My Unfiltered Thoughts On Visiting London As An American 

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Well, as a European, I now know that every American knows two European cities from school - London and France.

London is London. It is not “UK”. Even for most British people, going to London is like going to a different country. But the same is true of Paris, and Rome, and probably most other “world cities”. So, yes, it’s great that you’re spending time in and experiencing all these wonderful places. Just don’t kid yourself that you’re experiencing the actual countries where these great cities are located

@camdendavid Hey, regarding food as an ex Londoner: You can get decent Vietnamese Turkish Indian food Which is not unhealthy and can be affordable e.g. about 12 pounds sterling for a nice bowl oh Pho/curry! These are in Hackney, Dalston, Kingsland Road, Bethnal Green etc.🙂 i..e not right in the centre. Fruit and Veg is expensive in UK BUT you can find farmers markets where you can get better things than in supermarkets. In the UK the general standard of food in basic places is lower than in rest of Europe, but if you want GOOD food, I would say you are absolutely correct. It is more of an "event" to eat out than for example in Spain/Germany/Italy. You can also get a GOOD meal as a SUNDAY roast at a PUB, but it will cost you. The culture also is more like the USA in the sense that lunch is not the MAIN meal, people grab sandwiches etc...and lots of eating on the go, which is NOT healthy, and people NOT taking their time. Transport in London is one of the most expensive in the world. Make sure you get an OYSTER card. Transport in London is better than the rest of the UK but massively overpriced. It is NOT as good as rest of Europe countrywide..... I personally think London is really walkable but WITHIN areas. If you live there, you tend to need to use public transport to get to work and it is normal to give an HOUR to commute anywhere if you have plans. Once you are IN a neighbourhood you can walk around and central London is walkable e.g. from Houses of Parliament to Tower of London along the river is good. Drinking and drug culture is extreme in ALL of the UK, which is why I left to Europe ;-P Every facet of the culture drinks regardless of class. Almost EVERY social activity in the UK as a young person is based around drinking. Going to the PUB is a huge part of UK culture regardless of age. We start drinking at 14 in parks etc.... People drink to get drunk and it is not like other parts of Europe where you EAT and drink, so it is MORE civilised ;-P! The BEST thing about London IMO are the Parks FREE museums which makes it unique Theatre scene Music scene Multicultural Good restaurants (if you have the money and know where to go) Hope this helps from a British/German person. X

Comparing London to NYC, I found food prices in the latter outrageously high compared to London. I actually find food and eating out is the one thing in London that is not ridiculously expensive. I also find that it is quite easy to find good quality food in London, even as a tourist. You could only go to the markets, which there are plenty of, and try foods from a multitude of cuisines at one market a lone. Places like Borough Market, Spitalfields or Brixton come to mind. There are also many mid-tier restaurants that are very accessible, especially in areas like Soho, King's Cross, Camden, Shoreditch. Really, it's not hard to find good food at every price point in London.

"you don't learn much about other countries in the American education system...France, London and Rome are the 3 cities that they've realistically heard about." 🤣

First of all, why did you stay in the Tower Bridge area? I wouldn't consider it at all desirable. Food? Where were you eating? I find quite the opposite: London is an international centre of gastronomy. You can get whatever you want. Even something as simple as a sandwich that you can buy at Marks and Spencer food hall - or many other places - is excellent (I can't find anything like it in the US). Yes, London is expensive. Drinking: True it is part of the culture and there is too much excessive drinking among some young people in particular, but not everyone. Not drinking at all does put you outside the culture, though. Walking: London is HUGE. How could you possibly get around without using public transport? You seemed to like Paris better. How did you get around Paris? New York? You can't get everywhere on foot. I don't think you need a month in London unless you are using it as a base for trips to other destinations which can be visited in the day, returning to London in the evening.

