It’s 6:00am on a January week day and outside the streetlamps of London are still aglow. The London rain is anything but impressive as it continues to lazily flop down from the grey and moody sky above. The people living in London are all dressed in black, their heads to the ground. They push their way through the cold and spiteful air in order to get to the same destination: the tube. But, London life is not always doom and gloom.
Living in London is Life in the Fast-Lane
London life is swarming with people on telephones, looking at watches and noting changes in the financial market by the second. Women living in London apply mascara bought at Selfridges and the men carry briefcases bought along Tottenham Court Road. London life for tourists means tube maps and questions like, ‘Does this train go to Oxford Street?’
Time and money control the London life. Jobs are plentiful, but interviews are tough. The city is serious and this is accentuated by the height and groaning power of the architecture. Regent Street creaks as it bends to the left, Fleet Street towers up without limits and obscures the light of the sun, Aldgate Circus is a maze of ferocious traffic and refuses to give respite to passing pedestrians in a rush to cross town on foot.
St. Paul's and Tower Bridge's landscapes loom above the hoards of commuters from the moment they burst out onto the streets and Big Ben coldly chimes each hour as the ants beneath him scuttle to and fro. The daily London life begins with a bang. Living in London means no escape. There can be no delay.
By 9:00am in London every street, bridge, office, newspaper stand, clothes store, station, coffee shop and link to the internet is in full force. Speed is the essence of living in London and every day passes just like the one before. Food from Pret a Manger outlets is eaten in transit, at a desk or not at all. Daylight and sunshine are rare gems that felt for short periods of time.
Deals are struck on Bishopsgate, meetings are held in Thistle Hotels far and wide, decisions are made in a wink and the clocks move at twice the speed. Everything about living in London, including the pigeons at Picadilly and Trafalgar, is grey. London life runs like clockwork and the people either thrive or crumble under the pressure.
London Life at Night
But beneath the surface, as the evening arrives, a different London is born; one which only the locals get to know. The city lights up and the river is the only clear patch of darkness amongst a mass of glittery brilliance. Theatres, restaurants, clubs and bars in Market Place, Hoxton Square and Carnaby Street are full to the brim. London life at night is like a life in another city altogether.
Little frequented by tourists and visitors, these little London Hot-Spots are the kingdoms of the natives. Londoners have lost their serious daytime faces and there isn’t a spec of grey in sight. The capital's people, with a reputation for being cold, set the city aflame and nothing but laughter and conversation prevails.
The Reality of Living in London for Those Who Decide to Stay
The independent deli on Orford Road, in the heart of Walthamstow Village, is just closing up for the night. Home baked olive bread and red pepper hummus is needed and this is the only place that will serve it right. London may be one of the biggest cities in the world and it is possible to maintain anonymity forever, but communities do exist. London life does have a heart. It does have a soul.
It's true that London life is unquestionably grey, wet and cold in more ways than one, but for the locals, there is a colour and a warmth to life in the UK capital that is hard to find elsewhere. The best of living in London comes out at night and in secreted corners, but only to those who know it well; only to those who are willing to live in London forever.
London is an unforgiving city, but she is also incredibly loyal.
Author: Editorial Department
Living in London is Life in the Fast-Lane
London life is swarming with people on telephones, looking at watches and noting changes in the financial market by the second. Women living in London apply mascara bought at Selfridges and the men carry briefcases bought along Tottenham Court Road. London life for tourists means tube maps and questions like, ‘Does this train go to Oxford Street?’
Time and money control the London life. Jobs are plentiful, but interviews are tough. The city is serious and this is accentuated by the height and groaning power of the architecture. Regent Street creaks as it bends to the left, Fleet Street towers up without limits and obscures the light of the sun, Aldgate Circus is a maze of ferocious traffic and refuses to give respite to passing pedestrians in a rush to cross town on foot.
St. Paul's and Tower Bridge's landscapes loom above the hoards of commuters from the moment they burst out onto the streets and Big Ben coldly chimes each hour as the ants beneath him scuttle to and fro. The daily London life begins with a bang. Living in London means no escape. There can be no delay.
By 9:00am in London every street, bridge, office, newspaper stand, clothes store, station, coffee shop and link to the internet is in full force. Speed is the essence of living in London and every day passes just like the one before. Food from Pret a Manger outlets is eaten in transit, at a desk or not at all. Daylight and sunshine are rare gems that felt for short periods of time.
Deals are struck on Bishopsgate, meetings are held in Thistle Hotels far and wide, decisions are made in a wink and the clocks move at twice the speed. Everything about living in London, including the pigeons at Picadilly and Trafalgar, is grey. London life runs like clockwork and the people either thrive or crumble under the pressure.
London Life at Night
But beneath the surface, as the evening arrives, a different London is born; one which only the locals get to know. The city lights up and the river is the only clear patch of darkness amongst a mass of glittery brilliance. Theatres, restaurants, clubs and bars in Market Place, Hoxton Square and Carnaby Street are full to the brim. London life at night is like a life in another city altogether.
Little frequented by tourists and visitors, these little London Hot-Spots are the kingdoms of the natives. Londoners have lost their serious daytime faces and there isn’t a spec of grey in sight. The capital's people, with a reputation for being cold, set the city aflame and nothing but laughter and conversation prevails.
The Reality of Living in London for Those Who Decide to Stay
The independent deli on Orford Road, in the heart of Walthamstow Village, is just closing up for the night. Home baked olive bread and red pepper hummus is needed and this is the only place that will serve it right. London may be one of the biggest cities in the world and it is possible to maintain anonymity forever, but communities do exist. London life does have a heart. It does have a soul.
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It's true that London life is unquestionably grey, wet and cold in more ways than one, but for the locals, there is a colour and a warmth to life in the UK capital that is hard to find elsewhere. The best of living in London comes out at night and in secreted corners, but only to those who know it well; only to those who are willing to live in London forever.
London is an unforgiving city, but she is also incredibly loyal.
Author: Editorial Department
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