London is one of my favorite cities after Dubai. It’s just clean and there’s structure. One tip, if you’re doing any atypical transaction: ALWAYS read their terms and conditions.
As a born Londoner I find this very heartwarming, thank you for you positive review and perspectives from those here, the river is brown because of clay, and stabbings tend to happen vs gangs in bad areas away from any tourist zones, not as common as the news makes out.
yes to the point about most Londoners don't get to experience the city. It's partly because people take it for granted and partly because people work so hard they have no time to enjoy their city, which is actually sad.
I work in central London, when i'm not working i don't want to be anywhere near the city, it's too congested and exhausting, outside London especially the coastal areas of England are amazing.
I think you have to be intentional about experiencing London. As busy as it is, I take a day or two once in a while just to visit a particular part of the city and soak in the sights and sounds.
Exactly. I know of people who live on small islands and rarely visit the coast. It's all relative and intention as you say is key. Plus there are other parts of Britain that are great to visit. It's nice to get out of London too.@@adeolaadelaja3186
@adeolaadelaja3186 yes, being intentional is the key word. if you don't plan those experiences you'll find that time runs away from you and before you know it, another year has gone by!
I'm a Londoner. The Thames River is brown because of the river bed itself, not pollution. The river has a very strong current as the estuary to the sea is only a few miles outside of London. This current, in turn, pulls all of the silt from the river bed, making the water appear brown. EDIT: You did us proud. Such good video and and a Londoner, speaking for myself, I can take London for granted so seeing this reminds me how special this city is.
ehen o! thames is brown because of centuries of pollution. that is where all the crap went. and bodies dumped in when they used to behead people. theyve been trying to clean up but it's hard. it used to be much worse.
@ceoglobalanalytics5620 incorrect, the victorians introduced the sewerage system, which has been in use for over a hundred years, no longer dumping into the river. The river has also been cleaned. Just a quick Google will help you out, mate.
@ceoglobalanalytics5620 na, its muddy. It isn't very clean, but the colour isn't because of that. Even when the super sewer is finished, it'll still be brown
Fromy my understanding, Sewage lines from all the modern buildings built close to the Thames go straight into the Thames and then the current takes that water to the water cleaning facility near Greenwhich. And then continues to other. Kings college London (KCL), testing the water during Covid, they were taking water directly from around Tower Bridge area (you can find reports written on this), they confirmed there were high amounts of cocaine in the sewage.
I was born and bred in London (half Nigerian, half German) lived there for 52 years before leaving to live in Portugal. 🇬🇧🇳🇬🇩🇪🇵🇹 All the feedback about London in the vidoe is spot on. There’s a lot I miss and a lot I don’t (the weather being #1). So now I get the best of both worlds. I get to visit, get my fix, then come back to Portugal. 😎 Win win!! 😊
@@hassshoban8206 Please tell me you're joking? Out of all the black successful people in this country you mentioned Iwobi?! I want your ignorance to enjoy a peaceful life lol
T, you keeping dropping hit after hit! My husband watched the video of Zimbabwe his homeland and was moved almost to the point of tears. Your story telling through the lenses of your camera is world class! Keep up the great work! Totally love and loving London!
@@TayoAinaFilmsif I knew , I should have invited you to stay over I have 3 empty room space in my flat.. next time let me know or if you still in London let me know. I'll pick you up.
@@TayoAinaFilmsI really hope you come back to London I'm forced to stay there because of the expenses in NYC. The subway is definitely safer but I need a job for sure
I feel so lucky and privileged to have visited London and some other parts of the UK back in 2019 on a school trip. Hands down the best experience I’ve ever had, the UK is so beautiful🫶🏾
I moved from UK to US and gained 40lbs!! There’s barely any sidewalks/pavements in America outside of the big cities & I’m used to walking everywhere in London.
@@followGreatnessWell I’m living in Norfolk, Virginia it’s not a popular city, it really depends on the state & city in the US you are moving from, I’m sure Houston TX or New York is better than where I am now. I have observed that UK has better structure & dealing with government agencies is much easier than in the US. E.g - I had a package coming from China and I never received it until after a year of ordering. The postal service customer help was non existent. In the UK my the postal system has a timeline (like 14 days) to solve your matter or they are in trouble. In US I felt like I am on my own, they sometimes operate like a developing country. However people make more money in the US than the UK.
@@followGreatness my two cents, even there's crime in London i do think your chances of growing old is a lot higher than the US. I really can't imagine me living in a country where three so much random crime and mass shootings.
It's all going to be subjective ...but I do get sick of people talking down the food...London has some of the best food in the world of every nationality for every palate ❤
Food not spicy enough. Don't understand where UK is geographically. Northern hemisphere in winter can't grow exotic food and spices. Traditional cooking was warming stews, puddings. Hardly anyone ate an avocado upto 1960s. Had to queue for a couple of bananas during the war. ( I know that's history!). Cajun spice is my favourite. Age 83. Liverpool.
Exactly ! I'm a Brit who's been living in Florida for the past 23 years and it's annoying when people say that the UK has bland food. America isn't exactly known for having the tastiest food in the world either - hamburgers, and those disgusting deep dish pizzas etc etc for example.
I’m very British and I grew up with the best of British food. My Nan and Mum were both amazing cooks and I would choose their cooking over anything else, most of which I’ve tried when visiting other countries. The only food I love as much is Italian 😋 Goes without saying I’m not into spicy foods, I prefer to taste the flavour of whatever I’m eating.
@@pjf2193 I fully agree. It's all about volume in the USA, over quality. That said, it depends whereabouts you are in the USA. Food is probably better away from the bigger cities.
I'm a Jamaican that grew up in New York & absolutely love living in London although it's crazy expensive. Lots of people from Africa (especially Nigerians, Zimbabweans, South Africans, & Ghanaians), the Caribbean, & other places love migrating to the UK b/c of the stability, relative peace, unlimited opportunities, education, healthcare & for so many other reasons.
@@adgepeterbto you as someone who probably doesn't really know many other places & takes where you live for granted is shit but not to most of us other people
It's crazy expensive? You know what London has the best places that are worth of the prices there for London is our uk main city and there is so many adorable areas too that most tourists admire the most. The thing is a main city has to attract visitors for them to like it. Londoners love London for it is our everything here in UK. Like our Central London is heaven on earth. I am a British saying to you. London is not expensive but because its main city for our uk so the prices there are ok.
@marthasheilds2446 ehh not all cities. Most of the major cities in England are very diverse and are increasing in diversity like Manchester, Bristol, & Birmingham
My daughter has been lucky enough to have travelled the world twice. I asked her which was her favourite city in the world. Her response? "London". She didn't even hesitate before answering. Perplexed by this, I asked why since she'd literally been everywhere. She responded - "Because its civilised". No disrespect to all the other beautiful countries, but I wonder if this maybe why everyone comes here.
Yea, the British said they are civilised, but look at the atrocities they committed around the world. They say Africans were uncivilised. Such an interesting word for your daughter to use, she sounds brainwashed.
@@LM-op7wu She actually did. We have the receipts! Maybe her point of view is tainted/narrow, , hence my perplexity when she said it. She is from London and knows it like the back of her hand on both sides of the bridge. However, I don't think she'd disagree with you re it's soullessness at times - most cities are. That said, soulless doesn't necessarily equate to civility - manners, kindness and so on.
@@DavidL1986 I can get a taste of anything I want from anywhere in the world in one city. There's also something to do every day of the week whatever your interests are. The city absolutely buzzes.
I am 74 (75 on the 3rd Sept 2024) and currently live in Balham (7.1/2 miles from the centre of London) however it is not cheap. Thankfully, I live in a Military Housing Association for ex-serviceman with a disability. My disability, is that I am nearly deaf+ back problems. My housing association rent would be £1,400 a month but I receive a big subsidy so only pay £652 a month which Lambeth Counsel pay! Without that it would be impossible! London is expensive, but what this city offers is a bit unique the culture, the arts, the history and a melting pot of the world trying to find their way in life. I agree the weather in London sucks! Can't have everything! LOL
Loved watching this. As an English person, I've been to London quite a few times and lived there for a few months, but it is always exciting to visit - never dull, always crazy. Oh, the obesity thing you mentioned, sadly, in the UK it is a big problem. It may not be so noticed in London, but we are ranked 36th out of 192 countries - so not so good. Great video ⭐
The Tate Gallery is more for modern art. If you want to see stolen African artefacts then the British Museum is the place to go. You will see a few things but much of it is in storage as they don't have enough space to display them all
I think this was a good, honest review of London especially someone born and raised in London. It’s so expensive and the cost of living crisis is making it worse 😭
You're so right about tipping. Should be to show appreciation, not an obligation. Like you said as well, the rest of us don't get tipped for doing our jobs.
As someone who has lived in London and loves the place but knows not everything is perfect there, I thank you for this honest and balanced review. But how come so many people complain about the weather in London. Noone complains about the weather in Paris. London and Paris has the same number of annual sunny hours!
Paris gets as much rain as London as well. Always found it strange that London has a reputation that places with an identical or worse climate, like Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam etc, do not.
@@razorwestham5949 this is true. What's funny is that we have this reputation even where the weather is the same. I lived in Normandy, France, for years and they cal their climate 'English weather', even though it's literally their own weather and climate and always has been 🤣 Utterly bizarre.
