As you may know, last September I moved to London, so I've been living in the Big Smoke for about five months now - where on Earth has that time gone?! Moving away from everything and everyone I know has been the biggest change of my life and there's been a lot of settling in to do! I know there's a lot of people out there considering making the same move, be it for university, a job or just a change. Today I thought I'd discuss how I've found the move with a few pros and cons of upping sticks to England's big city.
The Good
Ok so there is so many wonderful things to say about moving to London. There is just so much to do here that it's literally impossible to be bored. I've been working through my list of 50 things I wanted to do once I'd moved down here at rapid pace and I'll probably have to make a fresh one soon! The museums and galleries are among the best in the world, anything you can dream of you can eat it here, sometimes it feels as though the shops never close and of course it's home to some world famous landmarks and tourist attractions, from the London Eye to Buckingham Palace.
One of Londoners favourite pastimes is complaining about the tube or buses, but as an 'outsider' I can tell you that the transport system here is far better than anywhere else in the UK. Coming from somewhere where there is 1 train per hour to a city which is a mere 10 miles alway (and you can forget it all together on Sundays!), to have tubes arrive every 2 minutes to take you to anywhere in the city is amazing. I'm bigging you up here TfL so don't let me down *cough*!
The diversity of living and studying in London has been an amazing experience for me. I live and learn with people from all around the world, from America to France to China to Italy to Brazil to Indonesia to Russia to Germany to India - you name it, I've probably met someone who comes from there! My experience of university has, in my opinion, been far wider for coming to the capital.
One of Londoners favourite pastimes is complaining about the tube or buses, but as an 'outsider' I can tell you that the transport system here is far better than anywhere else in the UK. Coming from somewhere where there is 1 train per hour to a city which is a mere 10 miles alway (and you can forget it all together on Sundays!), to have tubes arrive every 2 minutes to take you to anywhere in the city is amazing. I'm bigging you up here TfL so don't let me down *cough*!
The diversity of living and studying in London has been an amazing experience for me. I live and learn with people from all around the world, from America to France to China to Italy to Brazil to Indonesia to Russia to Germany to India - you name it, I've probably met someone who comes from there! My experience of university has, in my opinion, been far wider for coming to the capital.
The Bad
Is London really as expensive as everyone says? Is there really that much pollution? Is it really crowded? Unfriendly? Well, the short answer to all of those questions is yes. Much like any big city in the world, prices are high and space is low. They say when you're sick of London, you're sick of life and I'm afraid I'd have to disagree. I don't know a single person that lives here that doesn't sigh at least a slight breath of relief when they get to leave the city for the weekend. Sometimes you just need a break from the noise, hustle and bustle of a huge city like London. Now that doesn't mean to say we aren't all itching to hop on a train back once you realise how (dare I say it) boring (probably a bit harsh!) the rest of the UK can be in comparison, but sometimes it's nice to get a proper nights sleep, some fresh air in the lungs and the reality check of your mother reminding you that your real home is in the north and don't you forget it!
Overall my move to London so far has been as completely and utterly life changing as everybody said it would be. I've barely even begun to uncover what this amazing city has to offer and I have to say, I feel so lucky that I get to split my time between the 2 best cities in the country (still love you Manchester, always will!)
Have you been to London before? What is your favourite part? Are you thinking about moving here or somewhere else new in the future? Let me know in the comments!
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