10 reasons I long for London.
It’s strange: when I left London back in 2013, I swore that I wouldn’t miss it. But I’m slowly realizing that I lied to myself. Because sometimes, out of nowhere, I’ll feel a twinge — a longing for a past life and a former postcode, a hankering for gratuitous bank holidays and sloppy Sunday roasts. Other times, a picture, a smell, or a random word is the culprit, its appearance immediately transporting me back to the metropolis I called home for two years.
But what’s up with that?!? I currently live in an amazing city (Hong Kong) and in a few short months will be taking up residence in yet another amazing city (NYC!). I look at my life and it feels silly to get all melancholy and navel-gazing-y about the past. After all, the present and future are blindingly bright. Talk about first world problems!
However, despite this self-admonishment, despite knowing better, I still miss London intensely from time to time. I’ve thought about it for a bit recently and have identified a few reasons why. In no particular order, here they are:
1. The museums
The city is a hotbed of culture and I miss it. Even though I’m not a huge museum buff, Liebling and I spent many a weekend meandering in the likes of the V & A Museum, the British Museum, and the Tate Modern. The thing about museums in London is that they are abundant and accessible– dotted all throughout the city and mostly free they are perfect for a date night or a rainy day.
2. Views like these
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:
3. The travel opportunities
Even though I often travelled a lot (excessively?) when I lived in London, I didn’t realize what a fantastic travel hub it was until I left. For, when you live in London, the UK and continental Europe are at your proverbial fingertips. And I certainly took advantage: at least two weekends a month I was jetting off to places like Paris, Copenhagen, and Edinburgh. Seriously, it got to a point where Liebling and I had a standing Friday night “appointment” at either King’s Cross train station, Heathrow, or Gatwick Airport!
4. Crisp, clean air
People who have been to Asia will feel me on this: the humidity and pollution are awful here and taxing on weak respiratory systems. While London’s atmosphere can’t compare with, say, the alpine air in Switzerland or Austria, it’s still way cleaner and fresher than Hong Kong’s.
5. Shopping on Oxford and Regent Streets
The shopping. The shopping. The shopping!! I’m a confessed shopaholic who was content to let my wallet run loose on these packed commercial avenues. From department stores on Oxford like Selfridges, to standalone shops on Regent like French Connection, my soul sang upon every visit. The beautiful architecture there made my heart pitter patter as well.
6. The gorgeous parks
Parks make me happy: something about the vast swathes of emerald grass evokes… calm? Peace? A sense of freedom and gaiety? I can’t put my finger on it, but wide open green spaces always put me in a good mood. London is full of stately parks: St. James, Greenwich, and the one I used to frequent most often, Victoria Park.
7. The curries and markets on Brick Lane
I’ve written about the merits of my old neighbourhood so often (see here and here for starters) that I won’t bore you with yet another praise-laden description of what makes Brick Lane special. But if you’re looking for a fun, edgy place where you can get banging South Asian food, this is it.
8. The 5-berry yogurt pot at Prêt
And since we’re talking about food… I can’t do a list like this without a mention of my favouritest food item at good ole Prêt à Manger! Yes, I fell fast and hard for… a yogurt, to the point where I had it for breakfast nearly every. single. day. For TWO YEARS. That’s a lot of yogurt. Sadly, the Prêts in Hong Kong and New York City don’t seem to sell the exact same flavour — believe me, I checked.
9. The Tube?!?
I never thought I’d say this, but despite all its shortcomings (spotty service, stiflingly hot train cars, and smelly drunk riders) I miss to-ing and fro-ing on the London Underground. It’s sprawling and a bit complicated but takes you everywhere you need to go — though you may arrive at your destination way later than expected (or even miss your flight to Berlin for your husband’s birthday!) due to delays. Once I became adept at navigating the Tube lines, I was able to tackle my daily commutes with aplomb — it made me feel like a true Londoner! “Red signals” and “improvement works” are still the bane of my existence though (people who live in London will know exactly what I mean by this statement!).
10. Very British traditions/festivals/pastimes
Living in London introduced me to distinctly British customs, pastimes, and celebrations. I’m a bit of a culture vulture (don’t worry, I’m not going to adopt a fake British accent and get all Madonna on y’all), so thoroughly enjoyed participating in two of my favourites: afternoon tea and the Royal Ascot Races. Because who doesn’t enjoy dressing up and stuffing their face with tasty cakes and fancy tea? Though I’m not a tennis fan, I have to admit that attending Wimbledon was pretty cool as well.
