This SMH story immediately took me back to my time spent working in London (
part 1 part 2).
Tales of the East End (and not much at all like
EastEnders) will always have a place close to my heart after spending months wandering the back streets around the area, working in the old
Truman Brewery, following the footsteps of Jack the Ripper, and generally being in the heart of a constantly pulsing city.
The area is similar in some respects to parts of Sydney where I work now - a once shady part of town that plenty of people will still "never go there" but if you give it a chance you'll find a revitalized friendly vibe. I never once felt unsafe wandering around Brick Lane late after closing time looking for a curry, but I guess if you pick the wrong street at the wrong time there are conceivably bad areas still. No different in Sydney or any other city around the place though.
I'd be back there in a heartbeat. Oh to have two lives, one here and another over in London. Actually, three would be nice - love
Munich also. And maybe a fourth, just randomly wandering the world on someone else's money.