The London Phenomenon

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I can’t help wonder why it is that everyone (well, every inquisitive traveling kiwi or ozzie) comes to London? Is it that we really want to live in London itself? Is it that we’ve heard (from other like-minded individuals) that it’s ‘cool’ - in which case we flock to join the masses? It is that we don’t want to experience FOMA (fear of missing out)? Or is it just that it is a vibrant city, offering all (but sometimes nothing) to those who inhabit it?

After 3 weeks of ‘living in London’ - even if I am just staying on the couches and blow-up mattresses of friends - I can’t help wonder why so many of us flock here. I have to admit, it is a fantastic city. There is always something to do - any time of the day or night - and somewhere new to go, possibly with new people. It has it all, whatever you fancy. But by having it all, it also means sometimes it feels like it has nothing.

What I mean by this ‘nothing’ is that sense of loneliness for those who may have just arrived. That over-whelming sense of being ‘lost’ in a great big hole. That ability to disappear into the crowds, swept along at pace, not being noticed. The routine ‘londoners’ (after all, how many people who live here are actually from here?) get into - walking at the speed of light afraid of missing that train (when another one will come along in less than 2 minutes), the ability to ignore other people when engrossed in the morning paper, getting highly annoyed at someone standing on the left side of the escalators. All this makes it easy to blend, and hard to feel a sense of belonging.

OK, so agreed, moving oneself to the other side of the world was never meant to be easy, I’m sure. There are the drama’s everyone faces - opening a bank account, getting a National Insurance Number, finding a job and finding that elusive personal space that goes along with finding somewhere to live. And then it’s finding that ‘space’ - the place we belong. Finding the people we want to spend time with, the people we will ring to have a chat with, the people who share our ideas and ‘are into’ the same sort of thing. Finding our niche.

So yeah, to start with...London is interesting...

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