20 reasons I know I’m a Londoner

London is arguably one of the best cities in the world to live in but also one of the most stressful, I think. I love how you could probably live to be 200 years old and still not have seen everything there is to see. There’s always something new to do – if you can be arsed to see it, that is! Because London is also very tiring… the pace of life is hectic and the older I get, the more I choose Netflix and my couch over the latest bar opening.

I’ve only lived in London since 2006 but I’m 100% a Londoner. If you live in London, I’m sure you can identify with many of these!

1. You know you’re going to have a good day when you see there’s a ‘good service on all lines’.
2. I carry an umbrella in my handbag at all times, because RAIN. But when the sun’s out? BEST DAY EVER.
3. I moan if I have to journey past zone 3, especially as my travel card is zone 1 &2.
4. I can’t afford to buy a house but I’ll spend £5 on a smoothie and £9 on a bowl of pokè.
5. For regular routes, I get on the tube carriage that I know stops right opposite the ‘way out’ sign. It’s little things like this that makes travel (and being squashed like a sardine) more bearable.
6. I know it’s quicker to walk from Leicester Square to Covent Garden then change tubes. Same goes for Charring Cross and Embankment.
7. I avoid tube stations with lifts (I’m looking at you, Covent Garden) but if I do need to use them, I have my ticket ready.
8. I only laugh or smile when there’s a dog in my carriage or the driver has made a joke.
9. If my train’s not moved in over a minute without an announcement, I get the RAGE.
10. I consider travelling further than zone 6 a ‘day trip’.
11. There is still so much of London I need to see – mainly South London.
12. The only reason I’d go near Piccadilly Circus is for the theatre. And no it’s NOT like Time’s Square at all.
13. I automatically stand on the right on an escalator – no matter where in the world I am.
14. I don’t blink an eye when a glass of wine costs £8 in a bar.
15. I know which ’emergency exit’ or ‘no entry’ signs are actually shortcuts to the platform. Sneaky but such a time saver.
16. I know my neighbours’ names but no one else in the street.
17. You could not pay me to go to Oxford Street on a weekend.
18. I tut loudly at people who get off the tube and then immediately stop to see which way to go, blocking the rest of us.
19. I constantly say ‘we should go see this show/gig/experience’ and then never follow through. They’ll be back, right?
20. With about a gazillion restaurants in the capital, I still seem to regularly go back to only a handful. And they’re all within 20 mins of my house.

If you can identify with at least ten of these, then consider yourself a Londoner!