5 Things I Miss About Living In London.

I've not spoke much about my university days here on my blog, but for those that don't know I went to university in London and by London I mean Kingston Upon Thames, which is probably one of the most pretentiously named places I can think of. Kingston nested in the lovely commuter belt of south west London, with it's lovely riverside location, shopping and 15 minute fast trains into Waterloo it was the perfect place to be close to the centre but far enough out to enjoy it.

I absolutely loved it and on reflection didn't utilise the things on offer as much as I should have. So I thought I'd write a little post about the things I really miss about living in LDN town.

A Polaroid I took of the London Eye. 

1. There is always stuff to do for free.

Living where I did it was surrounded by amazing places to visit. Quite locally we had Hampton Court and it's beautiful grounds. Not to mention the Thames itself to walk up and down of at your leisure, but I was only a bus ride away from amazing places like Richmond, Richmond Park and Kew Bridge. Then of course you had the big smoke itself a train ride away with its endless museums and galleries, the south bank and countless landmarks. I really miss buying a travel card and heading into central with my friends and just exploring.


2. Shopping, all the shopping!

And with all the money you've saved from doing free activities, you can easily flutter it away with all of the amazing places to shop. Although I did love a good Oxford street visit every now and then, it was absolutely mental at all times or days, so you have to be in the mood. Although my favourite place in the world to visit is Liberty. Full of beautiful things at every glance, I honestly think it's my happy place. I'd spend hours looking through clothes, jewellery, fabrics, flowers, basically everything until I convinced myself I couldn't leave without buying something. I haven't been in forever and this makes me so very sad.


3. The variety of restaurants.

If you are a foodie, then there is nothing better than being in LDN. If you can think of something you want to eat, you can pretty much find it. Although some of the more popular places have you waiting around, there are always lots of hidden gems. One of my all time places to go for tea and cake was Drink.Shop.Do near Kings Cross Station. I discovered it randomly one day and went back countless time on date nights with my then b/f, meeting up with friends or just to chill by myself before catching the train. I highly recommend you stop by if you are in the area! LDN is covered in little gems like this and it's so much fun trying to find them!


4. The sense of freedom.

Being my first home away from home, I always feel really free and grown up when I visit LDN. I always feel this sense of confidence when I'm navigating the tube system like a pro and stomping around with the commuters at 6:30am (yes I was one of those drones for awhile too). But I guess I always felt a little like an impostor as I'm a northern girl through and through, but there is always something so exciting and thrilling about being in a bustling big city with unlimited possibilities.



5. Last, but not least, living close to my friends.

Since moving up north, the one thing I miss desperately is living close to my friends. By some strange happenstance my best friend moved down to the big smoke during my 3rd year of uni, so I got to see her all the time. Now I barely see her from month to month because travelling is expensive and we're both super busy. Most of my uni friends still live a stones throw away from our uni digs and it sucks not being able to see them as often as I would like. Booooooooooo.


Despite all of the lovely perks of living down south, there are also multiple other reasons I don't miss it, maybe I'll do a separate post on this some other time but the big one is money. I was renting a box room in a shitty area, I'm talking, fitted a bed and a chest of drawers and that's about it, for over £600 a month. Whereas up north I own a 4 bed house with a mortgage that is about the same price, it's just absolutely crazy trying to establish yourself as a young adult and living in LDN. My work eventually led me up here to Sheffield and I couldn't be happier but I do still enjoy a visit to LDN from time to time.

What things do you love about London? Do you have any secret little places you'd love to share?