Going Slow In London
We know London as the city that never sleeps, the city that costs a bomb to breathe, and the city where there’s always something to do.
Bustling streets and £8 coffee aren’t the core of life in London. If people want to spend ridiculous amounts of money, then they can, but there’s other ways to live your life without being stuck inside twiddling your thumbs.
Since moving to London over a year ago, I’ve prided myself on my ability to “ball on a budget”. I love nice things, but I’m not prepared to move heaven and earth to have it.
Going slow in London is easy and if I’m honest, very fucking fulfilling.
Since 2020, we’ve all been forced to go slow, stay indoors, and miss the simple things in life. Sure, when lockdowns have been lifted, we’ve all gone out to try enjoy as much of life as we could. But does that mean we need to live life like we’re stuck in the roaring 20’s? Hell no.
A month or so ago, me and my house mate decided to go to a live music night at the sky garden. What we hoped to be like a mini concert in the sky turned out to be more like a networking event. We were probably the youngest in the room by 10 years. Whilst we were sitting along the side lines, we ended up chatting with two older women (Easily late 30s-40s).
As we chatted through the basics, what we do for a living, when we moved to London, etc. They practically turned green with envy, “make the most of living in central, soon you’ll be stuck with kids and living in the suburbs”.
I don’t know, envy isn’t something either of us had received by locals before. Perhaps it was the overpriced mulled wine that caused their response. They had a point though, we’re pretty lucky to be in our situation in life. Sometimes you just need slow down and enjoy where you are. Bask in the simple things, put your phone away where possible, and try not to rush too hard to get to the next level.
Whilst I have a lot planned for 2022, I want to enjoy this time, I don’t want to feel tired of work or learning, or seeing the city. With that in mind, I thought I’d put together some ideas for how to go slow in London, from someone who hasn’t quite mastered in herself:
