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The Busy Lifestyle in London is Not What I Dream of ——倫敦的繁忙不是我要的生活

Avery Yang

一聽到英國,大家不免就會自動聯想到倫敦;就如同台北之於台灣一樣,對於某些人來說,倫敦代表的是更多的機會以及更豐富的生活。 在19歲那年初次來到英國的我,對於倫敦的一切都感到新奇,自由開放的文化及異國風情深深吸引了我。儘管只花了三週的時間在這個城市,我卻對他深深著迷。


過了幾年後,又因為求學的原因,回到了這片土地。然而,不同的是,我並未待在倫敦,而是住在了英格蘭北部的區域,得以在大學城體驗不同的生活*。畢業後在倫敦待上了近一年半,現在搬到了沿海小鎮。

註:我讀碩士的地方,學校不同科系、學生宿舍及學院都分散在市中心不同的區域,基本上就是個大學城,除非往更遠的地方去。


 

對我而言,倫敦的確每分每秒都有很多有趣的事物發生:倫敦之大,每天都能見到形形色色的人;但是在倫敦要自食其力的過日子,我微薄的薪水沒法讓我存上錢。


在倫敦能過得舒適的人當然也大有人在:房子能選擇稍微離市中心遠一些的,跟朋友一起合租,大部分自行開火...等種種方式都能省上錢。但是對於前陣子的我來說,逃離倫敦是我最想要的。


那時的我感情上不太順遂,住的房子又有非常嚴重的床蝨問題導致我根本無法待在房間好好睡上一覺——我整個人天天都在很低靡的狀態。幸運的是,我有幾位好友陪著,也開始出門踏青散散心;也因為如此際遇,我才得以認識我目前所居住的沿海小鎮。


講出來大家應該會嚇一跳,我這個郡是英格蘭、威爾士及北愛爾蘭前20危險的地區,犯罪率是8.8%,而我居住的城市是這個郡倒數第三安全的城市;就數據上來說就是犯罪率極高,但是我卻特別喜歡這裡。


首先在房租上,我僅花了與原本在倫敦相同的費用,就能租上兩室兩衛的房子;在倫敦卻只能住在一個不到五坪的小房間。現在這房子我連打掃起來都覺得好累......一開始搬進來還覺得走路走到腳痠(其實也沒很大,但到底是多懶)。


雖說交通上倫敦肯定是比較方便,但是「方便」這詞,不是會根據每個人的需求而有所變化嗎? 對我來說,偶爾想出門時能有地方逛街,有地方能喝咖啡,離海邊很近,有可以直達倫敦的火車——這些就是方便。每每下班完,想要到附近散散步,海邊就離住的地方直線五分鐘的距離。夏天甚至不用搭火車到其他城市,只要拿著墊子、助曬霜,直接穿著泳衣披件罩衫就能去海邊曬太陽。沒有比這更能讓人興奮的地點了!


這邊雖然也有些華人族群,但是大部分都還是西方人。置身於全英語的環境幫助我克服說英語的障礙,也更了解英國文化。有些人可能不信,但是就連我讀完碩士後,我對於向英語母語人士說英文還是有很大的恐懼;這份恐懼就連在工作後都未曾消失。


我在大城市(倫敦)也遇過和善的人,但是再更深入了解我居住的區域後,我發現這地方居民的凝聚力特別強,商店都會互相幫助彼此宣傳活動,無形之中也盡量避免商業形式重疊,沒有惡意競爭,大家也都很熱絡地聊天寒暄。


可能會有些人怕在沒什麼華人的地區會有種族歧視的問題,但在這裡的半年內,我只發現大家都很溫暖,甚至漸漸的有人會問我是不是住在當地。每次被問的時候我都覺得:我被認可啦!(自己想太多)


雖然這裏完全沒有中國超市,但卻絲毫不減它的魅力。



 

有時我會懷念在倫敦那多采多姿的生活,但是在這裡我獲得的是更多心理上的滿足:少了無謂社交、專注在提升自己,自信心增加了,心也變得平靜。



你呢? 你想要怎麼樣的生活?


