Lonely London

Ranked the largest city in Western Europe with a massive population of over seven million (the greatest proportion of people are aged between 25 to 29), a never ending list of museums, theatres, shops, cinemas and sites to suit every taste, and a vibrant nightlife, you wouldn’t expect London to be described as lonely. But that was exactly how I felt when I moved here from Brussels several weeks ago. Barely knowing anyone in London, I packed my bags and moved country in order to embark on a postgraduate course.

I had moved a week before my course started and only left my flat once, in order to find where the nearest Somerfield was to buy a pint of milk. I am a 21 year old living in Central London, and I spent my first week in my room watching day time T.V. Being a sociable person I was surprised at how difficult it was to meet young, like-minded people in London. Perhaps there is a lack of community values in this enormous city, where neighbours don’t know your name, eye contact on tubes is strictly forbidden and you are viewed with an air of suspicion when stopping someone on the street to ask for directions.



After several days of total isolation I could feel the onset of cabin fever and knew I had to get out and talk to another human being. Being located ten minutes from Brick Lane, I decided to take a walk and have a look around. Entering a vintage clothes shop, I actually got a thrill from the shop assistant saying hello and asking if I needed any assistance. This was the first human contact I’d had in what felt like months. But this still wasn’t enough to feel as though I existed. During my darkest moment of utter despair I considered looking up websites for lonely London newcomers, but couldn’t go through with it as I would have felt like I had been defeated by London. There were many websites for people in my situation which was comforting to know. This seems to be a real problem for young, single professionals moving to London for jobs or study.

I experienced an overwhelming sense of joy when I started my course and was able to get my social life back on track. Luckily for me the majority of my course mates aren’t from London so we all experienced that same sense of loneliness which created a stronger bond between us. I am fortunate to have a good support network from college but still find it impossible to meet people outside of this course. Surely there must be ways to meet people in London outside of work or study other than via the internet? Perhaps I should break the ‘tube taboo’ next time I’m in the underground and smile and strike up a conversation with a poor, unsuspecting commuter.

Images: own

Vintage Shmintage

Nowhere does vintage like London. Celebrities such as Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and Fearne Cotton are great advocators for this style which is still going strong. Brussels is starting to catch onto this trend but it is rare to see people walking around the capital in head to toe vintage, unlike here, in hip and happening Hackney. To tell you the truth, the whole vintage thing isn’t really my cup of tea. Vintage conjures up images of my grandmothers cast offs, and of pokey second hand shops selling moth attacked corduroy trousers and dull, worn turtle necks and cardies, which smell like old peoples homes, and dare I say, death.

Being so close to Brick Lane, THE place for vintage shops, I decided to challenge my prejudices. The atmosphere and the feel of these shops was the first thing that struck me. The Beatles and The Beach Boys blasted out, and for second I felt as if I had been transported back in time. I was surprised how costly many of the items were, but I was informed by one of the shoppers that was because each item had been hand picked unlike in charity shops. I met three lovely students who had come all the way from Bristol in order to feed their vintage addiction. According to them vintage is a big ‘craze’ in Bristol. They had spent a good hour routing through racks and boxes of old clothes searching for that special item. I asked them why they loved this ‘craze’ so much. They replied that every item was totally unique and you would never be caught in that awkward situation where you and someone else are both wearing the same outfit to the same event, which is a high probability if you buy clothes from the high street. I did like their original style but because so many people are ‘doing’ vintage, is it really that different?

The other shoppers I asked brought up a really good argument in favour of this style exclaiming that purchasing vintage clothes was an eco friendly way of shopping. This is a good enough reason for me to start looking around vintage shops. You have to be a certain type of person to commit yourself to the vintage style. The cliché that if you wear vintage, you are a young, creative, artsy type was true in my minor experience of Brick Lane. In my opinion vintage really isn’t for the fashion faint-hearted but if you can pull it off you will have that smug feeling that no one else will be wearing the same outfit as you and you can help save the environment at the same time.

Images: own