Wednesday, February 20, 2008

First Post from London

Well, I'm going to once again try and revive this thing... :)

I think that everyone that would be reading this knows for the most part where I am now and how I got here. But to provide a bit of continuity with the last post on the blog (as if that really mattered...) I'll fill in a bit. The "small decision" I spoke of was my choice to leave Microsoft. I felt like I needed a change. A big change. I didn't have plans for a new job, I was just taking time off.

In that time off I did some travelling, spent time with friends and family, started to learn to play the upright bass, made some beer with friends, caught a lot more live music, watched alot of movies, played alot of video games... Generally tried to relax and enjoy life.

Unfortunately that wasn't a lifestyle that I could afford forever and eventually it was time for me to start looking for a job again. I did some looking in various areas of the US, as well as in other countries. UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium...

There were a few opportunities that seemed relatively interesting. One that many people know I was pretty excited about was an opportunity to do Software Consulting in London with a company called Infusion Development. Well it turns out that I accepted a job with them and that's why I'm now in London :).

I've started a live maps collection with places that are relevant to me here in London, you can check it out here. The Infusion offices are in an area called Canary Wharf, which is where alot of financial services work is nowadays. I'm currently working on a project at Barclays Capital, which is also in Canary Wharf.

I've been here since mid-January and I'm currently staying in an area called West Hampstead, which is in the borough of Camden (also in the maps collection). The flat I am currently in is a corporate flat that I'm sharing with two other Infusion guys, both of whom are from Canada. My intention is to move into my own place soon though. I'm trying to find a place that'll have enough room to comfortable host visitors, but it's expensive here! :) My current thoughts are that I'd like to move to Camden Town. Many people here have referred to it as the "punk rock" area of London. I have been exploring other areas as well though. One thing I've noticed is that Camden town is pretty small compared to some of the other neighborhoods.