Lived and worked in London for 5 years. After coming from a Shire along the England/Wales border I was all wide eyed and amazed at the sights, sounds and energy of London...and then it started to grind me down, the commute, the noise, the way of life, the air just eventually took it's toll, so I resigned, took a big pay cut, sold up and moved back to the Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, Woods and Countryside of the border counties and have never been happier... So If you are going to London spend a few days doing the tourist thing then get out of there and go and explore the rest of the Country there's some amazing places out there, a lot of Tourists especially Americans do London and for some strange reason Brighton, the beaches further West along the Coast in Devon, Cornwall are 100x better, and think that's Britain, nope, hire a car, camper van or get on the train and go explore.
Sounds good or do what I did 40 years ago. I lived in S E London just 2 miles from Central London and The City Of London but moved just 11 miles to a Kent address but in an Outer London Borough just 1/2 mile from a London postal district. I live next to a 185 Acre Park(80 Metres) with our own entrance.3 miles from a 245 Acre Park and we have 76 Open Spaces within a 7-mile radius and can be in the heart of Kent in 15/20 minutes or soon get to Surrey or East or West Sussex. However, crucially, like this evening or on Saturday,I can be back in the heart of my beloved London for the variety and vibe with its Official "100,000 Places Of Interest"/ It has been a wonderful move giving me the best of both Worlds but, sadly,without the mountains and lakes:)
@@Isleofskye I actually lived in Kent for the first 5 months of moving South, just across the bridge from Rochester in a place called Strood, I was there until the company I was working for found me accommodation nearer the offices, so I ended up in Ealing and commuted to the City, to be honest it wasn't too bad with quite a few parks. I found Kent a bit flat for my taste, but some of the Villages and countryside were fantastic you wouldn't believe you were a stones throw from a metropolis, plus you could go to France on day trips. I do love London, but only to visit now, after a few days it drains me. I now live and work in a place about 20 minutes from where I was born, right at the foot of the Black Mountains. I now work for a small Adventure company (It's like that around here, a lot of people are very outdoorsy) I literally see a Castle ruin when I look out of my Kitchen window and my back garden gate leads straight onto fields, with the Mountains rising half a mile after that, fantastic for me who is an avid mountain biker, I go through the gate and 10 minutes later I'm climbing up towards the Welsh border where when I get to the ridge I can choose to either go North towards Hay on Wye or push West and deeper into the Mountains, or if I'm feeling more adventurous stick the bike or my hiking and climbing gear in the car and drive the 20 miles to the Brecon Beacons or I drive South to have a day out cycling or hiking in the Forest of Dean, I do have some nice choices...Now would I give it all up if someone offered me the chance to live and work in London again....Not a chance, it was fantastic when I was younger, the vibrancy of the place was intoxicating but it eventually still took it's toll on me, I'll stick with long weekends there from now on. 🙂
@@David-bw7is Makes perfect sense David and this all suits your lifestyle and is close to home. Over my 69 years (29 Inner and 40 Outer London) I, rarely, ventured into any of the Medway Towns as they seemed rather dull tbh. That did not, naturally, have the allure of London or the appeal, further away of all the coastal Towns like Herne Bay, Whitstable etc. Many S E Londoners had caravans in those places and I spent many weekends up thru the 1960's and all 7 weeks in the Summer holidays in our caravan at Seasalter which was in stark contrast to where I lived.If you put "East Street 1971" in a RU-vid search, then you will see the market over which I lived from 1965-1983 until my move. I had 2 very busy roads at either end of my road including The Old Kent Road. This morning I passed 100 homes in my street at 9am and saw 2 people. I DO miss the vibe but I love the benefits of being 5 or 10 minutes from everything. Good Luck.
You can’t do all the tourist things in London in a few days, I lived there for 25 years and still didn’t see all the things I wanted to! Better for tourists to spend a couple of weeks (or as long as they can afford) in London and visit other places in the UK another time.
I haven't been in a red phone box in two decades .... I can still smell it. It's almost Pavlovian, see phone box : smell piss. It helps that the zones radiate out from the centre of the city, so most of the places you want to go will be in zone 1 or 2, you only pay for zones you travel through. It's a very good walkable city though. Soho to Covent Garden is less than a 10 minute walk down some interesting streets.