I don't think most of what you said was unfair but although you stayed a month but this is only relevant for tourists on a quick visit staying in the tourist centre. I DID flinch though on a couple of occasions you actually referred to the 'UK' implying what you found in your experience, such as work life balance, was a UK thing. There are endless videos on YT by Americans living in the UK who talk about healthy food and work life balance, which should have rung alarm bells for you in terms of how representative your experience might be. Firstly, I am from the North East (Durham) and I love visiting London but that's partly because it's so different. It's a different universe to my world. It is as representative of the UK as New York City is of the USA. The final nail though was when you admitted you had been staying near Tower Bridge. So not only were you living in London, you were in the most touristy unrepresentative part of London itself where I am sure you would be hard pressed to find many Londoners living. I love walking around those areas but it's a bit Disneylandish and I definitely wouldn't choose to eat there, it's just all tourists and rip off rubbish food. But you don't really have to go too far from the centre to get away from that. To be honest, I tend to head for Marks and Spencers food shops and if you can't find anything decent there you're not really trying. So your comparison was more like somebody going to New York City, renting somewhere near Wall St or in the Empire State and then telling people what they thought America and the Americans were like. Not only was your experience not representative of the UK but it was even that representative of London. You did try to make that clear to a certain extent but not clear enough in my opinion. Also there is another conversation to be had comparing the actual ingredients of McDonalds and KFC in the UK versus the USA. It's not the same.

Individual Tube journeys may seem expensive (£2-£3) but travel around London is actually pretty cheap due to the Oystercard daily cap (currently £8.50 for Zones 1-2). A well-organised tourist could easily make multiple Tube/bus journeys in a single-day of sightseeing. Food in central London is certainly ridiculously expensive but it's common for office workers to use the lunchtime meal deals at supermarkets, or just bring a packed lunch to work.

A very important tip, On Monday to Friday’s the Rush Hours are between 6.30 - 9.30 AM and 4.00 to 7.00 PM so as a traveller coming into any of the airports try and avoid these times as you’ll be mixing with a lot of commuters. For international travellers, if it’s possible take a flight that arrives after 9.00 am so that when you get through customs, you start your journey into the relevant cities after the morning rush. Secondly, unless you have a hugh amount of luggage, don’t even consider taking a taxi, especially from either Gatwick, Luton or Stansted, they are too far out from central London, and you will be ripped off for the taxi fare. One major advantage of the London airports is that all six of them have good rail links. If you must take a taxi, then take it from a station in Central London after getting of the train. Unlike many US cities, public transport in London is relatively safe, and it’s the preferred means of travel around the city. So important to stress that for travellers especially from America you shouldn't be intimidated by taking public transport. It’s the way we do things in major European cities.

Mate you don’t need to drink!! I’m Londoner born and bred and I don’t go to pubs/ ever…

If you stick to tourist areas, as you did, of course you will pay tourist prices for food. Try to go further afield next time, there is good healthy food to be found.

I'm a Londoner and also hate the binge drinking culture. Luckily there are a couple of underground events (great music and dance scene) that don't require drinking. Can highly recommend Roti King & Gopal's Corner if you like Malaysian food.

Appreciate your thoughts! I find all big cities require a comfortable budget in order to find a variety of good food and sites. I have been to London and agree, I felt it in my wallet. Look forward to hearing about Scotland.

I've been watching a few of your videos recently and found them always very well articulated and balanced. You have commented on cities I've visited and cities I've lived in, London being one of them. I've lived near London for 10 years, and although I've now moved to NL (I'll watch your Amsterdam video next) it is my favourite city in the world! I agree with most of your comments and recommendations - mainly the fact that you have to come prepared: you have to know where to go, what to see, how to get there (don't try to walk everywhere, it's wayyy to big!), and yes, where to eat to make the most of your experience. If you just go there and try to wing it (you can do it, and being an English speaking city makes it SEEM easier), you'll end up spending tons of money, ending up in the wrong places and just being miserable all the time (which will make you look like a true Londoner hehehe). I disagree about the food: now that I'm back on the continent, I realise that food quality in general is worse in the UK (why can't they figure out bread?!?!!?), but you have so many options and so many cuisines from all over the world that you'd need 100 lives to try them all (and in all price ranges). Agree about the binge drinking: after all those years in the UK, I still could not get my head around it, or get used to it - but there again, things are changing apparently since GenZ's are not drinking as much anymore...

