Guy Brighton's Wishful Thinking: TUE 24th FEB: LOVE & HATE LONDON

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TUE 24th FEB: LOVE & HATE LONDON

I'M LOVIN' IT: good friends, the price of a round of drinks, doing rounds of drinks, scrambled egg on two toast and mushroom at the Sunshine Cafe in Finsbury Park, decent Guinness, the 'cold', family, having 2 weeks here to see everyone in a relaxed manner.

I'M HATIN' IT: Middle Classless* (couples litter dropping on trains, women swearing about the width of seats, chaps drinking on station platforms on the way to the shops with their girlfriends, unabashed use of elbows and bags to get anywhere they damn well want to, 30-something ad execs taking ecstasy pills in bars), smoking, me smoking, the Tube at 6pm at Victoria Station, heading North.

*Note, I'm not talking Chav culture here. This is the collapse of the civil behavior by the English Middle Classes.

February 24, 2004 | Permalink

Comments

I totally agree. Disgusting isn't it? I'm with you all the way. Chloe in Ealing.

Posted by: Chloe | Oct 5, 2004 8:15:42 AM

London has no piers,it is the greatest of them all, i have been to many cities around the world, New York Paris, Madrid, going to Sydney is March 05, but nothing can come close to London. Paris is like a one night stand, beautiful but no personality, New York is a city where everything is there to see immediately and after a while becomes same old, same old, London is like that ugly woman at the bar that smokes you try not to look her in the eye but by the end of the night you've ended up talking to her, she's really nice you start to see the beauty in her then suddenly you've got 25 years of marriage under your belt, she's got a lot to say, she smokes, drinks, spends all your money but you still love her, She's like a drug, you know you should leave her but you can't. As soon as i hit 30 i will move to London permenantly because it is quite simply the best city in the world. No ultra modern sky scraper city can ever hope to bottle what a great old city like london has, when you've been around for 2 millenia then you can talk

Posted by: Ben | Dec 2, 2004 5:47:36 AM

london has NO personality!! my god, what ARE you on about Ben? where are you from originally? why is it that i am from melbourne and been to sydney, amsterdam, copenhagen, stockholm, dublin, france, and adore all of these places but despise london so much? sure, it has old buildings and stuff, but the lifestyle is terrible! unlesss you have lots of money, london is a really crap place to live. shopping at a tesco metro isn't my idea of good food. where is the goddamn service in shops/restaurants?? it is like everyone walks around with a chip on their shoulders. the houses all look the same, the coffee is so amazingly shyte. why is it that continental europe and melbourne can get it so right and london somehow missed the boat? in london, if you don't shop at the right places and have a VIP VIP pass to the "coolest" clubs, you get nada, nothing, zip. i despise the young high flyer execs who think they are god's gift to what life is about.it's an insult to me. you say that new york is exciting to see first go but then gets old, well that's london to me. my idea of a good night out is not the local pub, and eating hot chips. i understand that everyone has their own experiences in places, and one persons treasure is anothers trash, but i just don't understand the lure of london. i spent 3 weeks travelling around scandinavia and had the most amazing time, friendly people, relaxed, easygoing. from the moment i arrived back in london, people were rude, bricks were thrown through a shop window at 3am next to where i live, someone has just peed in the doorway across the road (must be 11.03pm), have had the most bland revolting ciabatta at 4.95 pounds that i couldn't finish it. why have my experiences here been so negative when i have loved everywhere else??

Posted by: jess | Jan 2, 2005 7:42:49 PM

I have to agree with Ben really.

I moved to London for the promise of the music scene, as a wannabe pro-musician. It has the most exciting music scene in the country, no question. However, reality is a tough swine. I found I was working so hard to pay then rent that it sapped all my energy. Rehearsal rooms were so expensive and so far away.

I spent most of my time travelling, or so it seemed. To meet a mate at the other end of London could take hours. That is just shite.

It might have the best clubs, but they are all so far away from each other. As for getting home after a night out?? When I moved to Leeds I was amazed by the fact that i could go out to a club AND get back to my hom e the same night!

It does have good jobs and high salaries, but I hope I never have to go back. But unfortunately, when I graduate with my Music Tech BSc, I may have too. Nooooo........

Posted by: Mark Hadley | Mar 14, 2005 6:17:41 PM

Ooops, I meant agree with Jess

Posted by: Mark Hadley | Mar 14, 2005 6:19:14 PM

LONDON ROCKS IT IS THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD IT HAS EVERYTHING ANDI NEVER GET BORED OF IT .THERE IS ALWAYS STUFF TO DO AND THE PPL THAT HAV MADE BAD COMMENTS BOUT IT I DONT THINK YOU HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN TO THE GR8 PARTS OF LONDON U HAV BEEN TO THE CRAP PARTS !!!!THE SHOPPING IS WICKED THE SIGHT SEEING IS WICKED THE MUSIC IS WICKED .IT HAS EVERYTHING AND MORE SO DONT DISS IT I LOVE LONDON!!!!

Posted by: giorgia | Jun 5, 2005 9:35:31 AM

I've lived in London, Paris, NY, Florence and Munich.

