Likes and Dislikes about London

As I am on Spring Break right now, I can write a little bit in this blog of mine. The below is my opinion and opinions may change over time.

Like:

[Location] I am located in the middle of London. Not too far from Edinburgh. Not too far from France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy.

[Regent's Park] I love going jogging there in the well kept gardens. A quick escape from the noise, pollution, and concrete.

[Marks & Spencers] I can't believe they have everything. Good things. And 3 month return policy! That is totally lovable.

[Banks] London is the world's financial center. I am enjoying all the banks. HSBC, Barclays, Abbey, RBS, Lloyds TSB, NatWest, etc. I am interviewing for summer internships at some.

[Ad Agencies] I walk outside my home and I see Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA, and McCann Erickson. It just blows my mind. I ate an apple at McCann. I am doing a work placement at CHI Partners starting this Monday at 10AM. Great agency! And close!

[Lamb] I have never seen so much lamb in all my life. Of course I've never been to Greece, but extrapolating from their food...

[Money] I am here to earn and save money. I already have a personal business going, though I haven't been doing much of it because it's been too cold to operate. I have two jobs going. I do my laundry by hand. I don't take the tube. I bike. I have 98% of my money in high interest yielding accounts at two banks and only 2% of my money in my current account.

[Accents] Although at times I find British accent annoying for some reason, I really like it.

[Schools] I am surrounded by cool schools such as London Business School, UCL, and LSE.

Dislike:

[Cars and bikes and people.] No one gets along. Cars are mean to people and don't care about running babies down. Bikers think they're better than people and are constantly yelling. People are either trying to cross when they shouldn't or too distracted to realize they're in danger. Just a mess.

[Not Turning off the Lights] Stores don't turn off their lights at night which is wasteful and confusing. At least dim the lights and turn off the TVs.

[Pollution] They need a few more Priuses.

[Hours of Operation] I am surprised to find the hours of operation in London are worse than in Canada. Banks are all closed on the weekend and you can hardly find stores open past 8PM.

[Phone Rates] I am never going to get brain cancer at this rate. I used to talk over 1200 minutes a month. Now it's like 10 minutes a month. How do you be sociable in this environment?

[Costs] Things are crazy expensive here. Rent is outrageous. 140 pounds a week and I am sharing a bed with two dudes.

[Support Network] I really depend on my friends. A lot of guys do and become successful. People are just a bit too independent here. I like to give and receive help instead of just minding my own business. It's so hard to hang out because of the distance.

[Food] See this post.

[Water] At first I was just appalled by the taste.