Tag: friends

Top Tips for moving to London.

Ruth IbbotsonLeave a comment

Since it’s Sunday and I have absolutely nothing to do today (although I should really go to the gym, but I highly doubt that will happen…) I thought I would write a spur of the moment post – I have a few posts lined up to publish but I just really wanted to do something a little bit different.

So a few weeks ago I made the big move to London with some friends to start my new life down here, and its been wonderfully crazy to say the least… Before you move, whether that is moving from a previous house or moving out from your parents it’s always scary and you need to be VERY prepared – but you can’t always be prepared for everything!

So here are a few tips of what I’ve learnt so far if you’re planning on moving to London (or any other city in fact) I hope you enjoy 🙂

  1. SEARCH, SEARCH AND SEARCH AGAIN FOR FLATS

This is a very obvious one I know, because when looking for a new place you obviously need to look, but when moving to somewhere like London – places come and go in seconds. When we started looking it was months and months before we were even on planning to move down but getting an idea of what you want is so handy. You can get an idea of prices and places – you can figure out which part of London is cheapest and if it’s near to transport and shops. We wanted somewhere as central as possible but the more central you go the more expensive it is – keep looking everyday on Right Move, Zoopla, Gumtree and any other sites you can find. If you keep looking something will pop up just right for you.

 

anigif_enhanced-buzz-8612-1380625194-4

2. BOOK A VIEWING

Again, a pretty obvious one but I’ve seen a lot of people get a flat before even viewing it. This is VERY VERY risky. Most of us were based in Yorkshire so we booked a day where we could all visit London and made sure to have some viewings booked, and we are so glad we did because the property we thought we wanted to get was not as great as we thought. We got to see the surrounding area, have an in-depth look into what the flat was like, ask all the questions you wanted – and once that was done we were all in agreement that the other flat we viewed was actually what we wanted. Before you move make sure to book viewings and have a look around – you don’t want to get the property and then regret it when it’s not what you thought.

giphy-37

3. SAVE

I cannot stress this one enough – wherever you move too you need to have some savings behind you – but if you’re planning on moving to London you need to reeeaaallllyyy save! I knew London was expensive but DAMN it’s ridiculous. Rent is crazy high down here – and like I said previously the more central you go the more expensive it is. Make sure to have some savings behind you so you have that blanket of money just to give you that comfort.

7666c5db7e794ec68cd5433c1ead77c0

4. BUSES ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS

One of the best things about London is the transport – everywhere you go there is a tube station or bus and it is SO easy to get around – but once moving down I realised that buses are one of the best ways to get around. If you can, take the bus – firstly it’s £1.50 wherever you go and you hop on and off when you please. Don’t get me wrong the tube is brilliant but it’s double or triple the price of a bus – also it gets very manic especially during rush hour to and from work, and if you add the time it takes to actually get into the tube station, walking to which line you want to catch, catching the tube then finding your way out – takes you probably the same amount of time as a bus.

tenor.gif

5. LIVE BY CITYMAPPER 

Once you move down you have to download the app ‘Citymapper’ – I live by this now, it’s so handy to know where you need to go and how long it will take you, it will plan out everything for you and show you the nearest tubes, your route, buses, which number to catch, time, distance, how much it will cost you and so on. It’s so handy and makes travelling round London a little less stressful!

Apple-App-Store-Search-Down-iOS-iPhone-Users-UK-Apple-Down-Search-Not-Working-Online-Search-Not-Working-iTunes-Search-Broken-App-530595.gif

6. WALK AND EXPLORE

Once you’ve moved in go and walk around your area and see what’s about! Get to know what restaurants, bars and shops are around – and see what activities are on! We have a gym next door to us which is very handy, then down the road is a Mcdonalds. I bet you can guess which one I’ve been to more…Big superstores are great and there are a few little bar and restaurants near us too. Go and explore and see whats there! It’s great to know your surrounding area.

51e9ad50e2b7f73f6244c75c70e1dffd3e699b8212586b734b0460e38d362b5e.gif

7. DISCOUNTS ARE AMAZING 

I loved discounts before moving to London – I think everyone does but I LOVE them even more now – especially when I go food shopping!  I always go to the discount section and see what’s on offer. I’ve cooked some great meals for a very little price. You have to really know the time of day to go so you can really pick up some bargains!

