2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Hi everyone,

This is my second week in US and am seriously missing a few things- a good cup of tea- earl grey preferably -any recommendation on brands?, non- biological laundry detergent (what brand should I look for- I have tried reading contents for enzymes and found none without enzymes), cheddar cheese ?
We are currently in a unfurnished flat and need to get some furniture. Is Ikea the best place? Is there anything here-like John Lewis?
Any other free advice for a newbie?
Thanks,
RelocatingBrit

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Earl Grey is popular in the states. Look for Twinings. No clue on what a biological detergent is so can't help there. As for good cheddar cheese, try Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or even your local market. There is an Irish cheese producer that is sold in the US (can't think of the name off hand) that is quite good cheese. I looked it up "Kerrygold".

Personally, you would never see me in an Ikea to purchase anything. But there are apparently enough people that like them that they are doing well.

BTW I'm not a Brit but still I like (not love) Earl Grey prefer Tetley English Blend ourselves and love good cheese.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Thanks for the advice:). If not Ikea, what are my other choices please? Thanks

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

I lived my entire life on the east coast of the US so have no clue what is in the Bay area. It is early in the evening on the west coast and people who live in the Bay area, i.e. Steerpike and the like will be along shortly to help sort you out.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Excellent range of Cheese from Trader Joes - try their Collier's cheddar,
Non-bio Trader Joes or Costco.
Tea - Amazon, possibly Trader Joes. We buy 1 kg bags of Yorkshire gold on Amazon every three months.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

For furniture, take a look at Ashley Furniture, Macys, West Elm, Pottery Barn

For washing liquid - maybe take a look at Seventh Generation or Honest brands. Or Whole Foods might have an own label option.

For a cheddar cheese, try the Cracker Barrel range, there's one in a black wrapper that's called aged reserve, quite pricey but often on offer in grocery stores.
Our Cheese, Cracker Barrel Products | Cracker Barrel Cheese

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Amazon Gourmet has a ton of Brit stuff (at hefty prices mind you) I get my Nik Naks and Monster Munch there! Oh and if there is a World Market near you they carry loads of British and European sweets and chocs and such like.
I've been here 15 years and still feel like you, lol

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

When furnishing a home I really missed Argos for odd bits and pieces. There is nothing like it in USA - so handy.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Furniture is generally of a different style to the UK, probably because homes have larger rooms and the furniture is scaled up proportionately. I found American brands generally to be a bit stuffy and staid, and could not find a table lamp to my taste for love nor money till I happened upon Bed, Bath & Beyond, which is good for smaller home furnishing and kitchen stuff. If you like the plainer Scandinavian style, then I didn't find many American shops that sold that - maybe Crate and Barrell. There are plenty of Ikea detractors, but they sell the same furniture in the US as the UK, so you will know you can get the full range of prices, from cheapo student furniture that barely lasts until you graduate or more expensive solid wood items that will last years. Oh, and it's the only place I found that sold curtains in pairs at a reasonable price!

If making large purchases, do hunt around for coupons. BB&B are fairly generous with those, so are other retailers. You have to sign up for mailing lists, but if you are starting off furnishing a home you can save a lot of money and it's worth putting up with the deluge of junk email and post to do that.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Hi - I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to laundry detergent and have found that "All Free Clear Laundry Detergent" works best for me (make sure it's the white container).

Furniture - IKEA all the way for me. As said above, they do cheap student stuff, but also good quality stuff - I've been here 6 years and moved 4 times and its all still in very good condition*.

Carl.

* - Well, apart from the sectional corner piece that came off the truck whilst crossing a bridge, landing in front of a police car. He stopped by it to prevent further problems and had one of his colleagues chase me down to go back and pick it up. Luckily they were in good moods and found the whole thing hilarious. Okay - the accent may have helped...).

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Wayfair might be a good choice for furnishings of various styles.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Don't know where you are in the Bay Area but here are my tips for surviving food wise - bear in mind...I'm Irish but a lot of our brands are the same

1) Trader joes is your friend for butter and cheese - have Irish "dairy gold" cheddar and butter

2) In San Francisco, the sunset district (9th/Kirkham) there is a great store called "Roxies deli" that has every British and Irish thing you can think off (down to flash frozen "real bread" and sausage rolls, British and Irish teas, biscuits etc)

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Thank you everyone. I will definitely be using them.:)

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Cheese: Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar is my go to. Costco also sell imported cheddar (and good French/Dutch cheese) but seem to be out of it for months at a time.

Furniture: Join the Nextdoor forum and your neighbours will be giving away or selling furniture in excellent condition all.the.time. I pretty much furnished my entire house from there when I first moved here.

Ikea is a good bet for furniture if you insist on buying new. I also like Living Spaces. Target (online, not in store) also have a vast collection and will deliver. For small household goods, kitchen items, sheets, towels check out TKMaxx, Ross, Marshalls and HomeGoods.

CostPlus World Market has lots of yummy British and other foreign goodies. As for tea I drink nothing but Earl Grey and sadly the Twinings Earl Grey they have here has a very different formula to what you get in UK (it's much weaker). I bring bagfuls back with me from the UK or purchase online on British Corner Shop.

Re: 2nd week in US( Bay area, CA) and missing home comforts!
 

Amazon: Like Argos, but you get it delivered. :lol: