[Akula]

(04-01-2015 07:32 AM)gadabout Wrote:  

London in itself is not that expensive, the problem is rent. But it is no more than NY or other major hubs. British weather is the best because its mild all year round.

Although I liked your post I disagree with these two statements. Been here a couple months and the weather is crap much of the time, it's also incredibly damp which makes the cold that much more penetrating. The lack of sunshine sucks too. It's not all that bad but I notice sunny days and want to get out and about. Say what you will but there's a big difference when you live in a somewhat sunny climate versus the UK. I'd take the extremes of the US East Coast or Midwest over London weather I think.

London is also much more expensive than New York (let alone the rest of the US) in most categories - I'd say sometimes up to 50% more. Prices at Waitrose, Tesco and M&S Food are at least 30-40% more than in NYC. I guess milk costs about the same but I find every trip to the supermarket wallet-empyting.

Restaurants are also more expensive than NY too and there is a distinct lack of a middle "cheap eats/good quality" sit down category in London versus NYC (but it seems to be getting better). Drinks and beer at your average pub here also seem to be a bit more expensive but not crazily so. But why do I need to pay around 4-5 quid for a pint almost everywhere in the center here? Even around Angel and Islington it's generally expensive!

UK in general is basically US prices in pounds so that alone means it's ~50% more expensive.

Housing is ridiculous here too especially in the posh areas where you basically can't touch the newer builds. Paying 600K in pounds for some one-bedroom is just crazy - you are competing with the foreign money and rich white collar workers which just doesn't work.

All that said, London's an amazing city that's basically one big museum and there's so much history and culture it's worth living here for a bit just to experience it all. It's also a good place for younger guys to get started, make some money and contacts and then move on (all the while getting to game some foreign visitors and hone your skills in a crappy nightgame (but good day game) arena (at least for the average guy who's improving).

I don't know why an older guy would spend a lot of time here except for career purposes. Just live somewhere else and visit.