London

Unless you're old and dying, in which case it's an underfunded, understaffed hell-hole that will rob you of your dignity and make you wish for death. Although that's not just in London's famous London.

i don't think that is specifically the fault of the NHS, more to do with our countries abandonment of the old i bet that a lot, lot more of the elderly in continental europe are cared for by family than left for dead.
i think bringmemyfix is also probably right although i wouldn't say that the NHS is underfunded, just mismanaged. i never, ever, ever go to hospitals or doctors so i don't really have a good, rounded opinion on it. i just know that i had an incredibley positive experience at one hospital.

I think the NHS is mismanaged AND underfunded.

I've had the same experience as BMMF. Fantastic treatment one day, average the next, then a really disheartening experience, then great work, etc.

A friend of mine worked in the NHS for years and would heartily agree with 'mismanaged', too.

I think that time away serves as a great reminder of how great a place is. As time ticks on, we often wonder what life would be like elsewhere, but when we get there.... we begin to understand the attraction of "home".
Get me out of Birmingham. I've been here for nearly a year and a half, and i can't adopt it as home. I'd be back in London like a flash if i could.

although lately...the crowd outside the dove on formerly lovely broadway market makes me want to go columbine on the swarms of mincing check shirts, wayfarers and unipaks.

hahaha!

what I like about London is it's big enough not to have to see those people if you don't want to

i can't think of anywhere else i'd rather live.

although lately...the crowd outside the dove on formerly lovely broadway market makes me want to go columbine on the swarms of mincing check shirts, wayfarers and unipaks.

Absolutely. Don't they know it's all about Clubmasters this season? Tsk...

i've had my clubmasters for two years - can't stand wearing them around at the minute, and its not even summer.

thats what i like about london, the hipsters, making a mock of everything.

i've lived in London for just under two years, and i constantly change my mind about loving it and hating it. i'm not going to live here forever - it's too expensive, stressful and full of tossers, the weather is shit and my family and friends are on the other side of the world. but it is an enormously entertaining place to live, i love my job, i like being able to travel to Europe easily and cheaply, i like it when people from home visit and I can show them around. I like hearing English cricket fans earnestly trying to convince me that England will win the Ashes, then in the next breath admitting they don't believe it for a second. I like the music and the feeling that you're in the middle of things. I like being able to buy cheap lager from the offie across the street, or go to a proper pub and drink seven kinds of real ale. I hate the fact that you can't tell if a restaurant is going to be good or fucking awful before you go in, and they are awful far too often. The standard of oriental and chinese food is generally rubbish. As is the coffee. For food and coffee you have to know the right places to go. Learning the right places is pretty fun. The city seems to have emotions. I love the sense of freedom you have when you cycle here, and the sense that people who only catch public transport will never understand it. i hate how much people drink. i love getting drunk with my mates. this is london, my friend. it's a headfuck of a place.

I agree with everything badtmy said except the cricket bit (couldn't give a rats) and maybe the drinking amount bit (who am I to judge!).

It's not like living in Oz I could ride Flanders, cycle Ireland and then a month later head over to cycle some of Le Tour.. not unless I was fucking rich and to get fucking rich you have to work fucking hard which = no time to fuck off to Europe.

I've lived all over the place, but just moved back to Sheffield (where I've spent most of my life) after two years in London.

I can honestly say that London's the only place I've ever been homesick for. Some of the posts on this thread are really moving. stifled sob

Christ, I haven't even been drinking.

i hate how much people drink. i love getting drunk with my mates.

I agree with everything badtmy said except the cricket bit (couldn't give a rats) and maybe the drinking amount bit (who am I to judge!).

i like a drink and am highly susceptible to peer group pressure. this is a slight problem in a city where the beer is plentiful and there's nowhere to take a girl for coffee.

Most of London is generally cold and unfriendly. I don't feel that safe a lot of the time. It's expensive, fast paced, slow to navigate on anything but a bike and dirty. There is little to divide rich and poor - they're all mixed up together. Walking down Oxford Street makes me angry. Tourists and residents alike frequently show themselves to be idiots. It feels like every man for himself.

That said, I mostly love it. Nothing beats walking across the river at dusk on a warm summer evening just as all the buildings are starting to light up. It's a beautiful city. I'm only young, and I don't want to live here for the rest of my life, but I get the feeling I will always be coming back.

i like a drink and am highly susceptible to peer group pressure. this is a slight problem in a city where the beer is plentiful and there's nowhere to take a girl for coffee.

Problem solved..

:-)

i like a drink and am highly susceptible to peer group pressure. this is a slight problem in a city where the beer is plentiful and there's nowhere to take a girl for coffee.

I suppose it depends on where you are but I've never lacked a place to take someone for coffee almost as late as most pubs are open.

I don't think he's talking about service stations.. :)

Problem solved..

:-)

mate are those yours?! awesome.

I don't think he's talking about service stations.. :)

Nowt wrong with a bit of Wild Bean Cafe. It's warm and its wet isn't it.

mate are those yours?! awesome.

Yep. You need to get yourself over to the Coffee Appreciation thread.. :)

Nowt wrong with a bit of Wild Bean Cafe. It's warm and its wet isn't it.

That's proper posh servo coffee that is! She must be special..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9NAKJbIlTU

Oh indeed, as our eyes met across the steaming cups in the cold night air and the deisel fumes made the coffee taste a little bit more plasticy, she smiled at me with a big grin punctuated with the gaps where here dental work was unfinished. That's when I knew she was the one for me.

I paid some guy filling up his Fiesta a tenner to drive us home while she whispered pure filth to us. Unfortunately I was three sheets to the wind and passed out on the stairs and can't rember her name.

Now, has anyone seen my wallet?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/28/work-live-abroad-tax

Vienna is beyond dull. It makes Zurich look exciting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/28/work-live-abroad-tax

"London, which is ranked 38th, scores well for public services, recreation and telecommunications, but is let down by security concerns and pollution. Glasgow and Birmingham are the next most desirable British cities, jointly ranked 56th"

WTF!?!?

"Top of the quality of life rankings is Vienna, which pushed last year's lead city, Zurich, into second spot. At the other end of the 215-city league table, 16 of the bottom 20 are to be found in Africa. Among them are Brazzaville, Khartoum, Sana'a and Kinshasa"

Racist