I Miss Working In The City

The company I work for moved offices a few months ago. We went from big, luscious but very corporate digs near Liverpool St. to a hip Shoreditch-y location literally on Old Street.

Most of my colleagues, myself included, applauded the move. While we sell our product to a lot of big banks and other corporates we’re a tech firm at heart and our new location would reflect that.

I think most people felt a little uncomfortable at our City location. Being surrounded by white men in white shirts and blue suits made us a little uncomfortable. As did the Monday lunchtime pints they downed while boisterously laughing about this or that financial product.

But secretly I loved it. I felt at home in those small ancient streets. They were bustling with activity. I was high on the “masters-of-the-universe” feeling you got from being amongst busy, important people. Everyone was always running from one meeting to the next. Judging by the cars, the dresses, the handbags you got a sense that a very large part of this country’s wealth was right here. I got drunk in the old wood-panelled pubs on Friday afternoon with friends that worked at banks nearby.

It’s surprising how much attitudes change a couple hundred yards north in Shoreditch. People aren’t in as much of a hurry. Things move slower. People are more creative, less stressed but it also feels less important. In the City you have the feeling anyone of these people could make millions and meet presidents and have important high-powered lunches. People in Shoreditch seem more obsessed with whether their beards are “on fleek.”

Most people will call me crazy here. Even the people working for the big banks in stuffy offices would rather wear jeans and cycle to work and grow a beard. And I get that. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to spend more time in the City. So that’s what I’m going to do.