And there you have it — my top 10 for why I still long for London from time to time. Any London lovers here? What do you enjoy the most about the city?
77 Comments
Great Article – London in a Nutshell!
if you put it out like that, I have no choice but to visit the place. Beautiful!
Yes! Yes and Yes! Being a British person all I can say is that you’ve summarised our nation pretty well. Well done!
Well, you are definitely killing it in the “living in great cities” department! wow!!!
I always love London when I visit. My only struggle is that it’s so huge, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start each time, where to focus my energies, and deciding what kind of visit I want to have.
I LOVE how quintessentially London this collection of photos is. I can’t blame you for missing this place!
London is great and so is this article! 🙂
Been to London twice (so far). Loved it!!!
Yes, yes and yes. I, too, convinced myself I wouldn’t miss it all that much but I do. For many of the reasons you named. I actually wouldn’t mind going back IF I could afford my ideal flat in my ideal location (Zone 1 or 2).
I have never been outside the USA. You make me want to go EVERY WHERE!
And you went to Wimbledon, my lifelong dream! When I was in London and saw the sign for Wimbledon, I jumped up and down! Great list. Can’t wait to go back to this great city!
I’ve only been to London on transit, but most certainly one of these fine days, I will be headed there..the high tea looks so sumptuous and all the fancy outfits!
You’ve spent so much time in so many places—is this the first city you’ve truly found yourself pining for?
Great list! These are all things I love about living in London. Hope you can come back and visit soon!
Me too! Would love to see you!
I totally knew you would miss it! :-). You have listed a whole bunch of reasons why l keep going back to London again and again and again..and again..and…so on..lol!
Sigh!! I so do!
Your pictures and time in London looks fantastic! But we all know sometimes photos can make us sad too remembering a place you miss! But after just traveling to London many times the tube, clean air, sites shopping and many many FREE museums are awesome things metropolises like say NYC can learn from. Great post!
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Thanks Elise!
I have fallen in Love with London again and I’m so happy for Spring so I can get out there and explore more of it. This is such a great diverse list and I miss having you in London! Let me know when you come through again and we’ll try to get together. That picture of you at Kensington Gardens is perfection.
I ‘ve never lived in London, but I always miss it a little. Such a fab city. But I miss Europe in general when I live abroad! That’s when you know it’s time to go pay a visit!
Haha I agree!
You can always come back for a visit… 😉
Hope to later on this year!
I miss it too despite currently living in one of the World’s most beautiful cities: Sydney. I spent 6 years of my life in London so I think I will always miss it
Any plans to head back?
Aww yay London! It’s been a while since I’ve been to my favorite city, so I’m SO excited to be going back this summer. And, to make it even better, I’m bringing my mom along with me to show her all my favorite places in the UK! Can’t wait to introduce her to London.
Cool! How long will you be there?
You’ve made me nostalgic for London and I haven’t even left yet! I’m heading back to Toronto to start a masters, and even though I haven’t fallen in love with London after two years I’m sure I’m going to miss it here [she writes while sipping a flat white in a Shoreditch café, one of the most London-y things to do ever].
Oh wow, had no ideas of your plans Alyssa, congrats!!! And… I miss Shoreditch too!! Argh..
Loving the statutes of Sesostris!
I love sampling international and quirky food items at Borough Market!
I love hearing all the different accents and languages on the tube and, well, just about everywhere.
Just from reading this alone, I’ve asked my Aunt who lived in London for decades, for any Marketing contacts out there. I’ve been feeling the travel/job change itch, so I take this as yet another sign! 🙂
This post made me so nostalgic! I also went to Wimbledon while living in London, and it was such a cool experience. Agree about the shopping, the museums, the random bank holidays and the many, many beautiful parks. I’ll also add the markets. I love all the London markets. Fortunately, I get to return later this year. Can’t wait!
Love the article! I feel like I’m already there! Never traveled internationally yet…..but plan to really soon! Thanks for the view!
It’s always good to see London from another perspective. Sometimes us Londoners take it for granted!
I adore London – lived in Greater London area for almost 20 years – and I miss it every day. The best city in the world! Thank you for this lovely article.
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