The issue with British weather in general is not so much that it's bad as that's its very unpredictable. Five different weather systems intersect and compete over the British Isles, the Polar Maritime, Arctic Maritime, Polar Continental, Tropical Continental and Tropical Maritime. Which is why it can be warm and sunny one day, cold and torrential rain the next. Compared to continental Europe where the weather may not be 'better' its just in more predictable blocks. I think that's what people dislike about the weather when they visit here, they aren't used to such rapid changes.
@@williamnelson2228 dunno; lots of places I've lived/ visited around Europe is the same. Certainly Normandy is, as is Galacia in Spain. And Munich has the craziest (and wettest) climate in the whole of Europe.
I'm originally from the east coast of the US. Spent my teenage years in jamaica then back to the US. I've been living in London 8 years now. Before i came over i intended to stay 2 -3 years at most. After living here I can't see myself ever moving back to the USA. NYC use to be my favorite city until living in London. Now when i go back there it feels dirty and backwards. One major difference with London from NYC I've found is both have diverse communities but in London they actually mingle and interact with each other. I could go on and on about why i love this city but it'd be too long. One thing I'll say. London is a nice place to visit as a tourist but its even better as a place to live. Its a major city that feels like a town. If you know where to go things can be affordable too.
So you have now seen for yourself ! Tayo has wonderfully explained! Nigerians stop assuming that your family and friends are living a rich life in London, and be demanding money! In London we pay for everything! Also stop assuming we have it 'easier'. This is a comment the diasporic community get alot. There is nothing easy about living in London... It cost £10 a day to travel, rent is high, council tax is at least £100 per month, to earn more you will be taxed at 40% of your wages and the average wages don't make sense for the type of costs we are experiencing! After working and paying all our bills we would be lucky to have something left over for real enjoyment 😅😅. As a Nigerian born in London, and lived there all my life I've come to realise that London is a game where you have to figure out how to win and always stay on top!
That’s the same in the US but at least you can be your own boss and grow your own company . On the US many people are wealthy do to Real Estate as well as other Buisness ventures like Tech, Engineering, Solar Companies etc… My husband and I have three companies and make 7 figures in MD. Many other countries control how much you can make and what jobs to take . That’s why Iam against socialism and commission .
@@nataliewalters2759 The UK is not "socialist", we may pay a higher rate of tax but that also means we have the NHS(free healthcare) and our taxation system is transparent and automatic, nobody in the UK being taken to court for not filing taxes our taxes are automatically deducted from our pay. We also have far better labour laws, more holidays too.
If it is not "easier" in UK, come home! Yes, come home. I am rolling my eyes here. There is no such thing as an easy place on the planet, however some places are better and they afford you opportunities to live a decent live. People need to grow up and stop complaining because they need to make small adjustments. If you think life is hard in Europe, get on the plane and move to Nigeria. You will learn and understand the true meaning of "hard" and deprivation. smh.
I'm an American who LOVES London and have been many times. In fact, London is the only place outside of the US that I will go to alone. I feel comfortable flying there, making my way into the City and hanging out all by myself. Such a great city second only to my love, NYC.
I actually think the UAE that has Dubai, Abu Dhabi where I live etc is also safe if not even safer than London cos there's a lot of knife violence in London.
I feel like NYC and London have pretty similar vibes if you like one you'll probably like the other, London is more old (not in a bad way), and NYC is new
@@Futura2500 I completely disagree I feel like NYC is like London on steroids, London is a little bit more, but very similar vibe in terms of cultural diversity, but NYC is definitely something else and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing
My family and I spent time in London this past summer and we stayed in East London but we visited many tourist sites such as Wimbledon, the palace, tower and London bridge, churches, museums and so forth. We traveled from US, New York area and we never considered using Uber, we used the tube all through even to and from the airport, and we averaged 20,000 steps per day. At the end of the trip, my outfits were loose. The cost of food in East London is much more reasonable than what you showed. The food is not as tasty, however, they are very health especially their milk products. I am sensitive to foods that contain dairy product so I drink only plant milk such as soy, almond. However, I ate regular ice cream with whole milk in London with no side effects. I also ate brick oven pizza with cheese without reaction. We did a little research about the ingredients that are found in foods in US and we found that 14 ingredients in US foods are banned in UK, so this little fact also maybe one of the contributing factors of the expanding waistline of us here in the US. Very good report.
If you return to London, go to supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury for cheap food. They do 'meal deals': hot coffee, sandwich and snack all for approx 3.50. A trip on a Thames boat to Greenwich is interesting, it has the old Maritime museum and Cutty Sark ship. Or Hampton Court palace where Henry V111 lived.
As someone who lived in London for the last 20 yrs it's really interesting to see what someone from another country makes if it and you have done this really responsibly and stayed for a reasonable length of time. Thank you for this entertaining video. Matcha is green tea powder btw
Hey Tayo, I appreciate your comment on tipping in the U.S. I totally agree that it's crucial for waiters and waitresses, given their relatively low base pay of around $5-$10 per hour. It's not mandatory, but a generous tip can make a real impact on their livelihood. Your content is great, and I'm eagerly anticipating the day I can visit London!
I used to wait tables in the US and servers don't get paid the minimum wage so tips make up their earnings. In other countries servers get paid more of a living wage so if they get a tip its nice but in the US it's necessary.
@@PatriciaBrooksCourageCatalyst I feel ppl are tiring of it in the USA. Soon the businesses are actually going to have to pay their way, like they always should have
@@PatriciaBrooksCourageCatalystyeah, it can be a good thing, but why should it be mandatory. How do you know the customer isn’t a waiter themselves. But you almost force them anyways without a care in the world.
Then they should form unions and address that with the employers, and not try to make a living from Tips. If I pay for a service, shouldn’t be required to tip by force.
Loved this! It was cool seeing London from the outside view, but was also interesting to learn why African people enjoy it here. I work in London and realised I don't appreciate it enough, so now I explore it a lot more than I used to so I get my money's worth but also so I educate myself. It can be a wonderful place when you stop to take it all in.
Im a Zimbabwean 🇿🇼(thanks to you Tayo for recently paying us a visit home last month). Regardless of the expensive daily livng in London I will go there one day in this life. Its my dream land. Thanks for sharing good content.
Tayo you're absolutely right, Moving from Nigeria to London walking can be very exciting but not until you genuinely have tired feet from walking everyday. Sometimes i wish the cabs were cheaper!
Lived in London since I was in my early 20's love it, in the late 1980's thing were not great in terms of progression for black people but things have change in London especially and as a Nigerian we do not hear the word you cannot only you can. That is why we are successful in whatever we put our mind to. London is expensive but you have to be smart with your money and where you live.
As they say "sticks and stones" words don't affect me just work hard and everyone will respect you. You will always get idiots wherever you go but you don't let them get to you
@marthasheilds2446 not really my friend. I have lived all over the UK for 26yrs and I have not experienced any racism that mainstream media like CNN and BBC report. I currently live in Wakefield and aside from poverty, racism is very extremely rare. To be honest in 2023 most native British don't care about the colour of your skin as long as you are actively contributing to the society and not leaching off it. This has been my experience anyway
You think so, go to Canary Warf, when work is over, count how many black people come out of those offices. Go to the schools and count how many black teachers you see. We are only given jobs the whites don't want. The exceptions to the rule don't count because they have to fill government quota as to the amount of black people the put in certain positions. In predominantly black areas, we pay more council tax and they put parking restrictions in our areas so we have to pay to park at our homes. If too many black people try to move into a white neighbourhood, they move out, along with their businesses. I could go on and on. The only thing that's here are jobs but it takes 2 people to make a living. Thank God it's currency is strong so that when you send your money back home you can see it work. But it's hard to see your money work here.
Ah dude glad you enjoyed London. As someone thats lived here for 30+ years and i’ve travelled a lot to other countries I can honestly say I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The diversity and food culture (i’m a big foodie) is unmatched however cost of living is very expensive! Of course London has its issues but the positives outweigh the negatives (imo)!
@@lonalxaiaboth but for the best British food experiences you don’t want to be in London you need to be up north some of the best food especially the fish and chips from Whitby or any northern town is a lot better than anything available in London and 1/5 the price.
Naija-born, NYC-raised, did a university study abroad program in London my senior year. Nigeria is my blood, NY has my ❤️ (tipping is recommended, but not mandatory) and London was A LOT of fun but the weather was the primary drawback, plus a racist incident when looking for a flat in Ladbroke Grove. Overall a great experience and I've been back a few times since.
We don't experience most of the touristy stuff cos we are too busy working! and especially us Africans, we have too many kids, that would cost a fortune! lol. We are busy calculating and converting how much that money would help our family back home.. or how many pots of stew, soup, and trays of jollof rice we could make with that money! HAHAHAHA! Great video as always @Tayoaina! You ate this one again!!!😊
You said the Thames looks murky, it's tidal and reaches the sea, so every day the river rises up to ten feet. The nicest art gallery is the National, in Trafalgar Square, and round the corner is the portrait gallery. Churches are also interesting and free. they're hundreds of years old, with statues, and old stained glass windows. Westminster Abbey charges approx 25 (!) but Westminster cathedral near Victoria station, is free. Go to supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury for 'meal deals': hot coffee or cold drink, sandwich, and snack all for approx 3.50. And museums are free in Exhibition road, just past Harrods.
