What Really Annoys You About London?

It’s time to get real about London. Yes, it’s full of opportunity and hope but it’s also full of crowded underground trains and pollution. Most pints are over £6 and you’re lucky if you’re paying less than £700 a month on rent. Is this place really all it’s cracked up to be? The tourist attractions, shopping centres and bars wear off after a while and then the reality of the problems that face the city start to hit home. And even when that happens, it’s still wonderful!

One of the biggest draws to London has to be a crowded Central Line train at 5 pm on a summer’s evening. Hitting temperatures of 30 degrees and packed with hundreds of people, a crowded tube is a highlight of any Londoner’s day. See also: buses. The wonder that is spending 50 minutes to get from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus.

A journey that would probably take half an hour on foot. Or, as a treat, seeking out a London black cab ride is essential if you want to part with £20 in 15 minutes. Or the free alternative is to walk. The streets of London have acquired a new adornment in the past five years – small blue, white or black bags at the base of trees or bins, filled with dog excrement. You’ll be hard pressed to find a street that hasn’t got one of these new London street accessories.

Another of London’s greatest assets is its pollution. So good is the pollution in London that it was recently announced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan that the pollution levels in the capital were the highest they’ve ever been and are now considered a “health crisis”. Loved by all equally, just like a family pet, the pollution is said to cause illnesses such as lung cancer and asthma.

And the soaring price of food and alcohol is not even slowing down. The niche places to eat and drink keep multiplying and they make it easier to pay £6.50 for a flat white.

Even a take-away meal these days seems to cost more than £40. The introduction of places like the brand-new vegan chicken shop or the cereal café, and fads like charcoal or alkaline lattes mean that London is keeping it real like never before.  Keep ruining the lives of millions, London. We love you for it.

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