Theresa little place in the centre of London called Neal's Yard, you used to access it through a alleyway between buildings off Covent Garden and the other side has these amazing little shops and a small courtyard. When I was a kid I thought it was magical, that it existed almost secretly behind the high street. Its my favourite spot from my childhood in London
The best Indian curry restaurants in the UK can be found in Birmingham. They have something called the balti triangle. It’s a small area within Birmingham. Filled with many different curry houses. It’s so good, when the Indian diplomats come to the UK. They always visit the balti triangle 😊
I’ve always loved Camden market so much, but haven’t been for years since I moved out of London. I used to like the stables area the most and they had an awesome goth dress store there.
If you ever get to visit, London is amazing, but most of the real touristy spots are very close together. I would suggest fly into London spend a full day there, and then move on around the country, then spend your last day in London before flying out. Hop on hop off buses in Lindon are great as well because they will take you around all the big tourist spots and given you commentary along the way xx
@@JJLAReactsPlease don’t do that, you can’t ‘do London’ in a day or two, or even a week or two! I lived there for 25 years and there are still places I didn’t get to visit. Give yourself time and don’t rush, you can visit other parts of the UK another time!
One really good thing to do is a London Walk. These are walking tours with specific themes so you could do one about famous authors or the theatre history of London, etc. Then you get to relax and have an entertaining guide for half a day for not a lot of money. I think you would really enjoy the videos of Joolz Guides where each video is a walking tour of very specific areas of London. Whenever I'm in London I always do 3 or 4 London Walks.
Phone boxes have been going extinct since mobile phones were introduced. You can't count on finding one when your battery is dead any more. There used to be lots at every motorway stop, but not any more. Post Offices had several until Mrs Thatcher separated the mail and telephones so that she could privatise both. In London they used to be full of adverts for people with specialised tastes.
As someone who’s not big into pubs, I love Wetherspoons. It’s unpretentious, no loud music (no music at all 👍), big menu with something for all tastes, good, simple grub and cheap. It’s like McDonalds for drinkers 🍺
Tower bridge is worth a visit if you're in the area. You can go inside the towers and see all the workings for the raising and lowering of the bridge. And it's free, I think.
'Spoons come in for a lot of unnecessary grief IMHO, they are what they are a low priced chain. The thing about them is they take over old buildings that are preserved externally thus saving infrastructures that would otherwise be turned into student accommodation. They have saved old banks, cinemas, department stores in my city alone, and the buildings are unique and deserved to be saved.
I love Wetherspoons. There have been many times where I wouldn’t have been able to go out somewhere more expensive with the kids and we have gone there. It’s not a classy restaurant or flashy but it’s decent and the prices are good. I don’t know what people bitch about them because if we didn’t have a low cost option I’m sure they would moan even more.
This👏👏 Also, I visited my local spoons a month ago, I paid £3.25 for a Stella, any other pub in my town charges £5.25 .......... Good is 5/10 but then, I've eaten at gastro pubs and it's been a 2/10............. Spoons is ok imho.
There are museums and other places of interest on the south side of the River Thames like The Clink one of the oldest purpose built prisons now a museum , the Imperial War Museum , Richmond Park which has lots of wildlife including deer rabbits squirrels ducks swans and foxes and a golf course , there are many city farms including one in Vauxhall , Brixton famous for its markets to name a few .
Wetherspoons is fine, provided you know what you're going for. Cheap drinks, generally well served, mediocre, but perfectly passable food for a low price. Not very much atmosphere, I admit.
Definitely explore the countryside. Come up north. The Peak District near me is beautiful, as is the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the NE coastline.
this is a common mistake American tourists make, they think the UK is just London for history and monuments, when in fact places up north are soaked in Roman history and viking history, there's beauitful cities in the North like York and Edinburgh comapred to concrete jungles like London, also the yorkshire dales and lake district as you mentioned
I walk everywhere when I visit London. I hate the Tube and Taxis are prone to the horrendous traffic as Evan says. You save time and get to see so much more too!
My middle daughter went to York University to study American political science,went on field trips to the states,DC,Dallas,NY,also Europe,and she always said that York and the surrounding countryside is the most beautiful part of the world she’s ever seen. It’s not just York though,our whole sceptered Isle is a wonder. We don’t know what we’ve got,we should appreciate it more.
