London, solo

If you are an expat in a new country, you can enjoy the pleasure and motivation of anonymity and being fairly invisible. Every neighbourhood is new, nobody knows you anywhere, and this gives you a free pass to “be who you are”. At the first instance I would have written, ‘be whoever you want to be’ but I was corrected by a 55-year-old neighbour in flat 23 over a weekend conversation, “... not just to be who you want to be, but be who you are.” I found that to be so deeply profound because most of the time we don’t really want to put on a new persona, but we just want to be ourselves, unabashedly. That for me is real rebellion.

For the former journalist still lingering somewhere inside me, this ‘outside in’ perspective to the world around me is all very exciting (and everything feels like research) — I can do so much more without the hesitation that I would carry with me in my own country.?

While there is never a quiet day in London, especially in the summer, the list of things that you can do is actually overwhelming — watch a show, go to a gin festival, queue up for Wimbledon tickets, go to Glastonbury, go to a craft beer festival, a rooftop cinema club, go for a new exhibit at the Tate…it is endless.

I love having these options of a full cultural calendar, but what I have really enjoyed is hyperlocal East London experiences (and doing many of them solo right now), and these are helping me define ‘my London’.?

Here's how I have been surviving London, and my trendy neighbourhood, solo.

Meet your neighbours?

Accept all invitations, because sometimes this means you can end up at a really cool music gig organised by your neighbours (as a leaving do) on your building terrace, who are musicians (I had no idea!). You are likely to meet very interesting and eclectic people from the music & culture space at such local parties (think budding graphic designers, photojournalists, women in healthcare tech, and not to forget - a chance to get to know a few neighbours!). The trick is to linger on for a while (may be alone) until someone comes and chats with you.?

Sign up for free local community events?

I felt overly enthusiastic one Saturday morning and made my way to a free yoga class organised by my local GP surgery - with no expectations of how the class would be, and assumed I would be amongst a geriatric bunch, and probably as inflexible! But I was surprised at how pleasant this experience was — a mix of young and old people, most repeat students, and a relaxing class of breathing and stretching exercises set to instrumental/meditation music. The instructor was a very kind Polish young woman, who I chatted with before the class, who told me about a recent heartbreak that made her move to another neighbourhood. Oh, how I love the power of conversation amongst two women — so quickly heartwarming and universal!?

A picnic can be solo?

A book, a beer, people-watching, and cute dog-watching what’s not to like? Huge throngs of friend groups at London Fields (or any park in your area) can definitely leave you feeling some FOMO, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying London summer in its truest possible way — through its green, lush parks! Do it like a true local: head to a supermarket, buy some local beer (I like the Camden Hells lager), crisps (of course!), take a book along (to read or as armour to shield yourself from not looking like a complete loser, as you wish), and stay perched under a tree (or lie down!!) to see the madness in front of you play out — a colourful and fervent display of the relentless English spirit for day drinking and sun-bathing.??

You must know your local sourdough

If you are going to live in the heart of the hipster universe, you have to do it right — by going to a top rated bakery on a Saturday morning. I live above ‘Popham’s’ which is Hackney’s best bakery that sees people from all around descend here on a Saturday to consume heaps of freshly risen pastry. Here I have enjoyed the Marmite swirls (food of the locals) and a flat white with abandon, and made banter with the server, who was attempting to read the same book as me (Ocean Vuong’s ‘On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous’) and we laughed about how we were stuck on the first 15 pages since a month.

Good Italian food and wine, and eavesdropping

There is something about Italian food that actually makes sense to do solo; when it’s good, it’s almost ceremonious. Or maybe this is a ‘Eat Pray Love’ Julia Roberts hangover. But when I go for a meal alone, I always pick Italian and I pretend to understand the wine list (but in reality I am picking a wine that’s not the cheapest, but somewhere in the middle to show that I know my wines). I recommend al fresco dining on Broadway Market at Bella Vista, or Upper Street’s Terra Rossa, where you can eat great bruschetta and pizza, and enjoy a meal by yourself with really good service. If you are lucky, you will find yourself sitting next to two friends discussing their life’s problems in great detail, and you can enjoy some voyeuristic entertainment.

Next up, I plan to tap into some expat community groups and events, and also excited to kickstart some of my own events (a friend in Denver organises ‘Friendsday Wednesday’ to meet new people and I am inspired to do the same in London!)

Tell me about your London recommendations, and how I can meet new people while doing interesting experiences!?