When I was moving from America to Europe in 2012, I arranged a 10 hour layover in London. I was flying from Phoenix, on my way to Cyprus. A high school friend of mine was waiting for me in Leicester Square and was going to show me around the city.
I took the Piccadilly train from Heathrow and made my way into the city center. The weather was in my opinion perfect. It was about 27C and there was a light rain, but after the Arizona desert heat, this absolutely appealed to me.
At a first glance I loved London. The city left such a good feeling with me that I was planning to return after the summer. A few hours was all I needed to know that this was a city I wanted to live in.
Little did I know that my opinion on London was about to change completely.
100 Days of Sunshine 
Very nice pictures.
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Thank you š those are just quick layover ones. I have lots of nice photos of the city. It is definitely a very photogenic city indeed.
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How did your feelings change? I can’t seem to find your other posts about London! I’m thinking of moving there one day for a year or so, and would love to read more about your experience. š
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At first it was love at first sight, but over time the weather, the 45 hour work weeks which ended up being more like 65 with the travel time, the way people were reserved and din’t talk to one another, my dating life sadly came from online apps due to that, the way negative energy & gossip is spread between co-workers, seeing your closest friends once in a few months because of busy conflicting schedules, and the stress in a huge city, none of it was agreeing with me – London is an amazing city with tons of things to do & opportunities but only for the right people. It turned my heart completely black in the end, a million Ā£ wouldn’t make me stay, I just saw my life flash by my eyes & it was gonna go downhill had I stayed…I will be writing posts on each month over there like a little London journal and how things changed over time soon. If you have any questions, let me know. And also it’s a very expensive city, so you gotta be smart and very organized.
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Thanks for your well thought out answer! I wish it turned out differently for you, but I’m glad you’re happy now! I’m looking forward to your London journal, and I’ll be sure to shoot you questions as they come. Right now, London is a dream of mine, I’m not close to realizing this at all, and I think your journal and interacting with you will help me with my decisions š Thanks Jelena xx
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I have absolutely no regrets about London, because it was the right decision at that time. The city has also helped me grow really quickly as a person and I sort of felt like I was a girl when I arrived at 29 & I left as a woman at 31. It was also interesting to see the culture differences, because I came from living in America for 10 years to a new country and everything was pretty much different. If you feel like this is your dream, then I say Go For It! š There is a reason we hear a certain place calling our name & you definitely have to experience it for yourself to see if you like it. š Right now Southeast Asia is calling my name & I’m going to map out an itinerary pretty soon, since that’s happening this year….I will get organized with the London Life Journal asap when I have more free time – I have tons of material to look at & photos too š When are you planning on heading over there?
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I’m glad to hear how it has impacted you personally, and that you were able to see the good despite some hard moments. Ah amazing, thanks girl! I look forward to seeing it whenever comes (no rush!). I’m hoping by the end of 2017, 2018! š nothing is set in stone, it’s just something I’m kind of trying to work towards. I’ve been also considering Berlin lately too, loved the eccentric city when I visited.
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I heard great things about Berlin too, winters are harsh though. In London Winters weren’t bad, there was hardly ever snow, it melts fast, but it was lots of grey & rainy days. November-March are pretty depressing
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I guess good and bad to every city! I’m from Canada (although Vancouver winters aren’t harsh), so maybe I’ll be able to toughen it out. Haha š
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Yeah you should be ok then š š
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