London vs Berlin! And the ugly truth is....?

The other day I was talking to a dear friend of mine about how much I envy her life and how much I want to move to Berlin.
In terms of envying her life...in a way because she is in a stable relationship, although I am perfectly happy not being in a stable relationship...and I feel she lives the life what she deserves and I think sometimes I would deserve a different life too...

Maybe this was the reason; I wanted a different life....for leaving everything behind in Hungary and try building up everything from scratch here in London!
New friends, new education, new place to live and work, new relationships, new activities etc etc....

But ever since I landed in Germany...actually in Berlin in 2009, I am longing to go back there!
Of course Udo has added a lot to this desire to move there...but quite rightly this dear friend of mine has asked a crucial question...But what if Udo got married by the time you move there? Would you still want to go there so much?

My answer might not have been the answer what she was really expecting, but to be honest the real truth is...if we were meant to be for each other, then somehow, somewhere at one point it will happen...and if he really gets married by then, then I will truly be happy for him finding someone great!

Anyway...why I started being so fed up with London or rather England was triggered by my rental flat's refurbishment work in the kitchen and bathroom. It really went astray in every possible ways...and by mid time...I was just laughing at the 'competence' and 'proficiency' of these builders. (Part 1 is coming soon)


1. Quality standards: may well be my first point at this moment. The things happened throughout the refurbishment and the quality work that was carried out, not to mention their negligent project manager/supervisor, were things that are not up to Hungarian standards let alone German standards.

Quality standards from here.

Brits are still sarcastic and proud in the same time when it's about English quality standards. :)


2. Money matters:I also mentioned that in the end even though the taxation is higher in Germany, more money would stay in my pockets, as life is much cheaper there! €195 for a room in a cool area, or €450 for a one bed flat in the coolest area is cheap compared to London prices where if you are lucky you pay around £650 for a room only. Food and eating out there are also cheaper! Parties are cheaper too!

Money Matters from here.

3. Renting and owning a place:Probably, even if I earned as much money there as I earn here, I would be able to buy my own flat much sooner and much easier in a great area than here in London. And being a Hungarian plus coming from a family where even my 21 year old cousin+boyfriend have their own 3 bedroom house...I think I am entitled to say that I want my own place as well! I want to be independent and not be always afraid when my landlord will decide to not letting out this flat anymore.

Colourful houses in Notting Hill, London

4. Education:Well everyone knows I want to do my own education here in the UK and then go to Germany, but education there is not only free as opposed to the hefty fee I hopefully will pay to my postgraduate study this year...but their system and methods are impeccable too!

Education from here.

5. Healthcare:Fair enough...I still don't fully trust anyone in the UK Healthcare other than my very own GP and couple of more doctors that I had the opportunity to get to know through my work. The Guardian recently might have published an article stating that the NHS was the best healthcare system among 11 countries...the system is great, because if you do have a problem or accident and whatever, you will be treated...though the quality again is sometimes questionable unfortunately. This is why I have a private insurance as well, and this is why my manager pays huge sums of money to go to a private GP and this is why a friend of mine going to the A&E 4 times on 4 consecutive days with explicit symptoms yet it was not picked up she had had cholera.

Healthcare

6. Cleanliness: it is said that perfume was invented to mask the smell of the dirty elite in France...then it is also said that Brits like to showers  every other day...well luckily I have not had any experience to get to know this, even though this might just be an urban myth, sadly it is true and noticed by many friends visiting London...the streets are way dirtier than in other cities.

Rubbish monsters on London streets by Francisco de Pajara. For more image check out Citylab.

7. Pests: I never heard of anyone in Berlin talking about the issue of rodents, especially Mickey Mouse being a common pest in houses. Or I have never even heard of the existence of bedbugs before I came to London...when people talked about them I never really understood what it is, until I finally checked them on the internet...

Banksy's mouse (rat) from here.

Lastly,because Germans are not cold:Although it is kind of common sense that Germans are cold people and will not accept an outsider in their circle of friends...well I think this is total bullshit...or whoever said this had a strange personality and was not accepted. I love that when I am there I feel free...and I feel I am braver to approach people in general because I will most probably have some positive feedback :) This is the case in London too...but I just wanted to disagree with the well-known fact that Germans would be cold.

But of course there are good things here in London too!!!! :)

1. The weather!!!! Which is an extremely important factor for me. I think the weather here is wonderful! Sunny most of the time, except when we have a summer of rain for 60 days (2012). The temperature never really goes below 0C or go over 25C, so this is really ideal :) No snow in winter! No heat-waves in summer! Perfect!!

Rainbow above London Bridge

2. I love London with its own issues!Yes, even though I have the above list why I would prefer Berlin, I really love London too! I love that I see the Thames everyday! Being a water starsign...I think I have some kind of attachment to water!

River Thames

I love the 'morning fight' for a good seat in the Tube :) or just being able to shine through and get smiles back on my way to work!

Fight for a good seat with a cute fox in London underground from Digitalspy.

I love that going to the theatre could only cost you as much as you would pay for a drink in a bar!

National Theatre, London, Southbank

I love the new developments going on in the city! Always get to know what the actual newly planned buildings are at Store street, when you visit NLA - New London Architecture.

New buildings and developments in London from NLA.

I love that the grass is really green!

Crochet Tree Green Grass

I love that.....London! You are so multiculti!

I love that even on a usual Monday evening, if I wanted to, I could find some interesting thing to do!

I also love that most companies ship to London, no matter where they are based :)

Lastly check out these 2 rather cool articles about London and Berlin, why they change your life forever and why they steal a piece from your heart.

So all in all I love you London with all the flaws you have...but at the moment I still love Berlin more! Although I fear whether I would be cool enough for Berlin...

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