The Eternal London Tourist

Why I came to London to live is a question, which I have been asked a few times by my new found fellow vagabond London friends. Everyone it seems has a reason for being here, work brought some here, others the opportunity to study and of course love brought one poor soul to the big city.

So how come I’m in London? What brought me here? Well I wish I could answer that one, because it seems like the more I think about it, the less of an answer I have got. The only thing I can think of is that I’m a London tourist, that sort of just ended up staying. It makes sense to me, I think.  Even though I  have been here for seven months,  I still feel like I’m a tourist in London, as  opposed to it just being my home.

I never came here to study, my days of studying are long behind me. I just couldn’t face being in the restrictive environment of a classroom again, even though I see studying as the best way for most people no matter what age they are to progress in life. I never came to London with the intention of looking for a job, I ceased to be a wage slave a number of years ago. Even good old love wasn’t my reason for coming to the city where the roads are paved with gold.

When I claim that the streets are paved with gold, I don’t mean it literally before you have all those Nigerian scammers quitting their day job of trying to rob people of their money online. Hell they will be jumping on the next plane here, with pickaxes to start digging up the roads. I was meaning in a cultural, historic and way of life sense.

Joining the ranks of the London tourists is a good enough reason as any to be in the Big Smoke for me. I have maybe been here for many months but I honestly feel like I have barely scratched the surface of this amazing and at times crazy city. There are so many amazing sites and places to visit, as well as the fact  that there is constantly something happening in London.

I would recommend London as a place to come and live for anyone that is seeking inspiration, or has become bored with life, as well as those that want to be in the epicentre of cool. Living in London, taking in the buzz, the vibes and the creativity that exists in this city, will enhance you body, mind and soul if you let it.

I honestly feel that London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with an electric mix of believes, nationalities and religions, which mainly happily co exist side by side. Even though you do get some fanatics of all colours of skins that need to pull their heads out the sand. Fanatics exist in every city in every country in the world, so there is nothing new there I suppose, fortunately not many people let the blind lead them!

I know because of the fact that London is a huge city with a vast population that it can be a soulless and lonely place for some people. But I have a feeling that such people don’t open up their minds to new experiences and the prospect of making new friends. We all need to see life as an exciting adventure and journey, which wont unfortunately happen without making the effort and taking the path of liberating ourselves from the constraints created by our own minds.

I guess I’m comfortable with the fact that I plan on being the eternal London tourist for as long as I decide to live in this city. The concept of being a tourist in London and actually living here has many advantages. It is a good feeling to be able to find my way around London, without getting lost all the time. As well as having fantastic places, which I can visit on a regular basis and spend a proper amount of time at them, as opposed to just a fleeting visit.

I remember when I was a weekend tourist coming to London, I was barely getting the chance to scratch the surface of the place. I have to laugh when I see some of those crazed Japanese tourists that try to visit a 100 places in a weekend. They are rushing around like headless chickens, snapping away with the camera like lunatics or filming every second. They and such like people are in my mind not even truly visiting  a  place and are totally missing the point of being a tourist in London or any place for that matter.

I still occasionally get lost in London like a newbie tourist and have to ask for directions, as well as constantly finding new places to visit, which makes me feel like the adventure has barely begun for me.  Which concludes to me, that I may live here, but I’m going to remain a tourist till I leave London, no matter how long I’m  here for!

No related posts.