I've lived in Madrid for two years now, and what an amazing two years they've been! When it comes to lifestlye the Spanish really have it down pat. The ethos here is very much work to live and not the other way round. In my (lazy arse) opinion this is the only way to go about life. Living here I've really come to appreciate the simple pleasures in life; Sitting outside on a terrace having a coffee with friends, chilling in the park, even just going for a stroll. You can do all these things here as the city isn't constantly under a grey blanket of fog and gloom. The weather is, in my humble opinion, London's cracked, bleeding, and badly in need of Dr Scholl Achilles heel.
Having said all that, I'm itching to get home. There's just something about London that is absloute magic. Sure it has its faults in abundance. It's prohibitively expensive, unmanageably huge, the weather is shit, public transport is a joke, and it can be incredibly negative and stifling at times. But on a sunny day walking down Portobello Road I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world.
London is in my veins, my soul and my heart. I've been lucky enough to live in several places all over the world. Every one of them has charms to recommend them in abundance, but I always find myself being drawn back to London. I sometimes think it's just because it's my home, but then I meet someone from another country. When they hear I come from London nine times out of ten their response is "I love London". People are drawn there. There really is something special about our great city. The presence of history around every corner juxtaposed with glaring modernity, the racial diversity, the incredible variety of food, the nightlife, the street fashion, the culture, London has it all in spades. I'm so so proud and glad I got to grow up there. London gives you a certain way of looking at the world. Nothing shocks a Londoner. When you've been harangued by the friendly neighbourhood crackhead for fifty pence, or seen someone puking out their own dentures on the street most other things sail straight over your head. I believe you can tell (for the most part) when someone has grown up in London. There's a swagger and a certain attitude they have that just stands out. It's that dry, cheeky chappy glint in the eye that sets us apart. If you're lucky enough to get a black cab with a good cabbie you'll know what I mean.
I love all the stupid idiosyncrasies of Londoners. From our fiercely territorial nature to the way everybody stands on the left on escalators in the tube. Not a day goes past at home where I don't have a little chuckle to myself.
I'm also incredibly glad that, as a gay man, London is where I grew up. Yes in terms of tolerance we still have a way to go, but for the most part we're there. The gay scene in London is second to none. I love going out on the scene in Madrid, but it's all the same. Banging house, or chart music, pumped up guys (I definitely don't mind that though) in tight T-shirts, and the same old faces and places week in and week out. In London there's all of that of course, but there's a whole world of other things to explore too, both on the scene and not.
We Londoners love to complain about our city. along with talking about the weather it seems sometimes to be our main pastime. I want to issue a challenge though for those of you that live in London. When you next have some free time, and if the day is nice, go down to Waterloo Bridge and watch the sunset. I guarantee you'll fall in love with your city all over again.
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