Moving To The City

Warm sunshine beating down in the garden, birds singing, lazy river flowing, trees, animals and flowers galore. But not for much longer. In two weeks time I make the move into the big smoke, I'll actually be IN London this time. When people ask me where I live my answer won't be the usual 'oh near London, just forty minutes outside' (which is code for small, countryside village absolutely nothing like London but as a Northerner the closest I've ever lived).

City or country? Although I'm eager to make the swap, I'm curious to know..when you compare the two, which one comes out on top? I had reservations about country living to begin with; being awoken by horny ducks mating outside my window at half six in the morning did not sell it to me. However sitting on the balcony with a glass (or 3) of wine, watching the sun set over the fields is truly magical. With the weather so beautiful at the moment I can't help feeling like the countryside is acting like a bitter ex rubbing it in my face 'you idiot, you're leaving me? Well check out how spectacular I am!' 

Yes life in the country is beautiful, relaxing, idyllic, but here are some of the things I wont miss.. Getting a pizza craving at 10pm and discovering that not all ASDAs are 24 hour!? Going shopping in town and being limited to new look and super drug. Everything being at least a ten minute drive away (which means far too many sober nights out). Local entertainment being the obliterated drunks who do a round of the pubs dishing out painfully bad chat up lines like 'Do you believe in love at first sight or shall I walk by again?' (not as funny the third time around).

Despite this I can't help but love living in the countryside and have to recommend you give it a go sometime. Can I really survive in the city with the only tweeting being that of the nearest smart phone? Watch this space...

Restrained splurging

Sometimes there is no better solution than to throw caution to the wind (or money at the retailers) and splurge. Sometimes those shoes just have to be bought, that show needs you in it's audience, and that espresso martini needs a willing body to intoxicate.

When the money worries of attempting to finance life in London on a waitress's wage got too much to solve, the only answer was to grab my sister (aka fellow impulsive sporadic spender) and let go of some money worries by letting go of some money.

Disbelievers, don't mock it until you've tried it. While I wouldn't recommend splurging on Chanel and Mulberry (guaranteed credit card hangover the day after), a little luxury here and there certainly numbs the depression of realising that you're way over your overdraft. Just as contradictory as 'sweet sorrow', 'restrained splurging' is life's beautiful oxymoron. Getting out of the house for a coffee and cake may not seem the best idea when your bank account is so painfully anorexic, but it is guaranteed to brighten your mood. 

Be it retail therapy, a trip to the cinema (which I'm afraid is considered a luxury with London's extortionate prices) or that quaint cafe you always wanted to try, grab a pick me up! Let go of your sensible side and have a day free from your wise mother's warnings of consequence. What's life without a little splurge!?

I'm afraid you need experience for that experience!

After years of living and breathing tests, fuelled with the firm belief that education is the key to success, now that we have wrapped up our SATs, GCSEs, AS levels, A levels, End of Year exams, Mocks and Degrees, the job market has changed its mind..'erm, actually we don't care about your degree, experience is the new must have'.  Since when is the job market as fickle as fashion? 

It would appear that us twenty somethings are the unlucky generation who endured the tests obsession and education overload, and then graduated in the pit of the recession. Why do we have no experience? Maybe it was a little hard to fit in midst the endless exams and part time jobs we needed to fund our hooch jackets and new Nokia 3310s. We were sold degrees with the assurance that they guaranteed you a job, yet now they are so common place the 'essentials' bullet point 'Candidate must have a degree' reads as unimpressive as 'Candidate must be able to speak'. When applying for a job in a bar or cafe it's detrimental to your success; 'degree' reads as 'WARNING this person will leave you as soon as humanly possible'. Can I get a refund on that degree because it definitely doesn't do what it said on the tin.

Negativity aside, university is an incredible life experience and I still believe in the value of education. But a word of advice for employers out there; give us twenty somethings a chance. Remember we still worked for three, four, five years for that degree. Don't bin that CV and assume that lack of experience means lack of skill. Plenty of us are trying to get our hands on some experience, but apparently you need experience to get work experience nowadays!