Wetherspoons doesn't suck per say. If you go in with your eyes open and expectations set, they can be okay. You'll get a cheap beer that's acceptable and cheap food that's passable. I tend to avoid them in the evenings, but during the day, if you're a bit strapped for cash, they can fill a hole.
Wetherspoons sucks because it’s cheap so if you’re going to have a good time at a pub, avoid spoons but if you just want to get pissed normally before you go somewhere else it’s perfect because it will cost less than half of a nice pub
Spoons doesn't suck for the drink. You can get a £3.80 pint, then venture to a nicer looking pub, that same drink will be £7.50. depends if you are snobby. I go to nicer pubs but most can't always go there aa it's so pricey. Spoons is Easy.
Spoons gets a lot of flak but it really has a place in British culture. Anyone here think they can replicate a Spoons mixed grill meal with a large glass of wine for a tenner in their kitchen without any preplanning? The food is decent and tbh is usually as well cooked as cheap ingredients can be. I dont do a Spoons mixed grill often but when I do the plate is cleared, apart from the odd rogue pea that escapes because the plate is so full!
Leicester Square. There are 2 reasons to go there - and only 2- one is to use the excellent theatre ticket booth, which has cheap last minute (on the day) tickets to many of the top West End shows, and the second is when there is a film premiere, you can go gawp at stars on the Red Carpet. Other than that, unless you have a burning desire to visit the M&M store, just use it to pass through on your way to somewhere more interesting. I know the TfL (Transport for London) ticketing zones sound confusing- but if you just use some form of 'tap on/ tap off' card/ phone payment, it sorts all that out for you. Basically, there is a daily cap on fares - which is different depending on how many zones you travel through.
I lived in S E London just 2 miles from Central London and The City Of London but moved just 11 miles to a Kent address but in an Outer London Borough just 1/2 mile from a London postal district. I live next to a 185 Acre Park(80 Metres) and just .3 miles from a 245 Acre Park and we have 76 Open Spaces within a 7-mile radius and can be in the heart of Kent in 15/20 minutes or soon get to Surrey or East or West Sussex. However, crucially, like this evening or on Saturday,I can be back in the heart of my beloved London for the variety and vibe with its Official "100,000 Places Of Interest"/ It has been a wonderful move giving me the best of both Worlds 😀
I take my 3 year old and 6 year old to 'Spoons'. They are good for families with young kids and they don't mind if your kids are a it noisy (feral). But for a meal out with my husband (sans kids) it would be one of the last places I'd pick. We have a favourite curry house around the corner. I live near Eastbourne (between Brighton and Hastings, near the Seven Sisters cliffs) and it's a lovely coastline but be warned, unless the tide is out, the beaches are pebbles, not sand. So bring something comfy to sit on. The nearest sandy beach we have along this stretch is Camber Sands, which is more towards Hastings.
Some american by the name of Robert McCulloch bought the last london bridge in the 1960s after the city of london put it up for sale as it was sinking into the thames due to an increase in traffic. The granite blocks from the bridge were then transported to Arizona and used on the bridge over the bridgewater channel canal in lake havasu city.
I came across this guy’s posts quite by accident, I have been binge watching them. I love how Americans see us and their take on British life. I recently went to Florida- yes to Orlando and thought- oh this will be easy- no culture shocks etc, speak English, we have a lot in common etc. probably one of the biggest shocks I’ve ever had and I have travelled extensively and lived in Egypt. Could not function without a smart(arse) phone, which I don’t and wtf is Uber !! Ach- it was hard. I was looked as weird for walking to the shop 😂 for some fags😬Keep doing these vids Jjla- they show us in a pretty good light.
He said about cash not being used on buses, you can use a contactless card but you can also use that on the tube. His anecdote about the girlfriend and the ticket was just to add comedy, and TfL are talking about scrapping day tickets. At Heathrow Airport, there are tube stations at Heathrow Central (terminals 2 & 3), and terminal 4 has a tube station, and so does terminal 5. If you are unsure, there are many staff members to assist you. These are trained and knowledgeable in travelling around London.
Dont forget to tap IN as you travel BUT... DON'T forget to Tap OUT to end each journey and get the payment charged accurately (instead of being assumed "a never-ending story" !! Ouch !!)
