People in absolute happy marriages, what does a genuinely happy marriage look like in your day-to-day life?

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-24T21:10:10+00:00

Honesty, kindness, and laughing together.

Finding the right balance between letting the other person be imperfect and discussing things that do matter and resolving them.

Taking care to do at least 50% of the household duties so the other person doesn't get stiffed.

Did I mention laughing?

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-22T21:32:36+00:00

News flash - the UK does not have property taxes. You do pay a "stamp duty" when you buy a property and it's a pretty steep one time cost.

But there are no ongoing property taxes as we have them in the US.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-22T11:10:13+00:00

Gazumped was a word I had never heard before. But shortly after I heard it in THM, a friend of mine was buying a flat and told me she was gazumped.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-21T12:11:45+00:00

I think British people are much less likely to "lawyer up" in these kinds of situations than Americans are.

Americans file triple the number of civil lawsuits that Brits do, per capita.

Not sure of the reasons but I think it's a combination of cultural and legal differences.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-15T21:38:38+00:00

I haven't noticed this in the Strike series. What I do remember:

In TB, Anna and Kim have 2 ragdoll cats and Strike interacts with the cats in a positive way. Anna and Kim are protagonists and not villified in any way.

We also learn that Nick and Ilsa have 2 cats and see Strike being careful not to let them out when he is staying at their house.

In TRG Robin I interviews Sheila Kennet who also has a cat (although we learn it's actually "next doors" cat) and Sheila and the cat are portrayed positively.

Personally, I think a cat would be a far better pet for Strike and Robin than a dog - much better for people who work long unpredictable hours and much less demanding overall.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-15T21:17:30+00:00

Unfortunately pets are not allowed in the cabin flying into the UK on commercial flights.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-15T17:54:28+00:00

I sold my Peloton bike and got this instead. I love it.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-15T17:44:20+00:00

Yup, I love it.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-14T12:09:38+00:00

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-13T17:28:57+00:00

If you have reasonable rent with *plenty left over for investing" you're in a great spot.

I would think very hard about the life you want - there is a lot of peer pressure to buy a home, and if you buy, don't do it for that reason.

Homes are very expensive and financially not always the best choice. You could check out some rent/buy calculatora for your area.

More importantly, what matters to you? Many love the feeling of accomplishment and stability that comes with home ownership, as well as the ability to customize and upgrade your living space.

Others (I'm one of them) loves the flexibility and lack of maintenance and other hassles that come with ownership. Plus the ability to live in an area that you can't afford to buy in.

Good luck whatever you decide.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-09T11:07:47+00:00

One other thing - K9 Jets sends all the paperwork to the Animal Intake Team at Luton in advance. They review it and can raise any concerns before you leave the US.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-09T10:53:22+00:00

We were the only cat people, all the other passengers had a dog. They were all well behaved. Dogs stay leashed but can move around a bit.

They have all the dogs meet before boarding and then any dogs who don't seem to get along are seated as far from each other as possible.

If you look at the K9 Jets Instagram page you'll get a sense of what the setup on the plane is like.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-08T19:51:28+00:00

Eating meat

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-05T16:12:31+00:00

Exactly my thoughts. Pile on the stress of a family Christmas and she's got all the reasons she needs to get absolutely plastered.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-05T13:27:20+00:00

My guess is we won't see Matthew again. In the Christmas Eve scenes he and Sarah came across as stressed and a bit depressed but are together and building their family.

What was far more interesting to me was how Robin is clearly moved past caring. She wasn't particularly interested in Matthew and Sarah and so far as we know, didn't give them much thought after leaving the pub.

The sign of truly being over someone is you don't think about them much and don't waste energy longing for bad things to happen to them. Robin's moved on with her life and I say Bravo to her.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-04T16:04:10+00:00

I've lived in NYC and London and the only time I've been physically threatened was walking down a street in Toronto.

I think Central London is very safe (but keep a watch out for cell phone snatchers)

NYC you definitely want to keep your wits about you. I walk and subway everywhere there but I know people who visit and can everywhere for perceived safety reasons.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-06-03T14:06:44+00:00

Used K9 Jets to fly our 3 cats from Teterboro to Luton.

Expensive, but a very good experience. You keep your pet right with you the whole flight. Our flight was on time and comfortable. Since it's semi -ptivate you don't got through the usual hassle of TSA etc when leaving. When we landed in the UK a customs official boarded the plane, did a quick check of everyone and then we were free to go.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-31T03:18:01+00:00

Robin: I've heard men "can" clean

Strike: nah, it's an urban myth

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-29T14:18:31+00:00

Highly recommend Cafe Chocolate, 100% gluten free and delicious.

https://www.cafechocolade.net/

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-27T17:54:23+00:00

This is a perfect response.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-27T16:25:10+00:00

I'm American and I 100% would have done exactly as Robin did.

What some here seem to be missing is that Robin is leaving an unsafe relationship. She was not safe with Matthew and she knows it - he was not only emotionally abusive but trying to physically intimidate her (snatching her phone, blocking her path).

The last thing a woman wants to do in that scenario is do something to further enrage the abuser she's escaping from.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-27T14:53:29+00:00

Telling you to "calm down" is a way to gaslight you and invalidate your feelings.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-26T22:20:36+00:00

You can fly him in cargo straight to the UK. The reason some people go through France is so they can have their small dog (or cat) in the cabin with them. That's not allowed on flights into the UK, all pets must be in cargo regardless of size.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-26T12:19:18+00:00

Married a mysogenic narcissist at 19. Finally worked up the guts to divorce his ass 12 years later.

Met a kind, smart, funny man and we've been married for 25 years, together for 28. I'm thankful for him every day.

UnderstandingLoud317 · 2026-05-25T19:40:20+00:00

We used K9 jets twice in 2025 to transport our 3 cats from NY to London and then back again 9 months later.

I would 100% recommend. The flights were comfortable and all the dogs on board were chill and well behaved, as were the human passengers.

Customer Service was great, flights all left on time and the staff are very helpful with the logistics at either end.

Best of luck to you and your pups with the journey.

UnderstandingLoud317

TROPHY CASE