I love you, London. I hate you, London.
This is a love letter.
Dear London, I love you.
I love you and I will miss you.
I will miss you, London.
I will miss your beautiful silhouette
Your charming cloudy England skies
And your warm and cosy pubs
I will miss your parks and your streets after the rain
Your total stillness on Christmas
And the clean design of the London Underground map
I will miss Hampstead Heat coloured by the summer sunset
The exceptional Punjabi restaurant around the corner
The mouth watering street food
Your magnificent theatre plays
And the independent East End cinema
I will miss your Victorian architecture
The coloured houses in Notting Hill
And the peace of the empty tube stations in the evening
I will miss the fountains in Trafalgar Square
Your New Years fireworks and countdowns
And your ingenious, breathtaking art installations
I will miss the quiet majesty of the Natural History Museum
Your crazy happy coloured carnival
The secret acoustic gigs in your living rooms
The summer festivals you do so well
And the stunning way you shine when the sun comes out
I will miss your vintage bakeries
The smell of sun-kissed grass in Hyde Park
And that feeling of awe inspired by Westminster Abbey
I will miss the blooming flowers of your bittersweet spring
Your iconic red telephone boxes, red double-deckers and black cabs
And the imposing outline of the Tate Modern
I will miss your incredible graffiti
The chilled Shoreditch vibe
The endless vibrancy of Soho
Southbank, so creative and different
And that little beach on the Thames in front of Saint Paul’s
I will miss the incredible beauty of Greenwich
And the unexpected encounters behind corners
But most of all, I will miss your people — your unique, glorious people.









This is also a hate letter.
Dear London, I hate you.
I hate you and I will not miss you.
I will not miss you, London.
I will not miss the morning commute
The loud, slow tourists
And the struggle of your stuffed pubs on a Friday evening
I will not miss the sweaty tube during rush hour in summer, or in winter (and the rest of the year)
The terrifying cost of the rent
And sharing terrible houses with strangers when you’re a London newbie
I will not miss the queues and crowds
Your daily stress
The price of a monthly Travelcard
People standing on the left side of the escalators
And the ones walking with repressed rage on the left side of the escalators
I will not miss how everything is so work-work-work focused
And so incredibly expensive
And whatever you are doing now is always the most important thing ever (who cares about anyone else, right?)
I will not miss the night buses
The drunk people on the night buses
And your unique ability to fill innocent souls with cynicism and superiority
I will not miss the time it takes to go from West to East
Or from North to South
When trains are delayed and buses are diverted
The lack of personal space, everywhere you go
And Brick Lane on Sundays
I will not miss those who don’t move inside the carriage
The nightmare of flat hunting in London
And the control required not to make eye contact on public transport.
The truth is, London, I do hate you. But I also love you, very much.
I’m happy about my new start in a new city, and I’m also incredibly sad to be leaving you. You’ve been my home for almost 3 years, and you’ve been my dream city since I was 15 years old.
My honeymoon phase with you has been amazing, London — I felt incredibly lucky to be there, in every single moment. I loved you so fiercely and unconditionally, soaking myself into your magnificence.
Then, things started to change. It was a slow, gradual decline. First I found myself complaining about the public transport, then I started to be annoyed by tourists during my lunch break (working in a startup in Covent Garden didn’t help either!). One day I woke up and I realised that I needed something different.
Thank you, London, for what you’ve given me. You’ll always have a special place in my heart and I can say for sure that I will never forget you. I know that we will meet again, and maybe I’ll enjoy you more as a slow-walking, attraction-loving and left-escalator-standing* tourist.
So long,
Kiwani
Ps. Actually no, I could never stand on the left side of any escalator, now. Right stand, left walk: that’s one of the many legacies of London. ❤