Regarding Indian restaurants, I live near a small town of about 12000 population, and we have 4 Indian restaurants and several Indian takeaways (take-outs) plus several Chinese and Thai restaurants and takeaways as well as English restaurants and Pizza houses. Not forgetting the lovely local pubs that make freshly cooked food.
Nah spoons is great, the food and drink is extremely cheap but its good, like he said toco bell isnt an unfair comparison, its not amazing food but its good and cheap.
Been at Leicester Square yesterday, he's absolutely right. We wanted to take my gf's niece to the MnM store but couldn't be bothered with the queue. There's plenty to do outside of the most obvious tourist traps.
For a really fun evening out and dinner try Sarastro's on Drury Lane. Lovely food, live opera singers who visit the tables while singing, live piano, violin, very classy but fun, not stuffy and very welcoming.
I went to London in February of last year, and I stayed in a lovely pub with rooms near st pancras station called “the Harrison”. It was a lovely place and I would recommend it
agree it should be a worldwide rule at airports, once i nearly missed a connection flight because my first one got delayed 45 mins which was ok but on the escalator i lost so much time because of this ignorant family with no consideration for others and yeah he's right i did a lot of tutting lol but luckily still made it with a few seconds to spare
Honestly, Home Slice in Seven Dials is amazing. I live in Colchester, a 45-minute train to London Liverpool Street, and I be-line straight to this pizza place and take in the area because it is beautiful!
On the automatic opening of doors on the Tube, yes, this happens at at least 90% of stations. However, I do not know if this happens on the very fringes, such as the Metropolitan beyond Rickmansworth. Also, if you are on *any* other train in the UK, the doors are not guaranteed to open automatically. Some will, others won't. So always bear that in mind.
Wetherspoons is great for breakfast (English, not American; they use maple-flavoured syrup). They are also good for cheap beer. They have been really good for the British small-brewery real ale / craft beer industry. They serve so many different beers over time.
I'm forced to make some corrections here. The original ancient London Bridge was "falling down" 😉 So it was replaced. The boring new London Bridge that replaced the original London Bridge is the one that is now in USA. The current even more boring new, new London Bridge was built in the 1960s. I know because I worked in "The City" at the time. Walked over both Bridges many times. Watched as the new, new Bridge was built, and the old, new Bridge was carefully taken down to be packed up and sent off to Lake Havasu. 😊😂 PS. Jay Forman. Has a great video telling the story of London Bridge. Recommend!
The original London Bridge is not in Arizona, the original London bridge was made of wood and built by the Romans! There have been a number of bridges on the site, but the bridge currently in Arizona wasn’t opened until 1831 and was replaced in 1967. The bridge was then bought by and American and rebuilt in Arizona in 1971.
Big tip for anyone visiting Covent Garden: If you arrive by choob always take the lift (elevator) to the street level. The steps up to the street level are equivalent to maybe 11 flights of stairs (maybe more - the lack of oxygen to my brain from crawling up them made it hard to remember) Something I will never attempt again.
If you want to visit tourist attractions on quieter days visit them on Tuesdays and wednesdays, shopping on Thursdays, parks and theatres on Fridays and markets like spittalfields (trinket souvenirs and independent shops) and borough & maltby (food) markets on the weekends. Also, London eye to Tower bridge walk on the south side of the Thames for the views of iconic landmarks in the background of your pictures.
Some Spoons are the most impressive buildings around. They are the same price all round the country. Cheap and cheerful - they are okay especially if you are in a seriously tourist trap area like Tower Bridge.
A key piece that was in there but not explicit was just use contactless payment. When on public transport or in pubs when in London especially. Don’t even think about buying drinks with cash, it’s a huge pain for everyone else at the bar.
As an Australian, I know Leicester Square as on the Monopoly board! And here, the "keep to the left" applies to road, footpaths and escalators. I have a problem with left arm and can only hang on with my right, so I get "tutted" and comments all the time for not being on the left.
London is obviously a great place to visit but if you want to see the UK then definitely get out of London. Come further north, we have some of the best castles, cathedrals and historic buildings and because we aren’t in London it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to visit. Also we are friendlier in the north 😉
As a northerner who lived in London for 2.5 decades I’d dispute that claim. Londoners are friendly too, just not when they’re trying to get to work and clueless tourists are blocking tube doors with their cases. You get nice people and not so nice people anywhere you go, I’ve met some truly awful people ‘up north’ and some amazing people in London. Stereotypes aren’t helpful!
