Hey Teacher! Leave Those Kids A Loan

As discussed in a previous post, The Times hit the newsstands of New York this morning, and I hope you'll forgive me a feeling of childish excitement. It was certainly a slightly surreal experience being sat on the train reading the very newspaper I'd have been reading on the same commute in London.

I've no desire to make Chicago Addick slightly jealous, but the sheer size of the British expat community in New York (not to mention countless tourists) permits a critical mass of Brit-oriented businesses to flourish.

In the morning I can devour my Marmite-laden toast washed down with fully brewed (and readily available) PG Tips tea whilst watching the BBC News. On the way to work I can pick up my copy of The Times, and at lunchtime I can read it whilst enjoying a bite at Pret A Manger. At tea-time I can pop down to Tea and Sympathy for scones, and later I can grab an hour of Sky Sports News upon returning home from work. I can then contemplate heading out for a late-night meal at the British-owned Brick Lane Curry House, before grabbing a cheeky pre-bedtime pint at the Red Lion pub.

Now perhaps, the final piece of the jigsaw has arrived, at least for those British expats with kids, in the shape of the new British International School due to open in Sept 06. The new school promises to instil the discipline of the National Curriculum and all for just $26,000 pa (a typical price for private schooling in the city).

Admittedly a reasonable question to ask would be, "Why not just move back to the UK?" Good question, and probably we will someday but in the meantime we feel like we can have the best of Britain but without the crap weather, the chavs and the cancelled trains. Although travel does indeed broaden the mind, you can take someone out of Britain but ultimately you can't truly do the opposite. It is somewhat surprising to us that virtually all of our friends in New York are fellow British expats, but we concluded that we wouldn't think it strange if say French expats hung around with French expats. We may speak the same language but it's human nature to deviate back at some levels to things that remind you of home, and it really hit home to me when I picked up a mere newspaper this morning.