London remains my favorite city after Dubai. I feel safe and the system works very well. Paris is another great city asides the language barrier and the fact that it’s actually more expensive than London and Dubai and perhaps NYC.
As a Londoner, I must say this is accurate. London is expansive, vibrant, exciting, always something to do, but it's expensive. Don't let the awful weather get you down, though as you can never get bored. The other good thing about London is that it's a walkable city. But, I will say do keep your wits about you because crime is on the rise.
Thank you for your very balanced and objective video Tayo Aina. Barring our weather and UK’s taxes, London is a really great city to live in. There’s actually a saying that if one is tired of London, you’re tired of life. A bit of a stretch there but you get the picture. 😊
Anybody thinking of coming to London ,first Welcome I t would be good to see you. 2nd The streets are definitely not paved with gold m it’s a very expensive city and if you’re looking for work unless you’re highly skilled the wages are low and cost of living high.
Discovered you yesterday. I watched your _"30 days in NYC"_ yesterday, and searched and searched for your London version. What luck you upload now AND it appears in my recommendations 😄👌
Very good video. Just to let you know there is a 'mandatory' tip for Restaurants in London. It is called the "Service charge" you will see it on your receipt.
Hi Tayo, when next you come to the UK, please do a tour of other cities. London is very different from the rest of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Go to Northern cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle. Go to Edinburgh in Scotland and Cardiff in Wales. You’ll get a much fuller view of the UK, and those places don’t disappoint.
You and the team did an amazing job producing this one. The content was lovely too. Thank you for featuring me in this video. It’s an honour to have met you. When you return, we will go explore those things in London they never tell you about. Peace up bro ✌🏼
Yes mostly fair comments but just a few points: to say that food is tasteless is daft because there’s loads of African and West Indian restaurants so where you eat is your fault. Yes it does rain but that’s far preferable to drought. Also, because of its northern location it can’t be like Africa weather wise and cold weather kills lots of germs and viruses.
Good to see you had a good time. London gives you history, modern living, opportunity, security and healthcare. It’s one of the most diverse and mixed capitals in the world. Takes years to get onto the property ladder, even with a good job. I like restaurants (never have to visit the same one twice), live bands and walking around London - 40 years. The Thames is a strong tidal river which rises and falls by 10 meters, it causes the silt to rise and make the waters cloudy. London used to be a major shipping port, but now the port is a long way down in the Thames estuary. The major crime in central London is pickpockets and simple personal theft. The knife crime is virtually all related to drug distribution and territory outside central areas, around 100 young men die a year and possibly 10,000 stabbings. I’ve never felt unsafe day or night in London, but be sensible and safe.
Thank you for talking about the city I was born and raised in. My mum came here over 50 years from Cameroon 🇨🇲 to study and work. She settled here until she passed away over 2 years ago
Given its brown appearance many Londoners may not believe the Thames is actually clean, but it is in fact home to 125 different species of fish. The Thames looks brown, because it is a naturally muddy river, due to silt on the riverbed. Also the Thames is connected to the North Sea and each day it is affected by two low tides and two high tides. Thanks to this non-stop movement of water, the sediment is continuously churned up from the river bed and suspended in the water giving it its trademark brown colour.
I moved from Lagos to London and it’s probably the best decision of my life, It’s expensive but also full of opportunities. It’s strongest point is it’s orderliness and diversity, Greatest city in the world for a reason.
Advice - Try living there for 3 months, in WInter, before making any permanent, and expensive, commitments. Being broke, from November thru February, in a London apartment will open your eyes to reality. London (like most major cities) requires money, a lot of it, in order to really enjoy it. If you can't afford to enjoy the restaurants, Bars, attractions, then any big city will become a truly lonely and cold place. 20,000 restaurants are no fun if you're just looking in from the outside.
I grew up in London and was raised on meal prep, you saying that you can't cook your own meals? Splashing out on expensive restaurants every week is ridiculous!
The insight about london is pretty nice actually and also honest, it'll be good if you make a video comparing different cities and rating them using your criteria.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts on London. As a diaspora resident of this vibrant city, I agree with you that it can be pretty expensive to live here, and many locals prefer to avoid popular tourist areas due to the high cost of living. There are other great towns and cities in the UK worth exploring, such as Manchester, Oxford, Birmingham, the Midlands, Wales, and other quintessential towns and villages where the elite live. Despite the challenges of living in London, there are still plenty of beautiful places to visit around the city, such as East London, Kent, Cambridge, and other Essex home counties. Tourists and locals alike need to be aware of the realities of living in London, including the increasing cost of living, which has unfortunately led to an increase in homelessness. Living in London requires being mentally, emotionally, and financially strong, but with the right mindset and resources, it can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. One can only succeed quickly if the person wins the lottery. :)
Comparing the two cities. It looks like London looks cleaner, more saner and the quality of life is probably better in London. It appears NYC is gritty, more lively, you see more passionate people, more creatives which also results in more money being made. The city encourages boldness and creativity. My observation between the two cities. Personally, Chicago is my favorite American city. Only visit in the summer time though.
@@JohnSmith-sm7ez according to recent statistics, NYC is the wealthiest city in the world. There are over 340,000 millionaires in the city. Please go google it.
@@crishnaholmes7730 I love the architecture of the city, the sky line, the food, the plethora of roof tops, the river walk area. It’s a well designed city. Less crowded and cleaner better than NYC.
I think I love the walking culture there, last time I spent 30 days in London I got a lot slimmer and fitter. People thought I’ll get fatter because I’m going to a place with a large variety of foods, but I realized that in a place like London, you can learn to eat food from other parts of the world which are more healthier than some Nigerian meals. I think walking culture is not a thing in Nigeria because of weather and security as well
The Oyster card has a daily cap, which means no matter how often you use it, it will not cost more than that cap. The cap for 2023 is £7.70/day so I have no idea where you get "A ticket cost me £12" from.
Wrong the cap is based on the zones travelled, I am charged around £11 daily for Zones 1 to 4, if I travel outside of these zones I would be charged more.
Honestly I'd live in London. New York is a very crazy place having stayed there on an holiday for a month. You will see the craziest things in New York
The meal for two if you add in a few extra drinks would be an average workers daily pay. The small backstreet flat that lady talked about renting is around 50% of an average pay. Its more than expensive.
Interesting video Tayo. London is quite an expensive city to live in, and you are right, most folks who live in London haven't been to most of the tourist attraction. Another cool museum to visit that is also free is the British Museum, another fav for me is the Tour of the Palace, that's also quite rich with alot of history, but I doubt you may be able to pull up the stunt to use a camera there. And yes, it's alot of walking in the city of London, but you can quickly get used to it, I just don't know how easy it would be doing such walks during winter, I have never experienced winter there. Love what you do Tayo, and I'm rooting for you to reach a million subscribers before the end of the year. Arios 🙏
The river is tidal, every time the water goes in and out it stirs up the silt. It’s actually a lot cleaner than it was back in the day, plenty of fish and wildlife returned to it. Oh and London has as many if not more sunny days than cities that don’t have the same bad reputation!
I worked as a waiter in South Africa once, working for commission and tips and I got to understand how tipping is important to the livelihood of people in the hospitality industry. Ofcourse its the fault of the employers, they should pay well. But if you understand how crappy those jobs are, tipping is the least you can do. I travel around the world now and I always tip, and I love how happy it makes people who are most probably having a bad day serving entitled customers at the whip of their exploitative emoloyers
In the United States it’s corporate greed, typical capitalist country where customers are the ones required to pay the salary of the waiters, some really get aggressive about it. These restaurants pay their waiters below minimum wage with the expectation that customers will be forced to pay waiters with tip, whether good or bad service. It’s just bad. I have visited Europe many times, and honestly they are well cultured. Now they even groceries stores asking you for tips, after using a self scanner to scan myself out. What manner of nons£ns£
I was in South Africa last week when I found out the staff are on tips only (they didnt even get a staff meal) so I tipped her well. I visit SA a lot but I didn't know staff were so dissrespected
What I would say is yes, seek opportunities but also seek to take what you learn and build up back home, try to implement the structure and stuff back home too. Do not leave and never look back until it’s too late.
Best to come during the summer months when the weather is usually hot and dry. Usually. We don't have many heatwaves in the UK but if you want to visit London and get good weather, May to August the best time. But bring an umbrella because it will rain!
British Nigerian here who is born and bred in London. This is definitely such an accurate reflection of london - awesome video. I'm glad you made the comparisons between New York and London. I travel to New York often for work and I definitely always make the point to people who want to travel to both cities that you definitely notice the homelessness and hygiene issues in New York a lot more, and it takes a while to get used to the tipping culture.
Absolutely nailed it, as a fellow born and bred Londoner who feels just at home in New York (more so if I’m honest), the two cities are forever fused! But yeah…London is way cleaner!
