, closeness to restaurants and shops, and safety. Oh, and we want to live close to the sea too.

We went to San Francisco earlier this year and did a tour of all the residential areas that fit our rough criteria. With a population of just over 800,000,  San Francisco is tiny on the map compared to London but there are still so many neighborhoods (did you notice the American spelling?) with their own 'personalities and styles', just like in London.

On our tour of the city we liked Cow Hollow and the Marina district the most, and that's where we'll be staying when we go to San Francisco next week for our next research trip. Watch out for lots of photos on Facebook.

Our Holiday Reading List - All about San Francisco

• San Francisco City guide
• San Francisco and the Bay Area Rough Guide
• Tales of the City  by Armistead Maupin
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick

Did you hear the one about the Swede and the Dutchman who moved to San Francisco with their Swiss Dog from London?

Remember that time when we said we’d live in London for a couple of years and then move somewhere else? Believe it or not, but that was 12 years ago now and we’ve enjoyed every second of our time in London. But now its time for a new adventure in sunny California.

New Blog

Welcome to our new blog by the way - or perhaps we should call it scrapbook, travel journal or a bunch of electronic postcards? Whatever you like to call it, the idea is for us to stay in touch with friends and family from all over the world as we take the plunge and move across the pond from London to San Francisco later this October.

We kind of wish we would have started a blog when we moved to London all those years ago, it would have been fab to look back and see what crazy British things are now just part of our everyday lives.

Did you know there is actually a bit of science behind the different phases you go through when you move to a new country? I studied international marketing in Uni and one of the lectures that I remember most clearly is the the one about how expats initially have to deal with culture shock and gradually learn to adapt in their new countries. I think I remember it so well because I had just left the so called ‘honeymoon’ phase and missed Swedish food terribly as my tutor explained the different phases you go through.

The good news is  that the more countries you visit or move to, the easier it becomes to adapt to a new place. This will be Jelte’s third country and my second. If you’re interested to read more about expats and culture shocks, then have a look at this blog.

Our blog will hopefully not get too boring to follow as we talk about all the crazy American things we’ll stumble across and learn to either love or hate!

The Big Move

As you can imagine the move is being planned meticulously and there is already a huge spreadsheet in place with all the plans for what needs to happen and when. So far we’ve ticked off quite a few ‘to do’s:

• Linda has been taking driving lessons so she can get back into driving ‘over there’ (Thank god the roads are wider in the US than in the UK!)
• We’ve found an estate agent who will help us find good tenants for our flat
• We have found a doggie travel agency that will ship Alfie across the pond and he is now being crate trained so he gets used to staying in a crate before his first flight.
• Jelte has filled out a looong form for our Visa applications, including a list of all his flights to the US in the last six years!!!
• Linda has been filling out a ten page form for the US customs about moving all our furniture and things - and that includes a long list of every single item in our flat that needs to be insured.  

That's it for now - over and out!