6-month Check In

We arrived in Bristol on 15 July - 6 months already! Time has flown so I thought it would be a good time to take stock on the experience.

Things I love:

• The easy-going and casual atmosphere of the city - reminds me of Madison where you can dress up or wear jeans to the fanciest of restaurants. A real treat after the hyper-sparkle of Dubai where I always felt I had to be in full make-up even to run to the grocery store.
• Pork and alcohol everywhere. This is actually part of a much bigger love of complete democracy and freedom. Live and let live suits me so much better.
• Budget airlines!! I was very sad to leave my airline discount, but it turns out that with the budget carriers, we can still travel cheaply. And so much faster. What a treat to live in Europe and be able to jet off to Dublin for a weekend.
• The weather! I know, it sounds crazy, but I love the rain and the green and the frost on my car windows in the morning and the fact that I need a jacket and gloves. I'm sure it will wear off in time, but so far, I'm still loving it.
• The language. I really get a kick out of learning new words and phrases for things. Cracks me up every time.
• The history and the culture. Everywhere you look there's an old church or bridge or cobbled street. It's so cute and quaint here I have to pinch myself at times. And even with all the old, you can still find a sparkly new mall or hotel with a nice restaurant when you need a newness fix. 
• Friendly folk. I was a bit worried as I've always heard the Brits are a bit more aloof than us Americans. Well, that is true, but not so aloof that you don't feel welcome. Maybe it's Bristol vs. London, but we've found the general public to be very friendly and warm. And thank goodness for that!

Things I'm still getting used to:

• The traffic is really appalling. Congested, smelly, slow and frustrating. And don't even get me started on public transport - what a nightmare! There are a number of construction projects underway to help alleviate the problem - let's see. I have a feeling I may never get used to this one.
• And related to that - driving on the left. I've gotten pretty good at this, but still struggle with correctly estimating the size of my car when parking. I'm so used to judging distance using the left side of the car, and when you drive on the left, you really need to use the right side instead. Still working on this one, but luckily, no dents or scrapes yet.
• Taxes! Yeah, we haven't really even started these yet, and they're sure to be an adventure this year with UAE, US and UK all in the mix. Luckily, we'll have some help sorting it all out through Brian's company.

So, at 6 months am I still happy with the move? Oh yes! and looking forward to the next 6 to see what additional adventures we'll have.