Yes he is British, born and bred in London. He is more English than Nigerian, Where you grow up defines your nationality, and has nothing to do with ethnicity@@iesroo
Nice one Tayo. Enjoying this. Point of correction if it has not been mentioned elsewhere is that the bridge at 8:27 is actually called “Tower Bridge” (and is next to ‘Tower Of London’ where the Royal jewels etc can be seen). London Bridge is about 100 metres away and looks like just an ordinary traffic bridge. Common mistake though. Thanks
@@abrahamvanderpuye1925 hahaha. Easy mistake to make especially when you compare the two bridges. Its as if they made a mistake naming the bridges appropriately. Lol
In America, tipping is necessary because the staff is paid far lower than the minimum wage. Basically consider the cost of the meal to be 20% more than the listed price. If the staff was paid as much as they should, the meal would cost 20% more. A meal listed $20 would cost $24. Basically tmy standard practice is to tip 20% for regular service. Only if the service is quite bad, then i tip 10%.
Im in an African village ,life is easyJet, Been wanting to move abroad for the longest, but social media just showing how hard life is out there omg it's scary. Maybe I should try deep Scandinavian village and come back to Africa after a few years
Hello Tayo, Here are some tips on budgeting for your trips to EU countries. If you plan to come back to London, I recommend using the hop-on and off buses as it is a great and cheaper way to travel while seeing London. The same applies to other EU countries. When touring the EU, I always use the red route bus as it shows and educates you on key artefacts and architectures. It's also a great way to meet new people. The green or yellow routes go into remote (local) areas, and I know this because of my connections to and from the EU area. It's essential to plan thoroughly, as your ticket is valid for 24 or 36 hours, depending on your budget. Another tip is to try eating outside of the cities, as there are fabulous chefs nationwide and in other EU countries. It will give you a good sense of the culture, people, and food when you venture outward. You also get more value for your money. #London. Every little helps! :)
After comparing America to the UK even tho I've not been to the UK before. I am very sure that the best place to live is in the WILL of GOD! I desire goodly to live in the UK but destiny has placed me in the States. Excellent content @Tayoainafilms
So true about the fact that people living in London tend not to use a lot of the stuff that's available. I would maybe go to the theatre once or twice a year and visit a gallery/museum or two. We moved away after 20+ years living there and the last couple of months were absolutely frantic with touristy stuff. On that note I'd recommend the British Museum on your next visit. Plenty of stuff in there that we 'discovered' from Africa (sorry about that).
A magestic city, I’ve lived here almost 30 years and I love it! NYC weather in the summer is fabulous! It’s gray today and I’m looking outside my window and cooking
I love the way you captured our City, it's so beautiful, I personally love London. city as I live in the country side and alway enjoy going to the city for few night. I love your videos and thank you for sharing.
Yes, nice to go for a couple of days but you need to get out - very expensive and the rest of the UK is catching up price wide. I -live in the second largest city in the UK and rent is average at between £800 for a two bed to 1200 per month for a 3 bed. I can see a lot of people from overseas leaving within the next 5 years because of it.
@rosahacketts1668 No, the rest of the UK is not catching up prices wise. There are still plenty of affordable places, especially in Northern England, Wales, Scotland & N. Ireland. The UK is not only London, Birmingham, Manchester & Liverpool. Towns & semi rural villages offer very good standards of living. Most people who like living in big cities are really missing out. I live in Scotland in a 3 bedroom house which I bought for £105.000.
@@Stirlingshirecastle your absolutely right, I moved from London to Kent 19 years ago because of london prices of properties and now even in Kent is expensive. I. Only go to London for work and social.
@@pamtz It was bound to happen. Remember Kent is the South East of England & is regarded as one of the 🇬🇧 prime locations. Even refugees & asylum seekers are not allowed to live there until their status is sorted. The Northern part is much more affordable than it's Southern counterpart. Me too, I now only visit London for a short break & head home afterwards.
@@Stirlingshirecastle I’m so glad I did it, it was hard at the time because I was 8 months pregnant and didn’t know anyone but now we even have African stores where we can buy African foods. I checked the prices of properties recently and I was shocked to how expensive it now. Kent is beautiful though. I feel like half of my life in Kent. I love every bit of it especially the best beaches and amazing parks.
Nice informative video. But a point of correction, the river Thames water is brown Not because it is dirty as in filthy, it is brown due to geographical reason. The huge amount of sediments and mud naturally transported with the daily tides explains the reasons for the brown colouration. Unlike in the West Indies and some parts of the world that has natural porous sandy soil that looks blue under sunshine reflection, the Thames river bed is muddy. Next time you are in London try and visit the Thames River Barrier Museum in the Woolwich area of London and watch the information video.
@@Jasikpo The explanation does not mean it is fully clean but there is more than one reason . Thames Goes all the way to Berkshire . Oxfordshire etc It is different along the course.... The Water Companies are not ethical but , Hey Nobody sits on a bridge and defecates in it
For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital's waste and as the population grew, so did the problem. The hot summer of 1858 elevated the stench to an unbearable level and resulted in an episode known as 'The Great Stink'. The Great Stink was an event in Central London during July and August 1858 in which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames. 🤢🤮😷🤣
Haha. I was surprised he said that. We take pavements for granted, I know some countries don't have them outside towns, so drive every where. Most of Europe have walkable cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Italian cuisine, I get, "African food" , there's no such thing. The correct thing to say for example would be Ethiopian food, Ghanaian food etc. Peace ✌️
London is one of my favorite cities after Dubai. It’s just clean and there’s structure. One tip, if you’re doing any atypical transaction: ALWAYS read their terms and conditions.
My second most favourite African TH-camr commented. Love you sir ❤
Bros I like work with you, I just love tech
Love your content
That structure is important. Thanks for the Tip boss!
Clean? Not sure about the clean though… It’s nice for culture.
As a born Londoner I find this very heartwarming, thank you for you positive review and perspectives from those here, the river is brown because of clay, and stabbings tend to happen vs gangs in bad areas away from any tourist zones, not as common as the news makes out.
That's not clay fella it's shitte off the inhabitants.😊
lol most stabbings dont make the news
He's lying, London is full of stabbings, many from Nigeria. Please only send your best and brightest, like Tayo and his lovely friend.
It’s a hell hole to those of us who remember the real London.
@@pendennis123London was London in the 50s
yes to the point about most Londoners don't get to experience the city. It's partly because people take it for granted and partly because people work so hard they have no time to enjoy their city, which is actually sad.
I work in central London, when i'm not working i don't want to be anywhere near the city, it's too congested and exhausting, outside London especially the coastal areas of England are amazing.
Yes, we in the UK work very hard indeed and then many die of stress related illnesses because the businesses and management are so demanding.
I think you have to be intentional about experiencing London. As busy as it is, I take a day or two once in a while just to visit a particular part of the city and soak in the sights and sounds.
Exactly. I know of people who live on small islands and rarely visit the coast. It's all relative and intention as you say is key. Plus there are other parts of Britain that are great to visit. It's nice to get out of London too.@@adeolaadelaja3186
@adeolaadelaja3186 yes, being intentional is the key word. if you don't plan those experiences you'll find that time runs away from you and before you know it, another year has gone by!
I'm a Londoner. The Thames River is brown because of the river bed itself, not pollution. The river has a very strong current as the estuary to the sea is only a few miles outside of London. This current, in turn, pulls all of the silt from the river bed, making the water appear brown.
EDIT: You did us proud. Such good video and and a Londoner, speaking for myself, I can take London for granted so seeing this reminds me how special this city is.
ehen o! thames is brown because of centuries of pollution. that is where all the crap went. and bodies dumped in when they used to behead people. theyve been trying to clean up but it's hard. it used to be much worse.
@ceoglobalanalytics5620 incorrect, the victorians introduced the sewerage system, which has been in use for over a hundred years, no longer dumping into the river. The river has also been cleaned. Just a quick Google will help you out, mate.
@ceoglobalanalytics5620 na, its muddy. It isn't very clean, but the colour isn't because of that. Even when the super sewer is finished, it'll still be brown
@@ceoglobalanalytics5620 You’re saying centuries old crap and decapitated heads are todays pollution problems? 😂
Fromy my understanding, Sewage lines from all the modern buildings built close to the Thames go straight into the Thames and then the current takes that water to the water cleaning facility near Greenwhich. And then continues to other.
Kings college London (KCL), testing the water during Covid, they were taking water directly from around Tower Bridge area (you can find reports written on this), they confirmed there were high amounts of cocaine in the sewage.
I was born and bred in London (half Nigerian, half German) lived there for 52 years before leaving to live in Portugal.
🇬🇧🇳🇬🇩🇪🇵🇹
All the feedback about London in the vidoe is spot on. There’s a lot I miss and a lot I don’t (the weather being #1). So now I get the best of both worlds. I get to visit, get my fix, then come back to Portugal. 😎 Win win!! 😊
Portugal is a vibe. I’ll be there again soon. Love the city!
@marthasheilds2446compare to the UK?
@@hassshoban8206
Well you have more successful black people in the UK compared to Portugal, so that should speak for itself.
@@generalblack5556 like Iwobi 🤣
@@hassshoban8206
Please tell me you're joking? Out of all the black successful people in this country you mentioned Iwobi?! I want your ignorance to enjoy a peaceful life lol
T, you keeping dropping hit after hit! My husband watched the video of Zimbabwe his homeland and was moved almost to the point of tears. Your story telling through the lenses of your camera is world class! Keep up the great work! Totally love and loving London!
Muroora wedu🎉🎉🎉❤ your husband will explain 👍🇿🇼🇿🇼
Awwww. Thank you. Send my regards to him ❤️
muroora wedu iwe😍
@@TayoAinaFilmsif I knew , I should have invited you to stay over I have 3 empty room space in my flat.. next time let me know or if you still in London let me know. I'll pick you up.
