Perceived wisdom dictates that big cities although full of people live out the paradox of loneliness. This has been the case since the industrial revolution. The rise of social media has apparently made the problem worse. If you’ve ever got on a tube in London you’ll know that no one dares say a word to each other. It’s a strange realism and one that is difficult to comprehend particularly for those of us from smaller, less frantic places.

Socialist teaching highlights that capitalism leads to a rise in competition, which causes people to become more individualist. London as the centre of European capitalism would theoretically be the nadir. This means lots of people deride London without ever really experiencing it. My family included. Others that have also lay in, its noisy, nasty, the people are arseholes. A few northern mates regurgitate the latter as fact. Some say its all a rush for nothing, a strange race that no one ever wins. Londoners don’t seem to realise that they are caught in a game of cat and mouse.

The reason people move to cities is for the energy, on the other hand this can seem frightening to people. The hustle and bustle may be alien to them. The truth though is that cities are as friendly as anywhere else. The underlying notion that they aren’t is gravely flawed.

I’ll take London as a case in point. I moved here two weeks ago. I’ve loved the bars, the eateries, the choice of cafes and galleries. I’ve been a tourist, marvelled at the architecture, eaten in Hawaiian restaurants, eaten in Jamaican restaurants, eaten in Italian restaurants. Choice and fun are everywhere. So is friendliness, it just needs to be found. Dig a little and it’s all there. Don’t be an armchair negative.

On Tuesday night I spent two hours walking the streets of London. I met five homeless people. They are the most vulnerable in society who don’t get enough state support which means that they rely on the kindness of strangers. What I found was enlightening — Local people helping the homeless. I gave out socks and orange juice, sausage rolls and crisps. Fuck all in the grand scheme of things. As the walk progressed a man in a suit arrived in a black jeep, probably a banker or some other type of suit I thought. Probably on the way to a private members club. Close minded in the extreme. He proceeded to hand out home cooked food to around 30 homeless people, all carefully sealed in individual containers. Appearances can be very deceiving and that my friend is the point.

London may be big, it may be a little brash, people can rush for the tube as if they are the central facet to gods plan on earth. A man pushed me last week during the tube strike, I boarded the train 10 seconds after him and also got a seat. These incidents can’t be used to tar all with one. He was obviously just a dickhead, or maybe was rushing to see his dying wife. Who knows? His behaviour though is not indicative of all. Compare him with the suited jeep driver. I could put it down to a societal issue, I could say London is unfriendly. The whole ‘broken community’ spiel however is bollocks. It’s political nonsense. London has as much community as anywhere else. I’ve seen it.

As I left work on Friday evening a women had a hefty fall. She was immediately helped by three separate groups of people. Cities are lovely.

Don’t believe the fucking hype.