I would definitely recommend staying in a different part of London next time - as the thing I do love about living in London - as that each borough/area has a different vibe with a different community feel - so most people who live here tend to find the area that most suits them (eg. Whether its more green parks/family, or bars/clubs, or river strolls/cafes etc.)

did you visit camden camden?

Hey Camden! I love your channel - I've been traveling through Europe for the last 6 months and have watched a lot of your videos along the way. I actually just started my RU-vid travel channel a few weeks ago and I'm really inspired by your content. I'm actually in the UK right now and have spent a lot of time in London over the past few months, and I really appreciate this video. I agree with everything that you've shared! I'm one of the people who doesn't love London...it really feels too big, too overwhelming, too hectic, too chaotic for me. It felt incredibly expensive to me too as a budget traveler, I felt like I was just hemmorageing money no matter what I did. And yes the public transit is so expensive compared to other places (like Budapest, $25 for a whole month of unlimited fare!). And as a health -conscious traveler I have found the exact same issues with the food in London - almost everything that is "affordable" is super processed and has seed oils and other nasty ingredients. I did my best to grocery shop and cook my own meals when I could. Now I'm in the English countryside, housesitting all over the midlands for the summer. These little towns are so much more peaceful than London and I'm grateful for the quiet time in nature. OK sorry for the longest comment ever lol, but I wish you all the best on your travels and I'm looking forward to the next video!

Very fair review.

Hi Camden, I just stumbled on your site and very much enjoyed your psot. I lived in London for 10 years in the Eighties and Nineties and I totally loved it. Nowadays, I live in Glasgow and am really happy here, but I will say that every time I visit London I really love the place. Fanatstic BIG city with great vibes. Excellent, although expensive, public transport. And great variety of food and activities!

My son works in Westminster so very central. He walks to work. He could move out but he likes it and his Canadian fiance loves it.

Any experience is such a personal one. I’m a Londoner and it’s interesting to hear your perspective. New sub :)

Flying there tom! Been watching your video. My 16 yo daughter already in Oxford and seems to be enjoying her 2 week camp so far.

Love London! Hate the prices.

Food quality in London has gone down considerably during the cost of living crisis. The food does not taste as good and the portion size is considerably smaller.

As a Londoner, I can empathise with much of what you say. You are right about the drinking culture, but if you were staying around Tower Bridge you probably got a skewed view of the post-work drinking habit. You don't get as many crowds of men (mostly men) at the end of the working day standing outside pubs talking loudly with pints in their hands in other parts of London, or elsewhere in the country. But true, the UK is unusual among nations to the extent that so many people take positive pleasure in the process of getting drunk. I think you put too much emphasis on the size of London, and its non-walkability. You have to understand that London doesn't really have a centre. It's really a constellation of villages. You can explore the City, or the West End, or Notting Hill, or Islington, or Clapham, or whatever. And they are dispersed, spread out. So yes, anyone with half a brain will get the tube to get from (say) Bank to Notting Hill, or from London Bridge to Hampstead. But once there, you can spend happy hours wandering around any of these different areas on foot. Rather different from Paris, say, which has a very obvious centre which you can walk across in the course of a day. Finally, I dispute your point about the cost of food. I have visited New York many times over the years, and I have been shocked by the restaurant bills. I think your perception, again, has been skewed by where you were staying. Tower Bridge is close to the financial district. Expensive. What you might call 'downtown' is around Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square etc. - tourist territory and expensive. In my experience the average restaurant in the average area in London is certainly no more expensive than the New York equivalent, and probably cheaper - because you don't have to TIP to the ludicrous degree that's taken as compulsory in the US. The price of food items in supermarkets seems pretty much the same, in my experience. Anyway, congratulations on a RU-vid video that's a bit more thoughtful than a lot of the tourist-tip-, culture-shock-type genre.