@@TayoAinaFilmsI really hope you come back to London I'm forced to stay there because of the expenses in NYC. The subway is definitely safer but I need a job for sure
I feel so lucky and privileged to have visited London and some other parts of the UK back in 2019 on a school trip. Hands down the best experience I’ve ever had, the UK is so beautiful🫶🏾
Glad you liked it. 😉
@@raygorf735thanks! I really did haha. Hope to visit again soon and see more sites:)
Abroad School Trips are always my favourite. Glad you enjoyed your stay here
This is a lovely comment, thank you from a British born and bred citizen 😊 please visit again!!
@@applesaretasty2.099thanks!:)
I moved from UK to US and gained 40lbs!! There’s barely any sidewalks/pavements in America outside of the big cities & I’m used to walking everywhere in London.
Which one do you prefer? I intend to relocate from US to UK?
I think ild really like it.
I made the opposite move & you're very right
@@followGreatnessWell I’m living in Norfolk, Virginia it’s not a popular city, it really depends on the state & city in the US you are moving from, I’m sure Houston TX or New York is better than where I am now. I have observed that UK has better structure & dealing with government agencies is much easier than in the US. E.g - I had a package coming from China and I never received it until after a year of ordering. The postal service customer help was non existent. In the UK my the postal system has a timeline (like 14 days) to solve your matter or they are in trouble. In US I felt like I am on my own, they sometimes operate like a developing country. However people make more money in the US than the UK.
@@followGreatness my two cents, even there's crime in London i do think your chances of growing old is a lot higher than the US. I really can't imagine me living in a country where three so much random crime and mass shootings.
Mass shootings are really just a USA issue. No other countries have it like that. Not even active war zones
It's all going to be subjective ...but I do get sick of people talking down the food...London has some of the best food in the world of every nationality for every palate ❤
Food not spicy enough. Don't understand where UK is geographically. Northern hemisphere in winter can't grow exotic food and spices. Traditional cooking was warming stews, puddings. Hardly anyone ate an avocado upto 1960s. Had to queue for a couple of bananas during the war. ( I know that's history!). Cajun spice is my favourite. Age 83. Liverpool.
Not everyone likes spicy food. I sure don’t.
Exactly ! I'm a Brit who's been living in Florida for the past 23 years and it's annoying when people say that the UK has bland food. America isn't exactly known for having the tastiest food in the world either - hamburgers, and those disgusting deep dish pizzas etc etc for example.
I’m very British and I grew up with the best of British food. My Nan and Mum were both amazing cooks and I would choose their cooking over anything else, most of which I’ve tried when visiting other countries. The only food I love as much is Italian 😋 Goes without saying I’m not into spicy foods, I prefer to taste the flavour of whatever I’m eating.
@@pjf2193 I fully agree. It's all about volume in the USA, over quality.
That said, it depends whereabouts you are in the USA. Food is probably better away from the bigger cities.
I'm a Jamaican that grew up in New York & absolutely love living in London although it's crazy expensive. Lots of people from Africa (especially Nigerians, Zimbabweans, South Africans, & Ghanaians), the Caribbean, & other places love migrating to the UK b/c of the stability, relative peace, unlimited opportunities, education, healthcare & for so many other reasons.
So true. 100% true. With love from Zimbabwe🇿🇼
Really? Wow I'm born and bred in London and its 💩
@@adgepeterbto you as someone who probably doesn't really know many other places & takes where you live for granted is shit but not to most of us other people
It's crazy expensive? You know what London has the best places that are worth of the prices there for London is our uk main city and there is so many adorable areas too that most tourists admire the most. The thing is a main city has to attract visitors for them to like it. Londoners love London for it is our everything here in UK. Like our Central London is heaven on earth. I am a British saying to you. London is not expensive but because its main city for our uk so the prices there are ok.
@marthasheilds2446 ehh not all cities. Most of the major cities in England are very diverse and are increasing in diversity like Manchester, Bristol, & Birmingham
My daughter has been lucky enough to have travelled the world twice. I asked her which was her favourite city in the world. Her response? "London". She didn't even hesitate before answering. Perplexed by this, I asked why since she'd literally been everywhere. She responded - "Because its civilised". No disrespect to all the other beautiful countries, but I wonder if this maybe why everyone comes here.
Yea, the British said they are civilised, but look at the atrocities they committed around the world. They say Africans were uncivilised. Such an interesting word for your daughter to use, she sounds brainwashed.
I've travelled to and lived and worked in almost 100 countries. My favourite city? London.
@@LM-op7wu She actually did. We have the receipts! Maybe her point of view is tainted/narrow, , hence my perplexity when she said it. She is from London and knows it like the back of her hand on both sides of the bridge. However, I don't think she'd disagree with you re it's soullessness at times - most cities are. That said, soulless doesn't necessarily equate to civility - manners, kindness and so on.
@@MaMu-fv8uo and why is London your choice?
@@DavidL1986 I can get a taste of anything I want from anywhere in the world in one city. There's also something to do every day of the week whatever your interests are. The city absolutely buzzes.
I am 74 (75 on the 3rd Sept 2024) and currently live in Balham (7.1/2 miles from the centre of London) however it is not cheap. Thankfully, I live in a Military Housing Association for ex-serviceman with a disability. My disability, is that I am nearly deaf+ back problems. My housing association rent would be £1,400 a month but I receive a big subsidy so only pay £652 a month which Lambeth Counsel pay! Without that it would be impossible! London is expensive, but what this city offers is a bit unique the culture, the arts, the history and a melting pot of the world trying to find their way in life. I agree the weather in London sucks! Can't have everything! LOL
The thames is one of the cleanest city rivers in the world! It looks brown because of the river bed. If you put a glass in the water is very clear
London’s weather also has a mind of its own 😅
That weather get as it be 😅😅
Loved watching this. As an English person, I've been to London quite a few times and lived there for a few months, but it is always exciting to visit - never dull, always crazy.
Oh, the obesity thing you mentioned, sadly, in the UK it is a big problem. It may not be so noticed in London, but we are ranked 36th out of 192 countries - so not so good.
Great video ⭐
I was thinking the same.
Nowhere near as bad as America
The Tate Gallery is more for modern art. If you want to see stolen African artefacts then the British Museum is the place to go. You will see a few things but much of it is in storage as they don't have enough space to display them all
Oh really. I have taken note of this for next time. 😅
Fortunately, entrance is free, so you can see the booty for nothing. 😆
I think this was a good, honest review of London especially someone born and raised in London. It’s so expensive and the cost of living crisis is making it worse 😭
You're so right about tipping.
Should be to show appreciation, not an obligation.
Like you said as well, the rest of us don't get tipped for doing our jobs.
As someone who has lived in London and loves the place but knows not everything is perfect there, I thank you for this honest and balanced review. But how come so many people complain about the weather in London. Noone complains about the weather in Paris. London and Paris has the same number of annual sunny hours!
Paris gets as much rain as London as well.
Always found it strange that London has a reputation that places with an identical or worse climate, like Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam etc, do not.
British culture always talking about the weather lol 😆
@@razorwestham5949 this is true.
What's funny is that we have this reputation even where the weather is the same.
I lived in Normandy, France, for years and they cal their climate 'English weather', even though it's literally their own weather and climate and always has been 🤣
Utterly bizarre.
The issue with British weather in general is not so much that it's bad as that's its very unpredictable. Five different weather systems intersect and compete over the British Isles, the Polar Maritime, Arctic Maritime, Polar Continental, Tropical Continental and Tropical Maritime. Which is why it can be warm and sunny one day, cold and torrential rain the next. Compared to continental Europe where the weather may not be 'better' its just in more predictable blocks. I think that's what people dislike about the weather when they visit here, they aren't used to such rapid changes.
@@williamnelson2228 dunno; lots of places I've lived/ visited around Europe is the same. Certainly Normandy is, as is Galacia in Spain. And Munich has the craziest (and wettest) climate in the whole of Europe.
I'm originally from the east coast of the US. Spent my teenage years in jamaica then back to the US. I've been living in London 8 years now. Before i came over i intended to stay 2 -3 years at most. After living here I can't see myself ever moving back to the USA.
NYC use to be my favorite city until living in London. Now when i go back there it feels dirty and backwards.
One major difference with London from NYC I've found is both have diverse communities but in London they actually mingle and interact with each other. I could go on and on about why i love this city but it'd be too long. One thing I'll say. London is a nice place to visit as a tourist but its even better as a place to live. Its a major city that feels like a town. If you know where to go things can be affordable too.
🙏🏿 🙏🏿 🙏🏿 Love to hear comparisons of two of the great cities of the world! Especially from a Carribean from the East Coast!
I'm a Londoner. For tourist if you stay within zones 1 and 2 you'll have a great time.
I love the fact that you get to see a lot of Nigerians in London. There is this sense of community.
Not for the English anymore.
@@patriciasanderson2171but they do not matter anymore that is why they fought hitler to become hated minorities in thier homelands.
@@patriciasanderson2171 of course it it is. I know lot's of English people living in London. Idiot
not to the british Jamaicans. they look down on Africans.
