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living in London

Top five things to expect when living in London

Whether you’re living, renting, visiting or studying in London, and no matter how much you love or hate the city, you can’t deny that on the right day there is no place quite like it! From Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral to overcrowded tubes and three-day hangovers, London has it all, and, even better, never ceases to amaze us. These are the top five things to expect when you’re living in London:

1. Central London is 10 minutes from everything

No matter what London Underground line you’re living near, you’re always “10 minutes away” or “round the corner” from everything. The beauty of having such an efficient transport system (which we take for granted) is that you can get from south of the river to west London in under half an hour.

underground

2. Not the cheapest but definitely the best

Let’s be honest, you need to be able to fund your London lifestyle. Living in the city doesn’t come cheap, whether you live here or not. Rent can be a fortune, especially for students, and you definitely need some spare change to pay for your round of drinks five times a week, but to be honest we wouldn’t change it, would we?

Yes, a night out probably costs us two days of wages and yes, living in London is a lot more expensive than other parts of the country, but it’s also a lot nicer. Not sure where to stay? Leo Newman offers some of the plushest pads in the West End. What more do you want than waking up in Knightsbridge, traveling 10 minutes to work and going to the pub at 5pm?

3. There’s free stuff too!

Ok, not everything in London costs an arm and leg. Some of the best things to do in the capital are free. The Natural History Museum is one of the most popular and better attractions for tourists, with its iconic dinosaur skeleton to greet you at the entrance, and it doesn’t cost a penny.

The Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery and Science museums are also free and enjoyable. All you regular tube users will know that newspapers in London are free too—not all of them, but The Metro and The London Evening Standard are, and all newspapers have the same stuff in them anyway, right? So what we have learnt is that London is only expensive if you choose it to be!

Natural History

4. Rush hour will always be traumatic

Come 5 o’clock Monday to Friday, all hell breaks loose. It’s like animals have been let out of the zoo and full-grown adults will do anything and everything they can to get on that train (never mind that there’s another only one minute away). London rush hour has to be one of the worst.

And it’s not just the people, it’s the smell. Trains are overcrowded, people crammed into a carriage together, being shoved and squashed, armpits in each other’s faces—and you can imagine what that’s like on a rare summer’s day in the city!

5. You’ll never run out of things to do

If you’ve lived in London all your life, I guarantee there are tourists who have seen more of the city than you! As a Londoner, it’s easy to take the capital for granted. All you tend to see is your bedroom, office and the pub! On the occasional weekend you might venture out a little bit, but never enough. London has so much to do that you’ll never be left feeling bored or unsatisfied.

If it’s shopping you want, London is the place to be. Regent’s Street and Oxford Street are two of the most famous places to go, as well as the famous Harrods department store, which is a must-see. After all, there is only one Harrods! If it’s socialising and a night on town you’re into, well, it’s all here.

London is also a very historical city with some of the most beautiful architecture and buildings in the world. As mentioned, it is home to Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral and The Houses of Parliament, to name just a few.

buildings

Let’s face it, like any city London has good and bad about it. What we can’t take away from England’s capital, however, is the fact that the ups definitely outweigh the downs and you can easily forget about the after-work rush hour when you’re having cocktails on a rooftop bar after work!

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