I will need to listen a second time, I am not sure why you don’t find London to your taste. Is it because it’s expensive? Been to NYC lately? Bad food? Been to the USofA lately? My experience tells me I can find quality meals in London for moderate prices a lot better than I can in USA. I will be in SoCal next week and a good quality food eatery will cost me at least $100 US$ per person. I know I can find comparable in London for less. Where do I eat in London? Soho, Chelsea, I even had a fab healthy lunch (with wine) in Mayfair for 35 pounds. Walking, through my youth and middle age until at least my 65th year I walked the length and breath of London. I would go get on a bus, go to the end of the line and walk back. It might take a whole day but I discovered things no other tourist could even imagine. I’m 81 now, can’t walk much anymore so I drive but London is one of the great walking cities of the world. Yes the people can be off putting to an American because Brits like to ‘play with your brain’. The more they like you, the more they will ‘play with your brain’. I love London, I love that they drink out on the street, I love the noise but also LOVE the parks. Spend on hour or two on a park bench in Green Park. Heaven on earth. I confess London is not my favourite European city but I love it. Keep up the good work kid.👏👏👏

No no no to over drinking 🙂, Londoners are welcoming, friendly and warm tho.

I can’t stand heavy drinkers either / I just keep away from pubs and bars / but you’re correct that bars and pubs spill onto the pavements normally behind roped off areas…

I'm a exLonder and I thought your did a good job in summarising your opinion you got a lot of your points right. Well done.

I'd be very interested to know your take on living in other parts of the UK, particularly the North of England, Wales, and Scotland. For one thing it would be considerably cheaper!

Hey Camden, great video. You mentioned about wanting more of a culture shock and interesting I got exactly the same feeling when I (as someone that lives near London) visited Sydney. It was just all too familiar for me to feel like I was truly on holiday. Based on your travels, which destinations have given you the best culture shock (in a good way)?

The food ib London and the UK is excellent

As a Londoner, he is not wrong about the food. You have to live in the city to know where you can get good food cheaply, and they aren't easy to find or near the city centre and if it is it will be expensive. It's just like New York. The food you find in the middle of the city is either a chain that is pretty bad or a restaurant that will make you bankrupt. I would also say in terms of connecting with locals, whether it's LDN, NYC or Paris, it's never gonna happen. In all three, locals are very guarded and rural people are always more welcoming.

Camden , have you travelled to New York, Tokyo or Paris? Do you view these cities in the same way you view London?

London and the whole France. Did you leave the square mile of London. Also, the food even Maccy Ds is healthy than it is in London.

Hi There! Nice to discover your channel. I am also an American, I have been slow traveling through Europe for the last 5 years. I started a RU-vid channel to give a more realistic view of other Countries that we as Americans been lied to about. Since I work online, it's been Amazing for the most part documenting it. I agree with everything you say about the UK, I avoid there because it's similar to the US culture except its on another Continent Lol. It's the one Country I felt unsafe in, like the way I feel in the USA. I actually prefer East European Countries, so much more culture and hidden gems there I feel.

So I am a Londoner and agreed with 95% of what you said. I hear you about being overrated, my dream was new York and I found it overrated but not to say it ain't a great City. Though for me being from London, Central London does not feel local to me, it's too expensive and it feels like 2 different worlds from the suburbs. I feel you would appreciate Greater London more, especially the outskirts because it's so much better value. If I'm going to Central London to Eat, it's very rare and a treat. You are correct what you say about the Food in Central London but greater London is much better value for good Food. I feel you would like The outskirts more, like Surrey, Kent etc Really great Vibe. But yes I agree with all you said about Central London.

Hi Camden - you've got a good vibe and I like the information you give based on your experience - are you able to show any photos or footage of your experience? You've got a good positive presence, but I find, sometimes, that I can switch to other things, while listening to you - and I think to boost engagement to your episodes is to mix up your presentation with other imagery. Just a thought.

I've lived in London 30 years. The cultural entertainment opportunities are the best thing about it now. Sadly over the time I've lived here it's become hugely more globalised which is defacto Americanised, from political trends to chain coffee shops, it's less and less English culturally. This comfort you speak of is sadly the loss of what made London exciting for Anericans 30 years ago.The Englishness of it all has been very watered down and diminished. The drinking bit is very English though! I gave up drinking 8 years ago and I only survive socially because my friends are also getting older and less inclined to binge drink. It can be awkward.

