Random Walks in the Low Countries: Hello, Awesome

It’s like solving a “the ferry, fox, goose, and bag of beans across the river “ puzzle. The Fiesta won’t hold everything, so I’ve had to move in stages to the office at St. Johns, then on to the south coast. Traffic on the M25 Orbital was surprisingly light for today’s run; I kept good time with the first load down through Southampton, Poole and finally into Sandbanks.

I’ve rented the third floor of a family home a block from the beach, close enough for some good walks and seaside coffees. There’s a big furnished bedroom, bathroom, and study for half what I paid in Cambridge, kitchen privileges and fast Internet, a busy family downstairs for company, and a new region of the country to explore. I’m looking forward to comparing the New Forest to the Lake District, seeing Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and getting to know Cornwall better.

Even though it’s 3 hours from Cambridge, it’s much closer to our clinical trial sites in Southampton and the operational work in Bristol, and not much further from London investors or cross-channel ferries. Most of all, I need the change of scenery and some new people to be with for a few months while I figure out my life’s next stage.

It’s grey cloudy and warm, blowing drizzle today: my hair is vertical after minutes on the beach. 'Really very different from Cambridgeshire (or current home-base Maastricht). I got a wrap and a coke from the Tesco Express and sat along the seawall, just watching the waves and listening to the gulls.

A Seattle-based friend suggests that I’ve come full-circle; it’s not particularly different than Puget Sound this time of year. Brit-buddies all comment that it’s the most expensive postal code in the country. Everyone seems to think it’s a good move, though.

It will be an experience to watch the seasons unfold , the interplay between sea and sky, how the wind tosses the treetops and paints patterns with sand. I hope to do more biking or sailing, have evenings for reading and writing (and the new season of the Amazing Race). I’ve already got a few invitations to come to neighborhood events to meet a few people. There’s even the possibility of pool access at the house next door.