After nine months living in London I’m finding myself in an increasingly reflective mood. Life in the capital is pretty amazing. A trip to one of the many markets always has me returning with something cool like the Stylophone I picked up last week at Brick Lane Market or the yummy cheese and salami we grabbed at Borough Market the week before. The city is full of restaurants serving food from all around the globe and if I had a bit more money I’d probably try and eat through as many of them as I can. However, probably my favourite thing in London is music. Gone are the days when I flicked through the listings at the back of The Wire and lamented the number of cool gigs that I would be unable to go to. I’ve also discovered Cafe Oto and its amazing programme of new music which makes me think about moving to East London more and more each day.

It’s cool to just take the tube somewhere random and go for a walk and see what you find. Quaint little lanes in Chelsea, an independent record shop at the end of Portobello Road, stunning views on the South Bank or the awesome Dalston Peace Mural.

There are downsides to life here too, rent is ridiculously expensive and the quality of housing very low. It seems the demand is so high that landlords can be pretty much guaranteed a particular price based on area and don’t need to bother maintaining their property. My commute, although thankfully brief, usually involves being crammed into a smelly metal tube with a few hundred fellow Londoners. The hectic nature of life and work here can be tiring and a little stressful at times. Despite all this, I think it’s worth it to live in a place where I have the chance to discover something new every day.