After two full years of moving from place to place, making routines, breaking routines, and constantly adjusting plans, we decided to stay in one place for a full year. From earlier posts, you’ll recognize that we chose London for our “year off” of nomadic living and it was a wonderful choice! It wasn’t without its challenges, of course, but we definitely thrived as a family this past year more than the previous two.

The first reason I believe we thrived was due to the social connections we were able to make and sustain. We’ve met many wonderful people while travelling, but the connections seemed to diminish as time passed once we parted ways. In London, the kids made some great friends right away and really enjoyed sustaining these friendships for the whole year. Erik met some like-minded people on his master’s program, some of whom became friends he enjoyed spending time with. I was also able to bond with a fellow home-schooling mom and we shared many lovely conversations over coffee while the kids played. I believe, knowing that we had a whole year, it was easier for us to dive into making friends – missing was the sense of doom that whatever bonds we forged would be severed soon.

Secondly, with a space of our own, we were able to buy tools, supplies, and items used to hone our hobbies. Instead of having only a small bin of toys, books, and supplies, we could fill bookshelves with a variety of items. Creativity flowed with the presence of options. We saw so many drawings, paintings, puzzles, homemade décor, and models built and proudly displayed. The kids tried photography and making movies. They practiced acting and singing. We also explored more hobbies outside the home with the many opportunities in the community such as martial arts, dance, drama, and fitness.

Thirdly, we got to be individuals doing individual things along with our family-centric travelling. The previous two years were spent doing so many amazing things together, but always together. Even if one of us really didn’t want to, we often still did it together. In London, we got to branch out and do things for ourselves; Erik had his new academic program on which to focus, Claire spent extra time trying new fitness and drama programs, I joined a Crossfit gym and volunteered, Molly discovered a love of drawing, and Simon built lots of LEGO, watched engineering videos, taught himself some magic tricks, and had a great time learning jui jitsu. Time apart enhanced our time together and we enjoyed our family outings and short trips when they happened.

And lastly, I believe we thrived this year because we had a routine. There have been so many different versions of “routines” as we explore the world that it was hard to identify how well, or not, they “work” for us. A new routine would begin and we’d start to see its effects just as we left and needed something different. But not in London. Our travels were the exception so we were able to establish a daily and weekly rhythm that we all fell into and enjoyed.

Some other benefits of our third year were getting to host family and friends during the year. The last two years were spent without family visits (with one exception early in our first year). COVID was mostly to blame. We saw one group of friends in Central America for 10 days but that was all. In London, we got to have both sets of Grandparents, an Aunt, two cousins, and family friends visit us. We became tour guides for London and had a blast showing off our favourite spots! I’ve also written three other posts about the amazing things we saw and did in London that are full of examples of why we enjoyed our time so much.

How about the downsides, you ask? I’ve had to reach deep to find a few. The most obvious is that we were still far from family. This time, though, we were also 6 hours ahead in time so when we needed a chat with a loved one, we had to wait until that loved one was awake. We could only catch them in their morning since we’d be in bed when they were home from work/school. I lost a family member while in London and did not return home for the celebration of life ceremony. That was hard. The service was broadcast over Zoom, but it wasn’t the same as being there to get and give hugs of love and support.

Also, London is expensive. Our Canadian dollar didn’t go as far as we had hoped. As a consequence, we found ourselves being very frugal about purchases, often having to sacrifice quality. This was tough for me when it came to food. I really wanted to ensure we were eating organic produce and meats, but couldn’t always justify the expense. We also had to skip eating out as often as possible and made lots of picnic lunches for our outings. In a way, it felt that we missed out on some of the London culture of social meals and international restaurants. We went for an afternoon tea sitting only once. It was $40 each. That’s a $200 mid-afternoon snack for our family of 5! Oh, and don’t get me started on the energy bills!

Our apartment was lovely but took getting used to. The kitchen was tight and we couldn’t have more than one person working in there at a time. Nor could more than one person sit at the table if there was a chef at work. The fridge was small and the freezer was super tiny. We had to prioritize the space based on meal plans and couldn’t buy fresh items in bulk. Sometimes one shower wasn’t enough. And the apartment’s windows were single-pane and drafty. It made cooler weather tougher to ignore. Thankfully, it didn’t go below freezing more than twice, but we did find ourselves wearing our coats indoors sometimes.

But all of that is minor compared to the many things that we loved. Therefore, I declare that our year in London was our favourite travel year so far!

Now don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what the kids have to say.