We ended up selling London bridge to the USA. after it was all paid for an completed, the US government finally realised they bought London bridge and not Tower bridge. not sure if they backed down from negotiations or somthing. I have no idea who owns it currently but might interest you to look it up. @JJLA Reacts
You do need to keep a separate credit/debit card for each per person travelling except 11-15s can often travel free , if you add them to your existing oyster card at the first London Station; so leave time to check it out with the first staff member you see, they will direct you to the right place. Check if your bank will add overseas transaction charges before you travel. Also Witherspoons aren't that bad. I mean you pay for what you get, and they cater for the value sector.
i'm surprised by the passing on the left on escalator thing...i would have guessed since they drive on the left side they might have everything reversed to that their "fast lane" is on their right, and maybe even find the outgoing escalator on the left and the incoming one on the right... and maybe have a slight bias in sidewalk traffic that way too? i usually walk on the right side of the sidewalk in whatever direction i'm heading.;.
Making some mistakes is part of the fun, even people from other parts of the UK that go to London make them too so dont worry about them and just have fun.
Worked for 6 months in England (Suffolk),never been to London and have no plans to. Capitals are hardly ever a good representaton of the country, but full of tourists and touristtraps and way more expensive.
Not bad. I live in London and agree with most of this - although personally always happy to interact with tourists! Sorry, but I love Spoons - great place to meet friends, few cheap bear and then go onto somewhere massively overpriced to look cooler (but not a tourist, so hate getting ripped off) - and then for a curry or Thai. PS, being old I can use public transport (except morning rush hour) for free 😁
So 2 things: when I go to London as a tourist (to show friends and family around) we normally get the train ticket that you use as your Tube ticket throughout the day. So don't tell me it's cheaper to buy each and every ticket seperately! If a train ticket costs £25 to get t London but costs £28 with UNLIMITED use of the Tube for the day, well than, I don't have to say it's a NO BRAINER which one to go for. Nr2. I LOVE Weatherspoons and I think everyone should try for themselves before judging!
@@ffotograffydd why being condescending? You mention indegestion in your comment which has nothing to do with my comment? If you don't care to explain just do everyone a favour and stop posting. Btw I still stand by everything I said in my comment.
I do hope you visit the UK and I would not be surprised if you choose to move here. One thing I need to warn you about id that Brighton Beach is not just a nudist beach but a Gay cursing ground, In fact the whole town is often described as the Gay capital of England.
Wetherspoons doesn’t suck. But I wouldn’t go there if you want authentic high quality pub food. It’s the most popular pub chain here in the uk because it has the cheapest food and drinks. I definitely think it’s worth a visit on a Fri/Sat night if you want a feel for authentic modern ‘pub culture’ because it can get lively
He’s correct, telephone boxes look nice, and I’m strongly in favour of them remaining, but they are essentially useless and do stink of piss. Admire them from the outside only.
when you go to London, make sure you spend some of your time up North. York, Whitby, Lake District etc are beautiful and you will see real Brits, Londoners are like their own Nation. Northerners are a different breed.
Let us know when you’re coming and you’ve got guaranteed LOCAL guides all over our green and pleasant land. I’m in Cornwall so if you make it to the Gulf Stream down on the Atlantic here in Kernow,Southwest England,gimme a shout. You’ll need locals to make sure you don’t get ripped off,especially in London. *Kernow is the Celtic name for Cornwall.
The zoning is purely the way the travel prices break down. It’s so you don’t need to pay for travel you don’t use. Only buy the zones you do use. Zone 1 is the most expensive single zone as it’s the city. Zone 6 goes into the suburbs (or the Home Counties - the counties surrounding London). So Surrey, Essex, Middlesex (which isn’t technically a county) all have “london” zones in them. He’s also not quite right. If I’m travelling into London from zone 6. So I tap in at zone 6 and spend the day in zones 1-3 Even if I stay over I still need to pay for the zone 6 to zone 1 journey I did.
Had my 50th birthday in NY (18 years ago). Wifey wanted a beach holiday, but I won...my birthday, my choice. She admitted afterwards that she loved it. We visited again
