In honour of my anniversary of moving to the big smoke, I thought a little blog post was in order to celebrate the things I’ve learnt since moving! It’s a lil’ bit soppy and a lil’ bit lighthearted, but I was feeling cute and enjoyed looking back over the last year.
Not everyone will love London as much as I do
Since moving, I’ve had the same conversation with family and friends. “I live in London now!”
“Why on earth would you want to live there? I couldn’t.”
It’s repetitive and a bit pointless, but it’s always a bit disheartening when people constantly take the piss out of you for having to spend £5.20 on a pint rather than a fraction of that in other cities. On top of that, I have elderly family who swoon at the idea of catching the tube and coming to visit. Even friends I’ve made here are looking forward to university ending so that they can go back home to their familiar, sleepier towns.
There’s always something to do
London has almost anything you want to do. At any time of the day. You fancy cheesecake at 4am? Easy! Wanna drink a cocktail sitting hundreds of feet above the city? Done. Heck, there’s even a museum where you can sniff Amy Winehouse’s poo, should the unshakeable desire arise. My point is; whatever (w h a t e v e r) you wanna do, you can probably do. Sure, you’ll have to gather the funds and/or the motivation, but bloody hell, there are things here.
Say it with me: London. Is. Expensive.
It’s no secret. But for some reason, when I decided to make the move to London, I thought my finances would be just as easy to manage. I was WRONG. I’m not sure what causes it…inflation? Am I just paying a premium for being in the Big Smoke itself? Whatever it is, I’m thoroughly over paying extra dollar for the same item.
Say it with me again: London. Is. BEAUTIFUL.
Gripes aside, I don’t think there are many places on earth that are more beautiful than our capital city. I’m always grateful to live here, because the buildings and the parks, the rivers and the markets are all so glorious. It’s vibrant, it’s alive, it’s full of history and culture and within 5 minutes you can go from posh, affluent neighbourhoods to up-and-coming boroughs.
There’s more of everything here
It doesn’t matter what you want, you can have ten times as much if you’re here. You could eat at a different restaurant every day of your life here. You can choose from thousands of pubs for your evening tipple (I’ll have four gin and tonics please), or perfect picture locations, or shops for some new bits. I might sound like I’m fan-girling London, and that’s because I bloody well am.
I’ve realised how much MORE of the world I want to see
Living in London has kept me on my toes, and I’ve experienced so much since moving here. It’s an exciting place, and a completely different world from the tiny Devon town that I grew up in. If anything, it’s given me a boot up the bum to get myself around the world more. It’s taught me that there is soooo much going on around me, and it would be a blimmin privilege to see more of our incredibly beautiful world.
I’m waaaay smarter/stronger/cooler than I thought I was
As I said, I grew up in a teeny weeny town where n o t h I n g ever happens. It’s so easy to feel like a big fish when you’re somewhere like that, and you get so comfortable. But you don’t realise how sheltered your life is until you come away from it. I was scared shitless when I first moved to London. I’d heard horror stories and scary warnings from people, and the first few months I worried I’d be followed home or broken into. But i’ve learnt to navigate a bigger, wider world. I’m more responsible and self-aware. I’m more accepting and adventurous than I ever got a chance to realise.
What are your favourite things about the place you live?
Lots of love,
Jasmine x
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