Why London is the best/worst place to live in the UK

Stacey Warner weighs up the good and the bad of living in London.

London is most certainly an enigma of a city. What is it about London that attracts such a large percentage of the population and has inspired so many young writers, musicians and artists over its many years of riveting history? Yet London is also, essentially, a mass of towering office blocks, overcrowded flat blocks and grumpy people that you’d be crazy to want to join. Sure New York, New York is a hell of a town, but London’s Calling. So what side of the fence will you sit on? Love it or hate it, London is a bit of everything.

 

London is connected to pretty much everywhere you want go, from Kennington in South London to Finsbury Park in North London. Or whether that’s England to Paris on a train or England to anywhere on a plane. If you travel up and down the country, whether it be for work, study or leisure, the chances are at some point you have passed through London. So why add to the hassle when you can live there? Tube journeys operate every couple of minutes and a lot of bus routes operate 24 hours which makes the blind drunk crawl home at 3 am so much easier. Everything is really stupidly accessible.

But

The tube is an absolute nightmare if:

• It’s anything more than about 10°c outside.
• Equally, if it’s raining… not just sweaty people in a confined place but damp sweaty people!
• You have accessibility requirements (no really, TFL, sort it out. Accessibility on the underground is stuck in the dark ages and it’s not cool… but that is a rant for a whole different time )
• You’re claustrophobic
• You need reliability
• You don’t like having people’s sweaty armpits in your face
• You can’t tolerate rude people
• You have a soul.

Seriously though, you have never quite seen the true shame of the human condition until you have crammed yourself onto a delayed Victoria line service at 08:30 a.m on a Monday morning to be surrounded by miserable looking people,  going to miserable 9-5 jobs to be sat at a miserable computer all day, to earn money so you can go home to an overpriced room in an overpriced house, to buy overpriced coffee from a stupid corporate chain. The whole time you’re reminded of Fight Club and it kind of makes you want to start a fight club right there on the train, and then go and set fire to anything you’ve ever owned from Ikea.

 

It’s OK though, because there’s always the buses right? Well, If you’re lucky enough to get a seat chances are you will be trapped next to the guy that stinks of weed and is practically chomping like a horse. You know, the sort that Jeremy Kyle screams “why didn’t you put something on the end of it?” at.

On the plus side, if you can stomach all that, then London does have a lot in store for you. Some of the world’s finest museums, art galleries, theatres, bars, nightclubs all sit on your door step. Whatever your hobby or interest London has something for you. From stitch and bitch to bitches with whips. From Board Games to Quidditch Games. There is also a fantastic variety of cuisines in London. Heavily influenced by world cultures there are plenty of places to get your dim sum fix or sit back with some Persian cuisine.

 

More still, there is a surprisingly huge array of vegetarian, vegan and halal alternatives for dining. Not to mention, London is officially opening a cat café. That’s right. A café where you can have tea and cake while you play with cats. Amazing. Plus, so many places have a claim to fame. Whether it’s that café right next door to where they film Sherlock or an old haunt of Jack the Ripper. London oozes glamour and it can be exciting to be part of such a rich tapestry of history and culture.

However…

London is the most expensive place to live in the country.  A single room in a house will often set you back about £500 per month. In other areas of the country this will get you a whole flat and a parking space. Drinks prices are about £2 more a pint. Then there are the places that can up their prices just because of little miss famous who was there once. Frankly, I don’t care if Amy Winehouse fell off this bar stool and threw up on that exact spot… you still shouldn’t be charging £10 for a jagerbomb (I miss my student days *sob*).

It is truly depressing to have so much going on around you that you simply can’t afford. But at least the opportunity is there… right?

 

At least in London there are plenty of jobs going. From the pure boring to the downright obscure. Wondering what to do with that degree that no one takes seriously? London probably has the solution. Of course, it will be a fight to the death amongst the hundreds and hundreds of other applicants flocking to London to try their hand at fortune and fame.

Oh well, if worst comes to worst at least every Londoner can take solace that Boris Johnson is their mayor. Bless that lovable idiot.

That’s all from me, now I’m going to drink an expensive coffee and cry over a copy of Time Out at all the amazing things I can’t afford to do.

So that’s about it, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Or a bizarre combination of both? Leave a comment below.