Dear Boston Mamas: London Parent Resources
Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Jillian via e-mail:
Hi Christine! I have been faithfully reading your site since my daughter was born almost two years ago. Thanks for sharing all of your insights and recommendations. They're invaluable!! Unfortunately my family is moving to London, England in the next few months and I'm a little nervous to be moving to a different country without at least the online resource you've proven to be for Boston and the surrounding towns. Please please please tell me you have a counterpart in London that you love and would recommend to a new-ish mom. It would be great if you had a twin doing the same type of blog in London!
Dear Jillian,
Thanks for writing in. I'm so sorry to hear that you are leaving this fantastic city, but London is a wonderful and beautiful place. I'm sure you will have amazing adventures there with your family!
To answer your question: many people have asked me to start versions of Boston Mamas in other cities, but regretfully, there just aren't enough hours in the day given my design and consulting/editing businesses. Also, admittedly, I'm a perfectionist and expanding to multiple cities would mean finding people with similarly obsessive work habits. So the short answer is that no, I don't have a London twin.
However, while I didn't get much in the way of Google returns for parent blogs and resources in London, I queried on Twitter and received a couple of responses. I also e-mailed a friend (a mom of three -- she's a US citizen) who lives in the city. Here are a few leads that emerged:
Of these recommendations, I'd start with Angels & Urchins. It's the prettiest site to look at and offers timely features. And though not as pretty as their landing page, Angels & Urchins does have a blog that appears to be updated a few times a week. There's also a blogroll in the right sidebar that might lead you to some other interesting local reading.
I hope this information is helpful, and I hope despite the move you'll still check in with Boston Mamas now and then! I'm wishing you the best with this big transition.
Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Have a question for Christine? Drop her a line! And of course feel free to comment in if you have recommendations beyond those made above.
Comments
Other resources in London are the Kensington Chelsea Women's Club (international expats) and the American Women's Club (US expats)....they're not blogs, but full of information for families in the London area, especially newcomers.
Posted by: KSY | August 11, 2010 10:35 AM | Reply to this comment
Thanks for the recommendation, Boston Mamas. And hello Jillian, great to hear that you're moving to London, it is an incredibly child (and parent!) friendly city. angels & urchins is a quarterly magazine and website providing loads of information about what to do and where to go in London. Come and check us out, and don't hesitate to get in touch should you need any advice. Perhaps you'd like to come and guest post on the blog about your impressions of London as a mother - London v Boston USA?!
Posted by: angelsandurchinsblog | August 11, 2010 5:23 PM | Reply to this comment