Obstacles of Moving to London
When I told people from back home that I would move to London during my gap year, they smiled and told me “that’s nice!” but did not think any further about it – expecting me to change my mind. When the time came for the departure, they suddenly had a lot of opinions about my choice of moving from Denmark to the capital of United Kingdom. Following sentences was said in an overbearing sceptical manner:
“Do you have anywhere to live?”
“Do you have a job?”
“How can you afford it?”
For some reason, people did not seem to know how to mind their own business. The funny part though, was when I told them that no, I did not have a job and that I only had a place to stay at a hostel for three months. You could literally hear their jaws colliding with the ground. After I had lived in London some time, people expected to hear about all the cool things I was doing, and following questions was asked more than once:
“Have you met any celebrities?”
“Are you going out all the time?”
“This celebrity is in London, have you seen him/her?”
They seemed to think I was living in some kind of fairy tale or that I would suddenly mingle with all the famous people, based solely on the fact that I lived in London. They did not realise that as an average person, you will not be able to live in central London and you will not be able to even go to the VIP lounges in the clubs where the celebrities are.
One thing they seemed to know all about though was London. Apparently they knew exactly what I had to do and how I had to handle situations, without ever having tried it themselves.
“You pay THAT much for a room?”
“It can’t possible be that expensive! Have you tried…?”
“I know someone who know someone who has a cheaper room…”
I did pay a lot for my room. I lived in zone 3, paid £373 for half a room, meaning my friend paid the other half of the room for the same price. We shared a bed as well. That is just something you have to deal with in London – it could have been a lot worse! A thing you will discover if you come from a small city and move to London – or any other big city – is that it is surprisingly easy to feel lonely, especially when your friends at home are either sceptical or completely opposite and expects you to tell them gossip of a lifetime.
At times, I have never felt more alone, than I did in London. It might sound weird that you can live in a city this big, being surrounded by people 24/7 and then still feel alone, but perhaps it is the fact that you see so many people around you all the time that makes you realise it. London life is tough – especially if you come from abroad. I had a full time job, had an hour commute on the tube and had to pay very high prices for nothing. Sounds like I am whining and perhaps I am, but one thing that sure is that London is not a fairy tale.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
All pictures Caroline’s own