So you have now seen for yourself ! Tayo has wonderfully explained! Nigerians stop assuming that your family and friends are living a rich life in London, and be demanding money! In London we pay for everything! Also stop assuming we have it 'easier'. This is a comment the diasporic community get alot. There is nothing easy about living in London... It cost £10 a day to travel, rent is high, council tax is at least £100 per month, to earn more you will be taxed at 40% of your wages and the average wages don't make sense for the type of costs we are experiencing! After working and paying all our bills we would be lucky to have something left over for real enjoyment 😅😅. As a Nigerian born in London, and lived there all my life I've come to realise that London is a game where you have to figure out how to win and always stay on top!
That’s the same in the US but at least you can be your own boss and grow your own company . On the US many people are wealthy do to Real Estate as well as other Buisness ventures like Tech, Engineering, Solar Companies etc… My husband and I have three companies and make 7 figures in MD. Many other countries control how much you can make and what jobs to take . That’s why Iam against socialism and commission .
@@nataliewalters2759 The UK is not "socialist", we may pay a higher rate of tax but that also means we have the NHS(free healthcare) and our taxation system is transparent and automatic, nobody in the UK being taken to court for not filing taxes our taxes are automatically deducted from our pay.
We also have far better labour laws, more holidays too.
Uk verus USA?? 🙏🏾🙏🏾
If it is not "easier" in UK, come home! Yes, come home. I am rolling my eyes here. There is no such thing as an easy place on the planet, however some places are better and they afford you opportunities to live a decent live. People need to grow up and stop complaining because they need to make small adjustments. If you think life is hard in Europe, get on the plane and move to Nigeria. You will learn and understand the true meaning of "hard" and deprivation. smh.
I hope Nairobi will someday be like London as far as Development and infrastructure is concerned.
actually it's better to live in Nairobi if you are employed, everything is expensive in London , also fresh food and weather is far better in Nairobi
@@saidibrahim5931 actually, it's more about what the individual wants.
The uk stole all your resources that's why
I'm an American who LOVES London and have been many times. In fact, London is the only place outside of the US that I will go to alone. I feel comfortable flying there, making my way into the City and hanging out all by myself. Such a great city second only to my love, NYC.
I actually think the UAE that has Dubai, Abu Dhabi where I live etc is also safe if not even safer than London cos there's a lot of knife violence in London.
I feel like NYC and London have pretty similar vibes if you like one you'll probably like the other, London is more old (not in a bad way), and NYC is new
NYC is much much much nicer than London, NYC only place outside england i'd truly move to cant get enough of NYC been many times
@@Futura2500 I completely disagree I feel like NYC is like London on steroids, London is a little bit more, but very similar vibe in terms of cultural diversity, but NYC is definitely something else and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing
Hey Lisa, I would like to go with you to visit London in your next trip so it will be more fun.
I love the sincerity in this video, it's one of my favorite
i wish you could do the same for American cities
My family and I spent time in London this past summer and we stayed in East London but we visited many tourist sites such as Wimbledon, the palace, tower and London bridge, churches, museums and so forth. We traveled from US, New York area and we never considered using Uber, we used the tube all through even to and from the airport, and we averaged 20,000 steps per day. At the end of the trip, my outfits were loose. The cost of food in East London is much more reasonable than what you showed. The food is not as tasty, however, they are very health especially their milk products. I am sensitive to foods that contain dairy product so I drink only plant milk such as soy, almond. However, I ate regular ice cream with whole milk in London with no side effects. I also ate brick oven pizza with cheese without reaction. We did a little research about the ingredients that are found in foods in US and we found that 14 ingredients in US foods are banned in UK, so this little fact also maybe one of the contributing factors of the expanding waistline of us here in the US. Very good report.
If you return to London, go to supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury for cheap food.
They do 'meal deals': hot coffee, sandwich and snack all for approx 3.50.
A trip on a Thames boat to Greenwich is interesting, it has the old Maritime museum and Cutty Sark ship. Or Hampton Court palace where Henry V111 lived.
As someone who lived in London for the last 20 yrs it's really interesting to see what someone from another country makes if it and you have done this really responsibly and stayed for a reasonable length of time. Thank you for this entertaining video. Matcha is green tea powder btw
Hey Tayo, I appreciate your comment on tipping in the U.S. I totally agree that it's crucial for waiters and waitresses, given their relatively low base pay of around $5-$10 per hour. It's not mandatory, but a generous tip can make a real impact on their livelihood. Your content is great, and I'm eagerly anticipating the day I can visit London!
I used to wait tables in the US and servers don't get paid the minimum wage so tips make up their earnings. In other countries servers get paid more of a living wage so if they get a tip its nice but in the US it's necessary.
@@PatriciaBrooksCourageCatalyst I feel ppl are tiring of it in the USA. Soon the businesses are actually going to have to pay their way, like they always should have
@@DavidL1986 agreed. I hope that this is the case and that workers will have more rights in the US soon.
@@PatriciaBrooksCourageCatalystyeah, it can be a good thing, but why should it be mandatory. How do you know the customer isn’t a waiter themselves. But you almost force them anyways without a care in the world.
Then they should form unions and address that with the employers, and not try to make a living from Tips. If I pay for a service, shouldn’t be required to tip by force.
Loved this! It was cool seeing London from the outside view, but was also interesting to learn why African people enjoy it here.
I work in London and realised I don't appreciate it enough, so now I explore it a lot more than I used to so I get my money's worth but also so I educate myself. It can be a wonderful place when you stop to take it all in.
Im a Zimbabwean 🇿🇼(thanks to you Tayo for recently paying us a visit home last month).
Regardless of the expensive daily livng in London I will go there one day in this life. Its my dream land.
Thanks for sharing good content.
The water is brown because of the sand, not because its dirty. The east side of UK has brown seas and the south and west have clear blue sea.
Tayo you're absolutely right, Moving from Nigeria to London walking can be very exciting but not until you genuinely have tired feet from walking everyday. Sometimes i wish the cabs were cheaper!
"Is it your birth right" 🤣🤣🤣😅... My goodness I love how Nigerians express themselves, much love from a South African in London!
Lived in London since I was in my early 20's love it, in the late 1980's thing were not great in terms of progression for black people but things have change in London especially and as a Nigerian we do not hear the word you cannot only you can. That is why we are successful in whatever we put our mind to. London is expensive but you have to be smart with your money and where you live.
As they say "sticks and stones" words don't affect me just work hard and everyone will respect you. You will always get idiots wherever you go but you don't let them get to you
@marthasheilds2446 not really my friend. I have lived all over the UK for 26yrs and I have not experienced any racism that mainstream media like CNN and BBC report. I currently live in Wakefield and aside from poverty, racism is very extremely rare. To be honest in 2023 most native British don't care about the colour of your skin as long as you are actively contributing to the society and not leaching off it. This has been my experience anyway
@marthasheilds2446 like I said I have lived here longer than you. You can choose to remain a victim but I won't. Take care
@marthasheilds2446you are right l left the UK because of racism. I faced racism in university, work place and street.
You think so, go to Canary Warf, when work is over, count how many black people come out of those offices. Go to the schools and count how many black teachers you see. We are only given jobs the whites don't want. The exceptions to the rule don't count because they have to fill government quota as to the amount of black people the put in certain positions.
In predominantly black areas, we pay more council tax and they put parking restrictions in our areas so we have to pay to park at our homes. If too many black people try to move into a white neighbourhood, they move out, along with their businesses. I could go on and on. The only thing that's here are jobs but it takes 2 people to make a living. Thank God it's currency is strong so that when you send your money back home you can see it work. But it's hard to see your money work here.
As an American, I have always wanted to visit there!
Ah dude glad you enjoyed London. As someone thats lived here for 30+ years and i’ve travelled a lot to other countries I can honestly say I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The diversity and food culture (i’m a big foodie) is unmatched however cost of living is very expensive! Of course London has its issues but the positives outweigh the negatives (imo)!
Food culture? Which one British or foreign food culture?
@@lonalxaiaboth but for the best British food experiences you don’t want to be in London you need to be up north some of the best food especially the fish and chips from Whitby or any northern town is a lot better than anything available in London and 1/5 the price.
I travel a lot too and I have to say London isn’t even top 10 when it comes to food
Britain has no culture
food diversity yes, food quality no
Naija-born, NYC-raised, did a university study abroad program in London my senior year. Nigeria is my blood, NY has my ❤️ (tipping is recommended, but not mandatory) and London was A LOT of fun but the weather was the primary drawback, plus a racist incident when looking for a flat in Ladbroke Grove. Overall a great experience and I've been back a few times since.
Yes I was saying the same in my that tipping is recommended in the US not mandatory.. it’s cool to tio and I’m a big tipper
You can't be black a Naija born and complaining about racism because black people are the most racist and tribalistic on the planet earth.
Imagine Ladbroke Grove was a black & Carribean enclave back in the days, it's been thoroughly gentrified today.
Finally ❤ for nyc. 🙌🏾
London is amazing! River thames is brown because of the silt. It’s not dirty.
We don't experience most of the touristy stuff cos we are too busy working! and especially us Africans, we have too many kids, that would cost a fortune! lol. We are busy calculating and converting how much that money would help our family back home.. or how many pots of stew, soup, and trays of jollof rice we could make with that money! HAHAHAHA! Great video as always @Tayoaina! You ate this one again!!!😊
You said the Thames looks murky, it's tidal and reaches the sea, so every day the river rises up to ten feet.
