A year ago today we climbed into the car, braced ourselves for the North Circular Road, waved to the two neighbours and the large group of invisible church members who stood on the pavement telling us they'd see us soon, and headed off to live in London (again). Being the fifth time in my life I'd moved to London this did not seem likely to yield too many surprises. It's sprung a few though. London is a very different city to the one I first moved to in the last century.
INTERNATIONAL: to anyone who has not been to London in a while it is almost impossible to convey the sense of being at some vast international airport where the nationality of the people you see has little or no connection to the geographical or even historical location. London has been international since whenever, but this was previously expressed in stories (and communities) of war refugees or emigres or commonwealth recruitment. Not any more. All the world is here. Whether you were to come from Somalia, Malaysia or Bolivia London will seem to belong to you as well.
GROWTH: Those years ago London seemed like a great but tired old city. Not any more. It is no exaggeration to say that cities are being built as part of the city. It feels like a 21st century place.
CYCLISTS: They are everywhere and they are the city's chief death toll. To change this roadworks are everywhere, making safer routes for cycling (but not necessarily for pedestrians).
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: What I remember as an eyes-to-heaven joke - the trains and buses of London - are now anything but. It is possible to get almost anywhere anytime (for example at 3am the frequency at our local bus stop is every 6 minutes). And of course, people arrive at bus stops when their app tells them to, rendering shelters somewhat redundant.
HOUSE PRICES: London was never cheap but now it is simply insane, fueled by an international buying spree that simply offers silly money for almost any London freehold. This makes normal family life and development in London impossible and makes almost every incomer a transient ("I need to find somewhere cheaper") it seems.
Some things never change and the best of them is that there is never a dull day in London.
GROWTH: Those years ago London seemed like a great but tired old city. Not any more. It is no exaggeration to say that cities are being built as part of the city. It feels like a 21st century place.
CYCLISTS: They are everywhere and they are the city's chief death toll. To change this roadworks are everywhere, making safer routes for cycling (but not necessarily for pedestrians).
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: What I remember as an eyes-to-heaven joke - the trains and buses of London - are now anything but. It is possible to get almost anywhere anytime (for example at 3am the frequency at our local bus stop is every 6 minutes). And of course, people arrive at bus stops when their app tells them to, rendering shelters somewhat redundant.
HOUSE PRICES: London was never cheap but now it is simply insane, fueled by an international buying spree that simply offers silly money for almost any London freehold. This makes normal family life and development in London impossible and makes almost every incomer a transient ("I need to find somewhere cheaper") it seems.
Some things never change and the best of them is that there is never a dull day in London.
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