3o7TKo6pw8wXuniUSI

8. MAKE FRIENDS AND SOCIALISE

Go out and have fun, make friends, go to bars and live your life! London is full of so many different kinds of people! It’s a bloody good night out – whatever you’re after! Shoreditch and Soho are great nights out, it’s always so vibrant and busy – cute little bars, cocktails and great music!

tenor

 

9. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF

London is a big city and with that comes a hell of a lot of hustle and bustle. It’s loud and busy whatever time of the day, something is always going on. That’s one of the things I love about London but at the same time I like my peace and quiet, and I like to spend time by myself. I live with 3 friends and we are super close but sometimes you just need to have some time to be on your own and do nothing. It can get a little bit overwhelming especially since it’s still new to us all. Take some time just to be on your own – read, listen to music, go for a walk. I always feel so much better when I do.

anigif_sub-buzz-14962-1489450308-4

10. BE YOURSELF AND HAVE FUN! – YOU’RE IN BLOODY LONDON! 

Have fun! This is such an exciting time in your life, moving to the capital where exciting things happen every single day! Yes, it’s scary and daunting – but it’s wonderful and so thrilling! You get to wake up each day and make it amazing – you have so many opportunities and things to do right on your doorstep, so many places to go, people to meet! I’ve fallen in love with London already and I can’t wait to see what this next year holds. Be yourself and have fun!

unnamed

These are just a few little suggestions there are so many more but I would be here for hours 😉

 

Have a wonderful Sunday and see you soon another blog! x

 

 

 

 

Life is only just beginning.

Ruth IbbotsonLeave a comment

So this is a really spur of the moment post but I’ve been wanting to write something like this for a little while but I didn’t really know how to write it, but I’m currently laying in bed with a cup of lavender tea (tastes WAY better than it sounds) and I’m finding myself just typing away on my laptop.

These past few weeks I’ve been scrolling social media and it’s round about this time now that everyone is graduating! It was only last year that I was doing the same. It’s weird to think that you were once a student that had no responsibility and suddenly you’re thrown into this big scary world trying not to drown. It’s hard. And extremely overwhelming. Even if you went straight into work you could still be there doing the same routine day in and day out wondering when something will just click.

After university last year I moved back home to sunny Yorkshire and got myself a job in my little town, I couldn’t really stay in Manchester as I had literally NO money whatsoever and in all honesty I needed a big break from the city and to come home and just breathe. I saw a lot of my friends stay in Manchester or move off to other cities and go travelling and I was just living back at home doing the same thing. As the months went on I became comfortable, I was up and out the door for 8 and then back at whatever time in the evening, I would watch some TV or read a book and then go to bed, and it was the same, Every. Single. Day. 

I’m 24 and I felt that my life wasn’t really heading in any direction. I felt stuck. I wanted to do all these things but somehow I couldn’t quite get there and I didn’t really know how to get there either. Especially since I’m at the age where my student days are long gone and real life is calling for me…

But after taking some time to really think about it, in all honesty it’s absolutely fine to feel like that. It’s okay to feel a little lost at 24. Or 30, or 40. It doesn’t matter what age you are you’re always going to feel a little lost at some point, and I think that it’s a pretty magical thing, that you can feel so lost and unsure of what the future holds but you eventually find your path, you get to rediscover yourself over and over again and become someone who is proud of who they are.

You might find that getting your dream job is a lot harder than you thought it was, or that your relationship has broken down and you have no idea which way to go next but the wonderful thing is you get to decide EXACTLY what it is you want to do. You decide which path you take next. Yes, you’ll feel lost and worthless and hurt, and it may seem like the world is against you and doing everything in it’s power to keep you from being happy, but it’s not. Every morning is a chance for you to wake up and make today the best day of your life, to go out and reach whatever goals you have set yourself. You don’t have to permanently feel lost, you just have to close that chapter in your life and move on to the next one, and the best thing is you get to write it.

Don’t be scared to try living out of your comfort zone, be brave and take chances. You don’t want 30 years to fly by and to regret all the chances you didn’t take. Have faith that things will work out and enjoy the journey. You might end up surprising yourself.

A few months ago I didn’t know how my life was going to pan out, and I still don’t. The mystery makes it that much more exciting, but I got off my backside and put working on my dreams into gear. I go travelling around Europe in 3 weeks and then I move to London with 3 wonderful friends to start a life down there and I couldn’t be happier, and for the first time in a long while I’m excited to see where the future takes me.

The best time for new beginnings, is now. 

 

80a0b69fe062690c16824c1d5eae7cae--wedding-signs-wedding-sayings-and-quotes

 

Be your own Valentine…

Ruth IbbotsonLeave a comment

So Valentines Day is fast approaching and to lot of people that means celebrating it with the person you love. But to a lot of people it means spending it alone. With a bottle (or 2) of wine and the biggest box of chocolates you can find.

Don’t get me wrong it’s lovely when you have someone special and you spend the day with them, enjoying each others company, but why all the emphasis on this certain day each year? Shouldn’t we love and be loved all year round? To a lot of people spending Valentines Day by yourself can be quite a depressing thought, but before you resort to going on tinder and swiping right to the first human you see, why don’t you be your own Valentine.