The nicest art gallery is the National, in Trafalgar Square, and round the corner is the portrait gallery.
Churches are also interesting and free.
they're hundreds of years old, with statues, and old stained glass windows. Westminster Abbey charges approx 25 (!) but Westminster cathedral near Victoria station, is free.
Go to supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury for 'meal deals': hot coffee or cold drink, sandwich, and snack all for approx 3.50. And museums are free in Exhibition road, just past Harrods.
London remains my favorite city after Dubai. I feel safe and the system works very well. Paris is another great city asides the language barrier and the fact that it’s actually more expensive than London and Dubai and perhaps NYC.
Im london born and bred. Great video. For me im sick of london personally
London has less rain than New york! Their seems to have been plenty of sun durinng his visit too.
As a Londoner, I must say this is accurate. London is expansive, vibrant, exciting, always something to do, but it's expensive. Don't let the awful weather get you down, though as you can never get bored. The other good thing about London is that it's a walkable city. But, I will say do keep your wits about you because crime is on the rise.
Gggggggg
It's not on the rise, I would say it's always had a dark side to it. It hasn't been safe since the 1960s, and even then we had gangs.
If you don't like the weather then leave back to your own country
Crime is on the rise because of the Black and Asian gangs
Crime isn't on the rise. Do you remember the 2000s? We're a world better than it was when I was a child ffs. Let this narrative die!
Thank you for your very balanced and objective video Tayo Aina. Barring our weather and UK’s taxes, London is a really great city to live in.
There’s actually a saying that if one is tired of London, you’re tired of life. A bit of a stretch there but you get the picture. 😊
Anybody thinking of coming to London ,first Welcome I t would be good to see you. 2nd The streets are definitely not paved with gold m it’s a very expensive city and if you’re looking for work unless you’re highly skilled the wages are low and cost of living high.
Discovered you yesterday. I watched your _"30 days in NYC"_ yesterday, and searched and searched for your London version. What luck you upload now AND it appears in my recommendations 😄👌
Very good video. Just to let you know there is a 'mandatory' tip for Restaurants in London. It is called the "Service charge" you will see it on your receipt.
It’s not mandatory, and it’s not always added.
It's not always mandatory though, sometimes it's optional
It is not just in London you experience the grey weather it is all over the uk
All over northern Europe 😂
@@jackiedelvalle
East Anglia in Norfolk is the sunniest & driest place in the UK. I lived there in the early 2000s & I liked the place.
@@jackiedelvalleexactly. No different to other Northern European countries
Hi Tayo, when next you come to the UK, please do a tour of other cities. London is very different from the rest of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Go to Northern cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle. Go to Edinburgh in Scotland and Cardiff in Wales. You’ll get a much fuller view of the UK, and those places don’t disappoint.
You and the team did an amazing job producing this one. The content was lovely too. Thank you for featuring me in this video. It’s an honour to have met you.
When you return, we will go explore those things in London they never tell you about.
Peace up bro ✌🏼
Yes mostly fair comments but just a few points: to say that food is tasteless is daft because there’s loads of African and West Indian restaurants so where you eat is your fault. Yes it does rain but that’s far preferable to drought. Also, because of its northern location it can’t be like Africa weather wise and cold weather kills lots of germs and viruses.
Love the way he explains in details every moment in his trip❤
Hoping to make videos like Tayo in the future 😂
You could take a course on videography, focusing on documentary
Good to see you had a good time. London gives you history, modern living, opportunity, security and healthcare. It’s one of the most diverse and mixed capitals in the world.
Takes years to get onto the property ladder, even with a good job.
I like restaurants (never have to visit the same one twice), live bands and walking around London - 40 years.
The Thames is a strong tidal river which rises and falls by 10 meters, it causes the silt to rise and make the waters cloudy. London used to be a major shipping port, but now the port is a long way down in the Thames estuary.
The major crime in central London is pickpockets and simple personal theft. The knife crime is virtually all related to drug distribution and territory outside central areas, around 100 young men die a year and possibly 10,000 stabbings. I’ve never felt unsafe day or night in London, but be sensible and safe.
Thank you for talking about the city I was born and raised in. My mum came here over 50 years from Cameroon 🇨🇲 to study and work. She settled here until she passed away over 2 years ago
This guy deserves 1M subscribers.
Given its brown appearance many Londoners may not believe the Thames is actually clean, but it is in fact home to 125 different species of fish. The Thames looks brown, because it is a naturally muddy river, due to silt on the riverbed. Also the Thames is connected to the North Sea and each day it is affected by two low tides and two high tides. Thanks to this non-stop movement of water, the sediment is continuously churned up from the river bed and suspended in the water giving it its trademark brown colour.
I moved from Lagos to London and it’s probably the best decision of my life, It’s expensive but also full of opportunities. It’s strongest point is it’s orderliness and diversity, Greatest city in the world for a reason.
Advice - Try living there for 3 months, in WInter, before making any permanent, and expensive, commitments. Being broke, from November thru February, in a London apartment will open your eyes to reality.
London (like most major cities) requires money, a lot of it, in order to really enjoy it.
If you can't afford to enjoy the restaurants, Bars, attractions, then any big city will become a truly lonely and cold place. 20,000 restaurants are no fun if you're just looking in from the outside.
I grew up in London and was raised on meal prep, you saying that you can't cook your own meals? Splashing out on expensive restaurants every week is ridiculous!
The insight about london is pretty nice actually and also honest, it'll be good if you make a video comparing different cities and rating them using your criteria.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts on London. As a diaspora resident of this vibrant city, I agree with you that it can be pretty expensive to live here, and many locals prefer to avoid popular tourist areas due to the high cost of living. There are other great towns and cities in the UK worth exploring, such as Manchester, Oxford, Birmingham, the Midlands, Wales, and other quintessential towns and villages where the elite live.
Despite the challenges of living in London, there are still plenty of beautiful places to visit around the city, such as East London, Kent, Cambridge, and other Essex home counties. Tourists and locals alike need to be aware of the realities of living in London, including the increasing cost of living, which has unfortunately led to an increase in homelessness.
Living in London requires being mentally, emotionally, and financially strong, but with the right mindset and resources, it can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. One can only succeed quickly if the person wins the lottery. :)
Please can I ask you what lottery?
England/London is a beautiful civilised country. Born and Bred here i love it.
🤡🤡
London/UK has a big Nigerian community. One of the biggest outside Nigeria. I like London because Nigerians are welcome.
Oh. Peckham and camberwell and themesmead
Comparing the two cities. It looks like London looks cleaner, more saner and the quality of life is probably better in London. It appears NYC is gritty, more lively, you see more passionate people, more creatives which also results in more money being made. The city encourages boldness and creativity. My observation between the two cities.
Personally, Chicago is my favorite American city. Only visit in the summer time though.
Why is Chicago your favorite
London is livelier and more creative , and has more job opportunities .
London has more millionaires and 75% of the worlds money goes through Canary Wharf.
@@JohnSmith-sm7ez according to recent statistics, NYC is the wealthiest city in the world. There are over 340,000 millionaires in the city. Please go google it.
@@crishnaholmes7730 I love the architecture of the city, the sky line, the food, the plethora of roof tops, the river walk area. It’s a well designed city. Less crowded and cleaner better than NYC.
Great video. Born and bred Lomdoner here. Glad we get to share our city with everyone
You just made me fall in love with London. Watching EPL matches real life will slap much.
The way Tayo takes his time to review his tour videos just makes me experience the trip with him , Thanks Our Tour Guide 🎉
You are so much loved, Tayo. You make us see these countries as though we were with you in them. Thank you.
Ikr!
I think I love the walking culture there, last time I spent 30 days in London I got a lot slimmer and fitter. People thought I’ll get fatter because I’m going to a place with a large variety of foods, but I realized that in a place like London, you can learn to eat food from other parts of the world which are more healthier than some Nigerian meals. I think walking culture is not a thing in Nigeria because of weather and security as well
Tayo you came to London!
I wish I knew, you should have done a meet and greet with your London fans! Thank you so much for all the work you do!
He actually did one in Hyde Park like 2 months ago I believe .
The Oyster card has a daily cap, which means no matter how often you use it, it will not cost more than that cap. The cap for 2023 is £7.70/day so I have no idea where you get "A ticket cost me £12" from.
Wrong the cap is based on the zones travelled, I am charged around £11 daily for Zones 1 to 4, if I travel outside of these zones I would be charged more.
Honestly I'd live in London. New York is a very crazy place having stayed there on an holiday for a month. You will see the craziest things in New York
London's more calm & easy to live in than New York
I love New York, the shenanigans on the subways are scary though
@@Itsclaireasdayexactly
The meal for two if you add in a few extra drinks would be an average workers daily pay. The small backstreet flat that lady talked about renting is around 50% of an average pay. Its more than expensive.
Interesting video Tayo. London is quite an expensive city to live in, and you are right, most folks who live in London haven't been to most of the tourist attraction. Another cool museum to visit that is also free is the British Museum, another fav for me is the Tour of the Palace, that's also quite rich with alot of history, but I doubt you may be able to pull up the stunt to use a camera there.
And yes, it's alot of walking in the city of London, but you can quickly get used to it, I just don't know how easy it would be doing such walks during winter, I have never experienced winter there.