 


The first thing that pops into people’s minds when it comes to the United Kingdom would normally be London. Like Taipei to Taiwan, London represents more opportunities and a more buzzing lifestyle.


I found everything in London interesting and exciting when I first came to the UK. The open-minded culture and the exotic vibe caught my eye immediately. Even though I only spent three weeks exploring the city, it deeply fascinated me.


I flew back to this country for my degree a few years after. However, this time, I didn't stay in London but lived in North England. It was a totally different experience* living in an area that was new to me. After graduation, I worked and lived in London for nearly one and a half years. And now, I am living in a seaside town.


Note: Different departments, student accommodations, and colleges are scattered in different areas of the city center in the city where I studied for my master’s. These dominate the city unless you go further afield.

 

For me, London is indeed a place with a lot of fun. Numerous entertaining things happen every single second. You may also meet different kinds of people in this busy city. It is however hard to make ends meet there not to mention being able to save some money.


Of course, some people still manage to live comfortably in London by living a bit further from the city center, sharing a flat with other people, and cooking their own meals. All these practical methods can help them cut some monthly expenses. Yet, the main reason that I moved out was that I was desperate to escape from London back then.


At that time, my relationship and friendships were rocky, and there was a serious bed bug issue in the room I lived. The situation was too awful for me to have a nice sleep. I had no choice but to move around, staying at hotels and friends’ places. Because of what happened to me, I hit rock bottom in my life. Fortunately, I had a few friends with me through this tough time, and I started going out more frequently to take my mind off the situation. That’s why I got the opportunity to visit where I am living now, a beautiful coastal town.


You may not believe this. This county is ranked as one of the top 20 most dangerous areas in England, Wales, and North Ireland. The crime rate is 8.8%. The town where I am now is the third to the last safe place in this county. Statistically, it means it is an extremely rough place to stay and live. Nevertheless, I love it here so much, and here are the reasons:



First of all, when it comes to the rent, I spend the same amount of money renting a 2-bedroom flat with 2 bathrooms, which for the same money, you can only afford to rent a tiny room in London. Honestly, it is such hard work to clean my current flat compared to the amount of effort I used to put into cleaning my previous room… I even felt tired walking around (See how lazy I am).


Living in London is undoubtedly more convenient. However, I believe that the bar of “Convenience” shall change based on an individual’s needs. Personally, having places to go shopping occasionally and have a coffee, being close to the beach, and being able to directly commute to London without transfer are what I am looking for. The beach is literally a 5-minute walk from my place so I can easily go for a stroll after work. I don’t need to take a train to other cities but take a mat, a bottle of tanning oil, and wear my bikini with a cover-up to walk down to the beach and enjoy the sun easily. Nowhere is more compelling than this place to me.


To be frank, I felt extremely uncomfortable talking to native English speakers. This obstacle bothered me for so long despite the fact that I studied for my master's degree and have been working in the UK. There are some Asian communities in the town but most of the people are Western. This allows me to emerge in a full-English environment, conquer the fear of speaking English and get to know more about British culture.


There are surely some lovely people in London. But after getting involved in the community more, I found that their social cohesion is significantly strong. The local shops will support each other by promoting events and products. They also subconsciously avoid having repeated businesses in the town. There is no malicious competition. Locals are nice to each and everyone, greeting and chatting.


I can understand racism might be a concern to some people, especially in an area without many Asians, but I only found the residents here especially warm and welcoming. Some of them even started asking me if I am local. I felt so happy every time they asked me this. It made me feel like I am approved by the crowd. I am part of the town.

Although there are no Chinese supermarkets here, it does not affect its charm.



 

I cannot deny that I miss the good old days in London, yet I find my inner peace and happiness here. I got rid of unnecessary social occasions and gained more time to focus on improving myself and building my confidence.



What about you? What kind of lifestyle do you dream of?


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