You guys have to compare like with like. First big cities always have crap bits. So no point comparing with Scandinavia or Melbourne.

Second the quality of life is pretty bad: it's too expensive, your appartment is going to be small, everywhere's overcrowded, there's a lot of people trying to rip you off, it's dirty, there are muggings.

The reason people like it, and there's a vast number of people from all over the world who're there out of choice, is because of its amazing variety.

New York used to be like this, but not so much any longer.

I like the fact that everyone looks different, I like the fact that you don't have to dress 'properly' if you dont want to(cf. Europe), I like the fact that people of all colors are partying every night together (unlike Paris), I like it that there are the bad guys because you appreciate the good guys, that if you know where to go, you can eat better, more interesting varied food than anywhere in Europe and at a reasonable price.

It basically feels like the 'free-est, hippest' place in the world these days. When I travel to Europe today, it's like traveling back in time. And London has usurped New York, where so many great places have closed down. But it's the same excitement of 'street-life'. I lived here 10 years now.

As the writer Will Self said, if you want to live somewhere with good trains, nice food and charming people, go and live in Stuttgart.

Posted by: pierre | Aug 1, 2005 9:30:31 AM

I've lived in London, Paris, NY, Florence and Munich.

You guys have to compare like with like. First big cities always have crap bits. So no point comparing with Scandinavia or Melbourne.

The reason people like it, and there's a vast number of people from all over the world who're there out of choice, is because of its amazing variety.

New York used to be like this, but not so much any longer.

It basically feels like the 'free-est, hippest' place in the world these days. Let 'em binge! When I travel to Europe today, it's like traveling back in time. And London has usurped New York, where so many great places have closed down. But it's the same excitement of 'street-life'. I lived here 10 years now.

As the writer Will Self said, if you want to live somewhere with good trains, nice food and charming people, go and live in Stuttgart.

Posted by: pierre | Aug 1, 2005 9:31:54 AM

how old r u guys ?

Posted by: giorgia | Aug 3, 2005 4:57:53 PM

i am 25. i really disagree with the idea that london is the 'free-est' place in the world. so why am i constantly stressed out here?! it really is not a relaxing place. and 'hippest'? my sister came to visit me over here, and her main comment was "hmmm, i thought the people would look cooler" london is a harsh place to live

Posted by: qwystn | May 17, 2006 4:58:46 PM

I've lived in london as a:

1. student;
2. office worker;
3. criminal barrister;

And i have got to say, bar no. 1, i wouldnt ever ever ever recommend anyone living in London to work.

Reasons - quite simply, quality of life. Still living here but making tracks to get back to the capital of the north - Manchester :)

Posted by: Maryam | Sep 18, 2006 2:48:16 AM

Has anyone ever read that fairy story by Hans Christian Andersen: ' The Emperor's New Clothes.'... That story epitomises London.

I'm normally a mild-mannered, pretty restrained kind of bloke but London... I detest this city with a passion that even a trained psychologist couldn't understand. There is absolutely nothing I like about the place at all.

I've lived in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Spain. I've been all over Asia, I lived in Thailand for over a year. I came back to England to visit friends and take care of some personal matters and I can honestly say the place makes me feel ill. By the way, I AM English.

The lifestyle is crap. It's expensive and dull. It's pretentious. Everything is hard work, whether it's travelling, going out - whatever - and there is still this unbelievable attitude amongst the so-called ' cool' people that they are living in the 'greatest city in the world.'

Where else have you lived, pray tell!

Whatever you get here you can get better, cheaper, elsewhere in the world in more socially engaging climes. It's a total myth that London has 'everything'. It has an awful lot of the same things: overpriced bars, restaurants and the like. Service is terrible, the people are stuck up their ar**s... I can't think why anyone with the means to live elsewhere would choose to live here.

I get the impression that there are an awful lot of people walking around London who really hate the place who just feel obliged to like it because of its reputation. That's why so many godawful places around the city have become 'chic' and ' hip' and 'happening'. It's funny... in most other places in the world they would be called by their proper names - 'Shitholes.'

If you like drugs, if you're a criminal of any sort, if you come from Eastern Europe... you might like London - for a short while! Other than that why? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Posted by: Keith | Nov 19, 2006 2:12:57 PM

I agree with most of the comments by Maryam. I am a thirty-something ex-londoner. I lived, studied, and worked there for three years. I have lived in and visited many big cities around the world, including NY, Rome, Paris, Singapore, Madrid, Barcelona, and Sydney.

I find the quality of life in London to be the appaling. It is the worst place I have ever lived in my life. Every time I visit there for the evening or weekend, I can't wait to get out.

The only word to describe it is 'shithole'. It is overcrowded, congested, polluted, smelly, overpriced, filthy and ugly as hell. The people are agressive and generally a pretty miserable bunch - no one even ever makes eye contact.

It's true that London is like no other city - it is least planned and most disorganized place I have ever been.

Sure, London has some exciting (overpriced) pubs and clubs and places to visit, including good museums, etc. This doesn't make up for the fact that it is an utter shithole, though. I can't believe any city is allowed to fester in such a manner.

Posted by: ex-londoner | Dec 27, 2006 6:14:44 PM

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