Love what you do Tayo, and I'm rooting for you to reach a million subscribers before the end of the year. Arios 🙏
I appreciate you. Thanks
This was such a good video that I'm going to subscribe now. Thanks for the wonderful overview!
The river is tidal, every time the water goes in and out it stirs up the silt. It’s actually a lot cleaner than it was back in the day, plenty of fish and wildlife returned to it. Oh and London has as many if not more sunny days than cities that don’t have the same bad reputation!
I worked as a waiter in South Africa once, working for commission and tips and I got to understand how tipping is important to the livelihood of people in the hospitality industry. Ofcourse its the fault of the employers, they should pay well. But if you understand how crappy those jobs are, tipping is the least you can do. I travel around the world now and I always tip, and I love how happy it makes people who are most probably having a bad day serving entitled customers at the whip of their exploitative emoloyers
In the United States it’s corporate greed, typical capitalist country where customers are the ones required to pay the salary of the waiters,
some really get aggressive about it. These restaurants pay their waiters below minimum wage with the expectation that customers will be forced to pay waiters with tip, whether good or bad service. It’s just bad. I have visited Europe many times, and honestly they are well cultured. Now they even groceries stores asking you for tips, after using a self scanner to scan myself out. What manner of nons£ns£
@@fumstarowas1013 the United States and South Africa are very similar because its the same story in SA
I'm South African, I always tip. People in hospitality earn too little here and many developing countries have the same problem.
I was in South Africa last week when I found out the staff are on tips only (they didnt even get a staff meal) so I tipped her well. I visit SA a lot but I didn't know staff were so dissrespected
@@paulgraham3901 that was me for three whole years, living on nothing but tips
The water is brown is because the river at that point is estuarine and muddy -it's actually the cleanest urban waterway in the world.
London is Nigeria of Europe. Many Nigerians in the UK
Caribbeans and Jamaicans run London also
Being a born and bred Londonder, ive found your perspective on my city very refreshing. Thank you
If you go to Peckham south London, you will meet a large Nigerian community
What I would say is yes, seek opportunities but also seek to take what you learn and build up back home, try to implement the structure and stuff back home too. Do not leave and never look back until it’s too late.
Yet another awesome content for the entire world to see!!
Keep doing what you are doing, Tayo 🙏🏾
Best to come during the summer months when the weather is usually hot and dry. Usually. We don't have many heatwaves in the UK but if you want to visit London and get good weather, May to August the best time. But bring an umbrella because it will rain!
British Nigerian here who is born and bred in London. This is definitely such an accurate reflection of london - awesome video. I'm glad you made the comparisons between New York and London. I travel to New York often for work and I definitely always make the point to people who want to travel to both cities that you definitely notice the homelessness and hygiene issues in New York a lot more, and it takes a while to get used to the tipping culture.
Nigerians are the biggers scammers.... just google or you-tube it
Indians are second
What do you do for work if you don't mind sharing?
Absolutely nailed it, as a fellow born and bred Londoner who feels just at home in New York (more so if I’m honest), the two cities are forever fused! But yeah…London is way cleaner!
You aren't British. You are Nigerian.
Yes he is British, born and bred in London. He is more English than Nigerian, Where you grow up defines your nationality, and has nothing to do with ethnicity@@iesroo
This guy deserves the best ❤
Nice one Tayo. Enjoying this. Point of correction if it has not been mentioned elsewhere is that the bridge at 8:27 is actually called “Tower Bridge” (and is next to ‘Tower Of London’ where the Royal jewels etc can be seen). London Bridge is about 100 metres away and looks like just an ordinary traffic bridge. Common mistake though. Thanks
Thanks for the clarification
Yeah true. Made that mistake when in london recently. Embarrassed myself😅
@@abrahamvanderpuye1925 hahaha. Easy mistake to make especially when you compare the two bridges. Its as if they made a mistake naming the bridges appropriately. Lol
@@sirprestige8803 hahahah yeahh.
Tayo you are a genius in explaining things in a simple way. You are exceptional when it comes to creating content.
In America, tipping is necessary because the staff is paid far lower than the minimum wage. Basically consider the cost of the meal to be 20% more than the listed price. If the staff was paid as much as they should, the meal would cost 20% more. A meal listed $20 would cost $24. Basically tmy standard practice is to tip 20% for regular service. Only if the service is quite bad, then i tip 10%.
Im in an African village ,life is easyJet, Been wanting to move abroad for the longest, but social media just showing how hard life is out there omg it's scary. Maybe I should try deep Scandinavian village and come back to Africa after a few years
Hello Tayo, Here are some tips on budgeting for your trips to EU countries. If you plan to come back to London, I recommend using the hop-on and off buses as it is a great and cheaper way to travel while seeing London. The same applies to other EU countries. When touring the EU, I always use the red route bus as it shows and educates you on key artefacts and architectures. It's also a great way to meet new people. The green or yellow routes go into remote (local) areas, and I know this because of my connections to and from the EU area.
It's essential to plan thoroughly, as your ticket is valid for 24 or 36 hours, depending on your budget. Another tip is to try eating outside of the cities, as there are fabulous chefs nationwide and in other EU countries. It will give you a good sense of the culture, people, and food when you venture outward. You also get more value for your money. #London. Every little helps! :)
Some great tips!
After comparing America to the UK even tho I've not been to the UK before. I am very sure that the best place to live is in the WILL of GOD! I desire goodly to live in the UK but destiny has placed me in the States. Excellent content @Tayoainafilms
❤YES SIR
Tayo, same experience. I am greatful you are not faking it. Thanks for being real.
So true about the fact that people living in London tend not to use a lot of the stuff that's available. I would maybe go to the theatre once or twice a year and visit a gallery/museum or two. We moved away after 20+ years living there and the last couple of months were absolutely frantic with touristy stuff. On that note I'd recommend the British Museum on your next visit. Plenty of stuff in there that we 'discovered' from Africa (sorry about that).
"Discovered" = stole.
A magestic city, I’ve lived here almost 30 years and I love it! NYC weather in the summer is fabulous! It’s gray today and I’m looking outside my window and cooking
I love the way you captured our City, it's so beautiful, I personally love London. city as I live in the country side and alway enjoy going to the city for few night. I love your videos and thank you for sharing.
Yes, nice to go for a couple of days but you need to get out - very expensive and the rest of the UK is catching up price wide. I -live in the second largest city in the UK and rent is average at between £800 for a two bed to 1200 per month for a 3 bed. I can see a lot of people from overseas leaving within the next 5 years because of it.
@rosahacketts1668
No, the rest of the UK is not catching up prices wise. There are still plenty of affordable places, especially in Northern England, Wales, Scotland & N. Ireland. The UK is not only London, Birmingham, Manchester & Liverpool. Towns & semi rural villages offer very good standards of living. Most people who like living in big cities are really missing out. I live in Scotland in a 3 bedroom house which I bought for £105.000.
@@Stirlingshirecastle your absolutely right, I moved from London to Kent 19 years ago because of london prices of properties and now even in Kent is expensive. I. Only go to London for work and social.
@@pamtz
It was bound to happen. Remember Kent is the South East of England & is regarded as one of the 🇬🇧 prime locations. Even refugees & asylum seekers are not allowed to live there until their status is sorted. The Northern part is much more affordable than it's Southern counterpart. Me too, I now only visit London for a short break & head home afterwards.
@@Stirlingshirecastle I’m so glad I did it, it was hard at the time because I was 8 months pregnant and didn’t know anyone but now we even have African stores where we can buy African foods. I checked the prices of properties recently and I was shocked to how expensive it now. Kent is beautiful though. I feel like half of my life in Kent. I love every bit of it especially the best beaches and amazing parks.
The Thames is a tidal river, so it is always coloured with silt that is constantly being moved by the movement of the tides.
Nice informative video. But a point of correction, the river Thames water is brown Not because it is dirty as in filthy, it is brown due to geographical reason. The huge amount of sediments and mud naturally transported with the daily tides explains the reasons for the brown colouration. Unlike in the West Indies and some parts of the world that has natural porous sandy soil that looks blue under sunshine reflection, the Thames river bed is muddy. Next time you are in London try and visit the Thames River Barrier Museum in the Woolwich area of London and watch the information video.
No amount of explanation you’d want to give will work.
It’s dirty it’s dirty.
@@Jasikpo The explanation does not mean it is fully clean but there is more than one reason . Thames Goes all the way to Berkshire . Oxfordshire etc It is different along the course.... The Water Companies are not ethical but , Hey Nobody sits on a bridge and defecates in it
@@Jasikpo I quite agree with you it is dirty.
@@s3enu Just admit it is naturally dirty. I know Tayo is looking for something to say about the cleanliness of the city though.
For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital's waste and as the population grew, so did the problem. The hot summer of 1858 elevated the stench to an unbearable level and resulted in an episode known as 'The Great Stink'.
The Great Stink was an event in Central London during July and August 1858 in which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames.
🤢🤮😷🤣
I love London also; however, I live in NYC and I do get to walk a lot. We do have sidewalks.
Haha. I was surprised he said that. We take pavements for granted, I know some countries don't have them outside towns, so drive every where. Most of Europe have walkable cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Italian cuisine, I get, "African food" , there's no such thing. The correct thing to say for example would be Ethiopian food, Ghanaian food etc. Peace ✌️