Moving to London: Expectations vs. Reality

 Has LDN left you asking WTF?

 

A [polish] friend sent me an e-mail some time ago and as she seemed to identify herself with all the truths containing on the link I opened. She knew that it not only reflected what she thought, but it reflected the reality that affects so many people that arrive each year with their hopes up and are among the most common complaints between the ones that come to live in London.

Based on the article from Buzz feed, I made my own comments to some of the expectations, as you can read under “S&S” bellow. Hope you have a picture of what it is to live in this buzzy city and be one of the millions that one day thought that “things would be different than they actually are”. So here we go:

 

Expectation: Your contract says nine to five.

Reality: You stay until the work is done. And the work is never done.

S&S comment: Unless you work on a contract basis like me, where you can charge by the hour! J

 

Expectation: You’ll work hard but play hard. You’re in the nightlife capital of Europe.

Reality: You’re just too tired. Maybe next week…

S&S comment: Not to mention that you give up to go when you think of how many hours on the night bus it will take until you are actually back home.

  

 

Expectation: There are 6 million people — meeting the love of your life should be easy.

Reality: People can’t stop telling you about their friends’ online dating success. Eventually you give in.

S&S comment: that applies to making new friends as well…

 

Expectation: You’ll spend your weekends looking around the markets.

Reality: You spend your weekends trying to get over Friday night drinks.

S&S comment: … and over the stress this city caused you during the week!

 
 

 

Expectation: You’ll go home and visit friends and family all the time.

Reality: You won’t even leave Zone 2, let alone leave London.

S&S comment: Sven and I are lazy just to leave zone 3.

 

Expectation: Yes things are more expensive, but surely that means you earn more money.

Reality: You don’t.

S&S comment: In fact the money disappears from your wallet faster than ever before…

 

Expectation: You’ll spend your nights in the coolest bars and clubs London has to offer.

Reality: Enough said.

S&S comment: Again, night bus. And everywhere you go is just too loud to have a conversation with your friends

 

Expectation: You’ll live in a cool, spacious flat near your friends.

Reality: You live somewhere so small and far from everything that you wonder whether you should have stayed at home.

S&S comment: not to mention the quality of the flats…

 

Expectation: You’ll make the most of all the musicals and plays the West End has to offer.

Reality: Yeah, good luck with that.

S&S comment: If you save money, maybe you’ll get to see one now and then. And normally you need to buy the tickets in advance or they will be soon sold out.

 

Expectation: You’ll bypass public transport with a casual bike ride to work.

Reality: You’d rather pay for the tube than put your life in the hands of London’s drivers.

S&S comment: and people complain about Brazilian drivers…

 

 

 

Expectation: You’ll see you best friend who already lives there all the time.

Reality: Somehow you see them less than you did before.

S&S comment: couldn’t agree more.

 

Expectation: You’ll visit all the tourist attractions and take in the city’s unique culture.

Reality: You refuse to leave the house at weekends to avoid encountering tourists.

S&S comment: I sometimes even avoid some areas because of the massive amounts of tourists, like Oxford Circus.

 

Expectation: London is home to some of the coolest pop-up restaurants in the world.

Reality: They don’t take reservations, so you queue for hours.

S&S comment: even with reservations you still have to wait on a queue...

 

Expectation: You’ll live there for five years before moving back home for a quieter life.

Reality: You’ll never leave.

S&S comment: And yet you wonder if you can ever go back to some place where you don’t have as many options as in London.