Marius Holtan concludes his New Londoners series by observing how a generation of young Europeans has migrated to London in the hope of ‘making it’.
Moving to London I met people from all over the UK and the EU, all with the same high hopes of London life and what it could do for them.
Fashionistas from Manchester and DJs from Spain are crammed together in mould-ridden flats that cost twice the living wage, working crazy hours for ridiculous managers, and spending every last penny on cheap cocktails and frocks from sample sales – all in the hope of ‘making it’.
Throughout Europe, increased national debt and decline in domestic labour markets have led to a youth invasion of the UK capital. London is the melting pot for Europe’s Generation Whatever ( Gen X, Y, Z – I’ve lost track of what we’re supposed to be).
As a stranger here myself, I can say with some authority that no one really knows what ‘it’ they are supposed to ‘make’, but everyone has a story about why they came here to make it.
Of course there are recurring notions of the perfect job – being a stylist for the semi-famous; PR assistant at a 24/7 agency, or playing music at the hippest and dirtiest underground bar. But these are notional rather than tangible, and who knows – or cares – the ‘it’ they have in common?
Others wax lyrical over the big city life – ploughing your way through the masses of tourists on Oxford Street, getting free drinks from a sleazy promoter at a night club way past its peak, and topping up your Oyster card for the third time this weekend, so that you can explore all the new hip places in East London.
For some it’s the whole package — an un-insulated town house in zone one, a job that costs them more in tube fares than it brings in at the end of the month, and a nice group of friends to party with (although they can only meet every other Friday, because everyone lives in separate parts of the city and no one can afford to go out much).
But there seems to be one it-factor everyone agrees on. No matter how young or broke you are, there is no place like London to make you feel fabulous.