r/Glasgow Tools

i stayed in london for a bit and i really hated it. like i grew up outside glasgow where it was common to chat with your neighbors or people on the street. but i felt like that was difficult when i stayed in london. it kinda felt like everyone was only looking out for themselves and seen things like kindness and empathy as weakness. i remember watching a dude come off his bike, running to help him up and move his bike out the road and the drivers were just honking at us and no one really came to help me see if he was ok. just kinda staring at me like i was crazy for helping this dude. i went home that night and my neighbor just said to me "i seen you help that man" and just walk into his flat.

i always have this memory of trying to chat with strangers while waiting at the lights to cross the road and getting looks like i just insulted their mother. like there was one set of lights that took a while, i made the joke "i think these lights work in geological time" and the other person at the lights who was waiting with me just said "don't talk to me" i found living in london very isolating. it's why i only lasted 12 weeks. but i have this memory of getting off the train in central and within 2 mins, a stranger striking up a conversation with me about the best pizza place in town (the answer at the time was always scrummy yummy pizza co)

i know it's a cliche but i kinda love that most glaswegian folk are pretty friendly and chatty. it kinda forces you to be more social than you normally would be. even if sometimes it means having conversations you might not want to have.

i do have my problems with glasgow (it's a fucking dirty city, public transport/active transport needs some work) but i kinda still love it.