Things I Will Miss about Living in London

It's official - we're moving back to DC.  Cesar actually left for the US today, and I am heading back in early January.  We were here on a 2-year rotation for my job, and we decided not to extend the rotation.  We've had a great time living in London, but there were many factors (both professional and personal) that led us to decide to go home.  There are many things I will not miss about living in London (to be detailed in a future post), but there are several things I WILL miss:

• London itself - I really do love this city with all of its history, culture, beauty, art, and action.  It is the center for finance & business, government, entertainment, sports, arts and culture for the UK.  So, it's like NYC, DC, and LA all rolled into one!
• Seeing the Tower Bridge every time I go to or from work. Similarly, I will miss looking at the London skyline from my building. 

 

• Our flat.  I really love our flat. :)
• Book club
• Being able to travel to so many fabulous destinations. Since living in London, we have been to Scotland twice, Paris three times, skiing in the French Alps, Stockholm, Greece, Germany, and Italy.  We have also explored a lot of England - Bath, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Leeds, Canterbury, Dover, Colchester, St. Albans, Surrey, Kent, etc.  It has been an amazing experience!
• The friends we have made since we've lived here.
• Musicals in the West End. I already tickets for three more shows before I go! I think the West End is better than Broadway.  The talent is unbelievable.  I have not been disappointed with a single show I've seen.  I love that the theatres are small, cosy and super fancy. The theatres themselves are works of art.
• Yummy foods they don't have in the US (stroopwaffles, Jelly Babies, fudge that isn't chocolate, etc) 
• Borough Market (see my previous post about it here)
• The fresh fruit and veg that actually have flavor because they are picked when they are ripe and aren't overly processed.
• The abundance of foods that are not heavily processed and loaded with chemicals and preservatives.  I love that there is so much more focus here on healthy, natural foods instead of all of the processed crap in the US.
• The bars, pubs, and clubs of London.  I love the dance clubs here.  They play the best music - lots of techno and pop, unlike DC clubs, which just suck in my opinion.  The pubs and bars are also so much fun with lots of personality and history.
• The music. I've always been a fan of British music and I will miss being able to hear so much of it all the time!  For example, we hear Joy Division playing on a regular radio station here, which never happens in the US.
• A few TV shows. I'll admit we mostly watch US TV shows that are shown here, but there are a few UK shows that I watch and will miss.  1) Skins is an excellent drama about about group of teenagers.  This is no 90210 - these kids have tough lives and live hard.  It is engrossing, but also quite disturbing.     2) There is a series here called "Embarrassing Bodies" and the premise is that people with weird medical problems go to the doctor and we get to see all the diagnostics and treatments and follow ups.  Because it's the UK and they aren't all prudish about nudity, they show EVERYTHING.  For example, one episode I recently watched was about a guy with a bent penis.  They showed the doctor examining the penis, the surgery to fix it and the follow up exam.  It was gross, but fascinating!  3) There are two shows with the same theme: UK Border Patrol and Nothing to Declare.  UK Border Patrol takes place in the UK (duh) and Nothing to Declare takes place in Australia.  They are reality TV shows that cover what happens at customs and immigration.  I am completely fascinated by the people who try to smuggle drugs into the countries through the mail or on a plane and by the people who try to enter countries illegally.  It's insane.  One guy on a recent episode flew into Australia with a bag of pot taped in between his legs.  A drug dog sniffed him out and he was searched and the pot was found.  The best parts were the clips of the 4 hours between the dog sniffing him and the strip search as he tried to convince them he had no drugs on him.  Dumba$$!
• The Tube.  When it works properly and the workers aren't striking, it's a great system.  Being able to get anywhere in the city easily and quickly is wonderful.
• Fish and chips served with mushy peas.  Who knew peas would taste so much better when they are all mushy?
• Being surrounded by people from all over the world.  London is such a multi-cultural city.  I love hearing all of the different languages and accents. 
• Cheap flights around Europe.  Airlines like Easy Jet and Ryan Air make it so cheap to fly throughout Europe.  For example, you can fly from London to most destinations in Europe for under $100 round trip.  I wish we had something like these airlines in the US. 
• Crepe stands. 
• Seeing so many fancy cars all the time. Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Porches - we see them all the time here.  My favorite example is from a night last summer when Cesar and I were sitting by the window of a restaurant in Hampstead and traffic was stopped for a light.  The line of traffic went like this: Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porche, Porche, Bentley. The last car was some poor soul in a BMW.  Seriously, who are these people with all of these fancy cars?  (My theory is that it is the bankers, but I've also heard it's the footballers.)  It's so much fun to see the cars and dream....

 

• Speaking of footballers, I am really going to miss the love of football (ie, soccer) here.  Being here for the World Cup was one of the highlights of our time in London!
• The fashions.  Oh, the fashions of London, how I love to hate thee!  I have a few theories about fashions in London.  First, no one seems to pay any attention to whether outfits coordinate.  For example, a totally acceptable ensemble here is black pants with wide white pin stripes coupled with a flowered shirt.  I often find myself wondering if people just put on whichever top and bottom they find without looking at whether they actually go together.  Second, Londoners firmly believe that if they can button or zip something it fits.  I've seen so many people (women especially) squeezed into outfits two sizes too small such that they look like sausages bursting out of their casings that I've actually stopped being appalled by it.  Finally, I think women in London believe that the more they look like crackhead streetwalkers, the sexier they are.  Between the micro minis and low-cut shirts, I have seen more skin out and about in London than I'd expect to see at a swimming pool on a hot summer day.  To go with the tiny outfits, women like to slap on about 2 inches too much make up and tease their hair to heights last seen in 1985.  But, despite the ill-fitting, non-matching, and slutty clothes, I've grown to love the fashions of London.  There is a certain freedom in knowing that anything goes. 
• Camden Town, which is one of my favorite places to walk around.  In case you were wondering, punk and goth are alive and well in London and are on full display in Camden Town.

 

I am sure there will be more things I will miss, but this is a good start.  I have truly loved living in London.  Living abroad has been a dream come true, and I would do this again in a heartbeat!