Can you understand a major city from living there for just one month? Your comments on food in London bears that out.

Greetings from Germany. I was in London several times in the 1980s during a language school stay in England. I never went back until 2019, shortly before the UK left the EU. I spent a few days in London, then went to Scotland and Northern Ireland, and then with a detour via Dublin I headed back to mainland Europe. Since I know cities like Cairo, Istanbul, N.Y.C. or Moscow, London didn't seem as big to me as it did back in the 80s.- I'm not so picky about food when I travel, and in London (2019) I went to the canteen in St. Paul's Cathedral, for example, where they serve local English lunches. Even though I'm not a fan, I also had the typical English breakfast - but I would never ever order it outside the UK. Yes, you should see London at least as an European. Maybe a second time, if there wasn't enough time to spend a whole day e.g. in the British Museum (unique), but going to London more often? No. Everything else is available in other cities too and often cheaper. London is completely overpriced. For example, public transport or overnight accommodation: I did live opposite Hyde Park in 2019, but only in a bed and breakfast, on the 6th floor without an elevator, tiny room under the roof with a sink that only had cold water, and I had to share the bathroom with others. For the same price, I was able to stay one week in a 5-star hotel in Marrakesh/Morocco later that year. - Well, the drinking culture actually existed in the 80s, and from what I hear from you, that hasn't changed for young people to this day. It was interesting to hear how you liked London, and I see you have already made a few trips, even to less frequented cities like Zagreb or Ljubljana. Maybe I'll comment here and there on how I felt about different places, even if some of my trips were a while ago :-)

You are totally wrong about the food. The standards in Britain are very high and the bread is far better than the U.S. Americans are normally astounded at the quality here and the general perception is that food in the U.S. is overprocessed and not good. A lot of ingredients allowed in the U.S. are banned in europe and London is the same standard as the rest of europe.

Londoner here. I’ve a love/hate relationship with my city. Sure there’s plenty of unhealthy junk food, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Five Guys, , Popeyes Chicken etc, hang on a moment, aren’t these all U.S. imports? 😂. Overall the food in London is far less over industralised with unhealthy preservatives, corn syrup etc than in the U..S. If you tended to eat near any of the tourist hot sports you probably got some of the worst overpriced food. I rate M& S stores as having the best quality and reasonably priced food of all the large supermarkets and London has many ethnic smaller food markets mostly with high quality products. As for the restaurant scene it’s the most comprehensive on Earth, not all of it great but including some of the best anywhere. The problem in making an accurate assessment is that you really need to stay there for at least 1 year to even begin to know the city. Agree about binge drinking, it’s a fu**ing disgrace and a stain not just on London but the whole country. However there are plenty of great pubs with civilized drinkers😊. Thanks for your comments it’s always good to hear thoughts coming from someone from another country. Good luck in your travels.

Btw. If you come to London on a low budget chances are you won’t really enjoy the experience. London suffers a lot from mass low budget tourism which has robbed it of a lot of its unique character/atmosphere particularly around the famous landmarks.

There is great food in London, but there is a lot of bad cooks, cooks who just cook to pay the rent, So if you don’t care and have no respect for ingredients, and if you take no pride in what you are cooking and baking, it results to bad food. Especially in the past ten years, restaurants are seeking for cheap cooks, cheap head chefs, so having no certification whatsoever, not too much experience, they want cheap undisciplined careless cooks. So you might go to a restaurant that tastes good, and next day, same dish, tastes bad. No consistency, no passion, no mentorship. No matter how fancy the restaurant looks, you will have an overpriced disappointment on your plate.

You look exactly like a Brit on his first visit to America tbh...

The traffic is bad in London by design - By a mayor who no one likes apart from his inner city supporters and they don’t have cars…

Agreed, the food in not only London but all of England is completely inedible. London is hugely overrated. Almost every other country in Europe is better in terms of food, people, culture, and hygiene. King Camden back at it again dropping knowledge