London isn’t simply a place to live; it’s an experience that gets into your blood! There’s no getting away from it – living in London really will change your life in all kinds of ways you probably never expected. You’ve been warned…
- Weird clothing becomes the norm. In fact, you’ll soon not give even the most outrageous of garb worn on the street a second glance.
- Being surrounded by awesome history, and seeing such delights as The Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey on a daily basis kind of spoils you…
- You’ll become obsessed by the weather! Talking about it isn’t the British national pastime for nothing, you know. The ability to enjoy (or should we say endure) rain, sun, wind, hail, snow, warm and cold all in a period of a few hours means you’ll soon be talking (or at least thinking) about the weather more than you ever thought possible.
- On the same subject, a foldable umbrella will become part of your every-day arsenal, even if the weather man swears that it’s going to be sunny all day.
- You’ll learn to queue – AKA, stand in line. Because one thing you never do in London (or the UK, for that matter), is queue jump. And if you see someone else doing it, it’s obligatory to complain about them in a tone that’s loud enough to be conveyed to the person next to you, but not quite loud enough for the individual in question to hear.
- Seeing a person fail to stand on the right on an escalator is a crime worthy of punishment. What, you mean tourists don’t have to take a ‘London’ test before they’re allowed entry…!
- And talking of tourists, you’ll develop an unreasonable annoyance towards anyone wearing a backpack or carrying luggage on The Tube during rush hour.
- The wildlife is amazingly varied. Seeing foxes on the empty night streets and parakeets flying in some of London’s famous parks simply becomes normal.
- You’ll learn to love the fact that some of the oldest buildings in the world, such as The Tower of London, can stand in the shadow of mankind’s most recent creations, like the towering Shard.
- Going out for the evening never again needs a designated driver, thanks to being able to get home on The Tube, or, if it’s a proper late night, braving one of London’s infamous night buses.
- When the sun comes out, it’s almost law to head to one of London’s beautiful parks during your lunch hour and bare your skin to the rays (even if the mercury has barely reached 20 degrees!).
- Clothes shopping takes on a new meaning, and you learn to never, ever hit Oxford Street on a weekend or public holiday – because every other person seems to have had the same idea…
- You refer to your Oyster Card without batting an eyelid. After all, it makes perfect sense to name a travel card after a seafood mollusc, doesn’t it!
- Forget smiling at strangers or striking up a conversation. In London, you might as well be a mad axe murderer if you attempt such shenanigans.
- You develop the ‘London’ way of crossing roads. Forget what the traffic signals tell you – if you see a gap, you’ll learn to run…
- Wherever else you move to in the world, you’ll take a little piece of London with you. With it’s amazing architecture, ancient history, infamous monarchy, strange traditions and quirky habits, the city will forever hold a special place in your heart, no matter how short or long you live here.