London is a gray, watery, gloomy, overpriced, snooty shit hole. Some other areas of the U.K. are nice. I'd rather live in almost any other part of Europe, if forced to, rather than London. Ironically, it's the stupid caste-like system implemented by the Brits that helped make their economy rigid and inflexible, give rise to so much nepotism and stifle their ingenuity. Plus, you have the old hag that is the Queen who basically is a cranky old bitch who is cheaper than Scrooge and greedier than Madoff, who owns most of the real estate and jewelry on the whole Island.
I wouldn't be quite so hard on London, the Dorchester is a nice place to hang one's hat for a few days and plenty of great restaurants, shows, museums. Just like I could never live in NYC I could never live in London but they are both great places to visit frequently and London in particular can still transport you to another time if you navigate it correctly. Problem with London is that all that oil money from Russia and the middle east has changed its character somewhat (and not just London) and has no doubt led exacerbated the lofty prices. I used to have a cliff top rental cottage in Cornwall near St. Just that I sold for a ridiculous profit after 12 years in 2003 only to see it double when it sold again in 2005! Miss that place, maybe I will have the opportunity to buy it or something similar back at a discount in a few years but I doubt it as it would mean a peak to trough of over 60-70% and I just don't think that will (be alllowed t) happen. Coastal Cornwall/Scilly Isles, North Wales, the Lake district, the various moors, the Scottish highlands, and the Hebrides are all fabulous places to visit off season for R&R.
You will be surprised by values at auction. A friend told me about a 725k two bed apartment at Canary Wharf going for 299k at auction last week.
I wouldn't take any notice of this stupid prick,he comes from Detroit which from what I've seen on TV is the biggest pisshole on America.
have no fear as Tesco is the new powerhouse of the UK economy, its creating thousands of jobs this year. a few years from now nearly everyone will be working for Tesco
great post. i could second it from my experience. however i have heard that in the past 2 years the atmosphere changed quite a bit - and attitude especially to foreigners. but that will be likely similar in nyc.