London and the Anxiety Threshold

London and the Anxiety Threshold(medium.com)

15 points by blairharper 5 years ago | 7 comments

Seems like a big factor in the decision was the temperature of the tube during the summer? Do they not have air conditioned cars yet? That is a shame. I went to London with my wife in around 2010 and even in May it was already getting to be pretty warm down there.

Here in NYC, the stations are hot but at least once you get on the train you won't be sweating. Although you might die of hypothermia if you have a long way to go because they have the thermostats in the cars set to like 25 F.

Tbh I'm surprised that financial and housing anxiety didn't play as big of a role in his decision. Even as a rich guy in NYC this is a large component of what makes me anxious in the city. If I knew I would always be able to afford to live here without trouble I'd have few worries.

blairharper 5 years ago | |

The London tube system is one of the oldest underground networks in the world. There’s no air conditioning, in fact it’s gotten so hot down there that the network has heated up the soil and clay around the tunnels. Heat management is a big infrastructure problem for Transport for London.

You’re completely right though, feeling too hot in a crowded space made me claustrophobic and became a significant environmental factor for me.

That’s interesting about financial/housing anxiety in NYC. I wonder if that’s something to do with renting? I was fortunate to be able to buy a place in London which meant my outgoings were fairly stable and predictable. Working in government also meant my job was pretty secure.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5 years ago | | |

I own my place in the city but the carrying (tax, insurance, mortgage) and opportunity costs are not insignificant. I actually have enough saved that I can manage the payments and other living expenses based on my investments, but it's closer to the edge than I'd like to be. Then again I am a person who desires certainty in all things so it might not be the same for most people in my position.

harg 5 years ago | |

I'm sure the tube wasn't the deciding factor when it comes to the anxiety, but as someone who (pre-covid) commutes daily in London I find my cycles to and from work are a great release and make the experience much more tolerable. You avoid the crowds, heat, delays and expense.

That said, the past 6-9 month's events have made me strongly consider how much longer I want to live here.

ky3 5 years ago |

For someone who confesses "mediocre GCSE levels," boy can he write. And notwithstanding how I hate false modesty as much as the next person, I'd love to have him on my team.

blairharper 5 years ago | |

Thank you for the kind words! I’m glad you appreciated my writing.

False modesty wasn’t my intention, I’ll do better to explain myself next time. I didn’t mean to address any view of my own competence, more that I was able to build a successful career without going through conventional channels, and with an anxiety disorder. I was by all accounts, a drop out with mental health problems.

My writing skills come from a career in writing government policy documents and stakeholder communications. Not formal education channels.

ky3 5 years ago | | |

> My writing skills come from a career in writing government policy documents and stakeholder communications. Not formal education channels.

Impressive. Did someone in your previous job look out for you? Did you have a mentor?

> False modesty wasn’t my intention, I’ll do better to explain myself next time. I didn’t mean to address any view of my own competence, more that I was able to build a successful career without going through conventional channels, and with an anxiety disorder. I was by all accounts, a drop out with mental health problems.

I was being ironic about the false modesty, wondering whether you know you're good and whether you know that you know you're good.

Unaccustomed as I am to spurning sage advice on never giving unsolicited advice, allow me to make the once-in-a-lifetime exception by suggesting that you keep posting your writing here on HN.

Clearly, your article didn't manage the page views it deserves for reasons you must find out. If you scrutinize what hauls in the eyeballs here you'll discern the sovereign narratives that rule the readership.

I look forward to your future submissions.