What Living In London Is Really Like

I’ve been in my flat in London for 10 months now which when I counted it out on my hands a minute ago made me realise I’ve been here a lot longer than I realised. I moved in with my boyfriend and our two friends who also happen to be a couple last year. Looking for a suitable place was probably one of the hardest things we’ve all had to do. House hunting and the actual move are just the most stressful and aggravating experience you’ll have in early adulthood.

It took us a month of searching to find our perfect flat; we had the location in London settled for a little while and knew it was a nice area. With just a 20 minute tube to central which was perfect for my job at the time. Our road is full of independent coffee shops and food stores and little artsy cinema at the end of the road. There’s also a pub directly opposite from our house which is always a bonus. Living in London has really taught me a lot over the last 10 months so I wanted to share with you what it’s really like living here:


Love/Hate Relationship With The Tube
First few times you feel like you’re living all your proper Londoner dreams; like in that Mary Kate and Ashley film Winning London. But then you get to 5pm on Oxford Street and you honestly feel like you have no soul left as you try to get through the hoards; without banging into someones briefcase too haphazardly. That’s before you even get to the ticket barriers where you will secretly hate yourself if you can’t tap into the tube in less than a second.

Pub Drinking Is Expensive
Like anywhere around the country summertime just means you should be sat in beer garden drinking a cider; it calls to you like a feeling of familiarity. However, you live in London. I have now reached the point that paying £20 for a round for four people is an absolute bargain. There’s honestly nothing quite like being poor in London. 


Walking Is The Best
Having worked on Oxford Street for a vast majority of my time here I’ve quickly come to realise you can walk pretty much anywhere in central. It is also way more preferable to jumping on the tube for short journeys too. My favourite walk would be from Holborn into Covent Garden and then through to Leicester Square before making my way to Oxford Street. The fact all these iconic tourist spots are in walking distance is one of the best incentives for living in the capital.

So Many Rats
Actual rats are just everywhere in London. You’ll be waiting for your tube to pull in and two of them will scurry out of nowhere and leap onto the tracks. Or you’ll be working and they’ll suddenly run out from behind you. You weirdly learn to love them and makes you laugh when tourists jump at them.

Nights Out Become Nights In
At the start you think you’ll be out every night living your life like the English version of Gossip Girl. Oh but no; if you’re anything like me you’ll be working so much in order to actually afford to live in London that you’ll barely get a chance to make it out. Even to just the free places. Although here’s a few of my favourite places so far:

Hyde Park

Junkyard Golf in Shoreditch

Roof East

Natural History Museum

Winter Lights

The Science Museum 

It had always been a dream of mine to live in London at some point in my adult life and the fact I managed to move there pretty much straight after leaving University is something I’m really proud of. It’s hard some days being away from family and friends but being here in the capital means there’s always something going on and something to spend your time doing.