Job Discussion Forums

[Deicide]

[The Noodles]

I've never actually been to NYC but I am a diehard fan of London, and at times Paris... BUT Have you ever been to Shanghai? Unbelievable place. You should check it out if you like big cities

[BELS]

Talking about the big three, as mentioned often here. Paris is so small it could fit into Hyde Park in London. I liked the this little place for its atmosphere and coffee bars. I walked and covered the place in one day, and just wonder why it's called one of the big three.

[lolwhites]

Paris proper is small but pretty concentrated! However, when the economists make comparisons with London and NY they take into account the whole Ile de France area, not just what's inside the p�riph�rique. And don't forget you could spend a whole day exploring the Paris of Versailles, which is just outside.

[Will.]

I spent a long couple of years there when the Marche was still in the centre and not a Metro stop. I never managed to see all I wanted to. The 4ieme and 5ieme kept us entertained for months..so many little bistrots .. just off the beaten track but so well known by so many.
I walked across Paris, South to North, Porte to Porte and have also walked across London. Paris just seemed to be more interesting and brighter...must have been the building stone... or lack of knowledge about the'bad' places to avoid.

[maruss]

I was last there in 1972(not in e.f.l. teaching either!) and found it fascinating then,although of course the circumstances were very different.From what I hear nowadays, it still is but the place is bad news for teachers looking for work on contract as there is great demand for it and consequently you have to be prepared to survive on freelance private lessons?

[maruss]

I also agree that London is overpriced,overcrowded and bad value for money compared to the quality of restaurants and services etc. you can find in other European capitals.Although I have not lived there long-term since 1979 I still visit regularly and my opinion never alters-if anything it is getting worse,especially regarding accomodation and transport etc.Fares on the underground are exhorbitant and even the buses,which used to be relatively good value are now expensive.As for rail fairs,they are unbelievable and the service often appalling!It really is often cheaper to fly from London to somewhere like Manchester or Scotland!If you have a car, then there is the congestion charge in the central zone during weekdays,plus of course, the nightmare and cost of finding a parking space, even in suburban areas!

[coledavis]

Hi Maruss (fellow Russian forum escapee) - why worry about congestion charge and parking in central London? Unless you're collecting or delivering goods, what's wrong with using a bus or the tube?

[barryp]

As an ex pat Londoner who has just returned from a month long stay both teaching summer school and visiting relatives and friends I have to say that London is sinking in rubbish and high prices. Very overcrowded and incredibly expensive it is not the town I left many years ago. Of course I was younger and things were different but it still ain't the place I used to know and love.
Too many tourists, Starbucks and people who cannot speak English I fear that my visits to my old home town will be far fewer in the future. I am sure Paris, Barcelona are far more attractive these days.

[stillnosheep]

[barryp]

[lolwhites]

London is a fantastic place to live if your name is Roman Abramovich, less so if you're an EFL teacher.

[barryp]

[maruss]

A B.B.C. programme only yesterday warned about the growing gap between the city elite and the rest of the population with a shrinking middle class!In the same district as the financial whizzards,there are homeless people even literally sleeping under the buildings the elite work in!
Of course Moscow is far worse and altogether nastier and definitely an example London should avoid!

[stillnosheep]

London in the 70s: Dustman and Fireman strike; rubbish piling up in the streets; rats everywhere; homelessness growing.

London in the 80s: The Thatcher years (growing disparity between rich and poor; chronic public-sector underfunding; streets get dirtier; homelessness grows further)

London in the 90s: Rich:poor gap remains constant; streets get cleaner; homelessnes stabilises

London in the 21st century: London booming; gap widening but very poorest getting wealthier; streets much much cleaner; homelessness a fraction of what it was in the 80s and early 90s.

Moral of the story: There never was a golden age, Take off them backward-looking rose-tinteds and enjoy the day.