SO, if this year you’re spending Valentines Day alone then I hope this makes you feel a little comfort 🙂

You don’t NEED someone else in your life to make you happy on Valentines Day or any other day of the year infact. You can do that perfectly by yourself. So before you start searching for someone to fall in love with you, start by falling in love with yourself.

Start embracing the way you look and love every part of yourself, appreciate your talents, be your own best friend and for once stop caring how other people see you. Its the way you see yourself that really matters. You’re so amazing and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Enjoy your own company, I know for a lot of people that can be hard – but take yourself out on dates. Don’t wish and wait for someone else to do it. Take yourself to that movie you’ve been wanting to see for ages, go to an art gallery or museum and take lots of photos, go to that cute little cafe on the corner and order whatever the hell you want. You know that love you’ve been giving out to everyone else? Well for once maybe use some of that on yourself.

It’s hard to stay on track and not get distracted. We forget that we are capable of being there for ourselves, we are so much stronger than we think we are and sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom for us to realise that. Though you may not feel like it right now, you as an individual are a whole person, you are so complete on your own.

The world out there is much bigger than just this one day of the year. Valentines Day does not define you as someone who isn’t capable of being loved. You are so much more than that. So, this year embrace being your own Valentine. Be happy being on your own and don’t wish it away. Be happy with just being you, you are pretty damn great just as you are x

(If you do find it hard this time of the year, then The Blue Tree Clinic is offering discounted counselling therapy, just quote Valentines using your contact form – The Blue Tree Clinic )

heart-1318850_1920

My letter to you…

Ruth IbbotsonLeave a comment

Dear you,

I’m sorry that right now, life isn’t going the way you planned, that every day seems a little worse than the last and nothing you could try to do can make it better. I’m sorry that you’re sad, that no one or nothing can numb the pain, not even for a second.

I want to say I know what it feels like because I’ve been there, that feeling of loneliness and unstoppable tears. I know what not being able to eat feels like and lying awake thinking ‘how the hell does this get any better?’ I know what it feels like to have no energy to do anything, no energy to smile or move, to just lie there, feeling nothing. I know what it feels like and in some way I hope that brings you some kind of comfort. But I know what I felt like isn’t the same as what you’re feeling or going through.

It’s impossible to control how you’re feeling, the way the darkness creeps in and just takes over your life bit by bit. I know you try to smile and try to put on this front, but you can only keep it up for so long before everything comes crashing down. Because this feeling wins. It always wins. Thats what you tell yourself anyway. Theres no hope.

I’m sorry that right now the dark is so familiar that strangely it feels like home. But please don’t get used to it, please don’t settle and believe you will never get out of this place. I know words sometimes don’t help and that nothing I can say will ever shift how you’re feeling right now but I hope you start to try, it will hurt like hell but please try.

I know you’ve been struggling for a while, and in some weird way I guess it never really does leave you. You do make it through to the light but you still have the past and the memories of what it was like. You still can remember the pain, but those demons don’t have that power anymore. You’re so much stronger than that.

I know that right now, it sucks. You have no direction, no hope, no nothing to wake up to and want to start the day. But I hope more than anything you just hang in there. Just hold on to the smallest piece of light, because it may not feel like it now but that small piece of light will soon become the sun and you’ll soon smile again.

You’ll start to laugh and hang out with friends. Breathing won’t seem like such a task and you’ll start to enjoy peoples company. You’ll look at different types of food and actually want to eat it, the smell of it doesn’t make you feel quite that sick anymore and you look forward to trying new things. You’ll wake up in the morning wanting to make yourself look nice, and when you look in the mirror you don’t flinch away. You smile. You see an unbelieveably strong person and you start to fall in love with yourself. You’ll start to appreciate the little things, like how blue the sky can actually be, or the sound of the waves when you walk along the beach. The laughter of couples that are sat in restaurants as you walk by and the way it can go from being so dry one minute to absolutely chucking it down with rain, and you’ll just stand there, taking it all in, because for the first time in a long time you can actually feel again. And it feels so good.

I know it may seem like a long way off, but I hope more than anything you just hang on to that image. Where you’ll smile again and it will be the most incredible moment.

One last thing, please talk to someone… please don’t hide away and keep it all to yourself. Yes you are incredibly strong but sometimes having people to talk to takes the weight off just a little bit. Don’t ever feel ashamed or embarrassed. You’re fighting something that sadly defeats a lot of people, but don’t let it defeat you. You are stronger than you know and having people to fight with you makes it seem a little easier.

Don’t ever feel like you’re alone. You’re not. Hang on to that. Hang on to hope.

You’ll soon breathe again, and I can’t wait for the day that you do. 

x

woman-happiness-sunrise-silhouette-40192