I’ve lived in and around London my entire life, but only recently have I been able to fully appreciate this city. I was born in London and lived in Neasden (North West) for the first few years of my life. But my parents decided to move just outside of the and I was raised there. So, I don’t consider myself a Londoner (even though I could definitely claim it if I wanted to). But, because I didn’t live in London, the way I interacted with and learned about the city is a bit different to how others may have done. My exposure to the capital, the cultural and historical hub of England was… mostly through family!
My family is pretty large, one of my grandparents was a child of fourteen so I think that should paint a picture. But one of the upsides about such a big family is that people come from far and wide. Family would come to visit from across the world, places like the United States, the Middle East and Canada. But, I noticed that for some reason, they’d would want to spend most of their time in Central London. At the end of the day, it’s the capital right? Where else are they going to go? Leicester? So, as the lovely hosts we are, my family and I would take them out of the house and show them around. They’d always want to see and do the tourist-y things like, shopping on Oxford Street, see Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. Because of this, I’ve done basically every tourist-y thing that comes up when you search, “Things to do in London”. I’ve peeked at the penguins in Sea Life, gazed out from the top of the London Eye, scaled the heights of the Shard and faced the depths of the Dungeons. So I thought I knew what London had to offer. But because of that, I also know just how expensive this city can be. So for a while, that’s all London was to me, an overpriced tourist fly trap.Â
At the age of 21, I felt like I’d seen most of what Central London had to offer. Whenever I’d go to London, I ended up spending my time in North, West or South (sorry not sorry East). There was no real desire to go into Central unless someone from outside the area wanted to meet up. By that point I’d already travelled to different cities across Europe like Amsterdam, Prague and Málaga which all gave me unforgettable experiences, ones that I hadn’t experienced in Central. London is a city of many faces but Central is the one that most people seem to focus on.Â
So, I kept asking myself one question, what’s the big deal about Central?
What's the 'Big Deal' about The City?
I genuinely had no idea what the appeal of this smoggy packed city was. But that all changed back in 2021 once I got a job in the City of London. Up until then, I had zero reason to visit. The only landmark I recognised was the Gherkin and I only knew it because of the Apprentice! The City didn’t have anything that could reel in a kid.Â
My first office was just down the road from Liverpool Street in Broadgate at the heart of the London Insurance Market. Taking the train down into London, I was unknowingly stepping into a world that felt familiar yet perception shifting.
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When you first arrive in the City, you’ll quickly notice the different habits that all of the locals have developed. They’ll either be: staring down at their phones to try map out their tube journey or speed-walking with a Pret sandwich in one hand whilst staving off salespeople with the other. (I need to emphasise how fast you need to walk if you’re going to exist in this space; slow-walkers, you’d better fix up!) The speed at which inhabitants move around in the City is microcosmic of the fast-paced nature of the capitalist work environment.
As you’d expect from the insurance hub of the UK, almost everyone is in a suit 24/7 (apart from me, but I’m sure you already knew that).
One pattern I’ve noticed from my time in the City is most inhabitants take their lunch breaks very seriously. You need to stick to the hour – no more, no less. However, as all things in life there are rules for the many not the few. On one outing in the City, I had this dawning realisation. The clock struck 1pm and all the dwellers of the endless array of skyscrapers left their enclosures; scuttled out from their habitats and made their way to scavenge for food; sandwiches, meal deals, bento boxes and pasta are all foods of choice for the average City dweller. But, a certain demographic of the City inhabitant has a different method of acquiring nourishment. These CEOs, executives, essentially any kind of high ranking member of staff make their way to the nearest pubs and bars in sight as they knock back pint after pint… what a luxury.
