Interesting article at the Telegraph talks about “The rise of London at New York’s expense” and how “After 9/11, America turned inwards, reducing immigration that for so long had stoked its economy.” Yeah, I remember when London was “a city broken by disappointment and bad plumbing”, but it was still a great city even then and one had some hope of affording to live in spitting distance.
“Today, London stands on the brink of surpassing New York as the world’s financial centre.” If that seems incredible to you, imagine how it does to us who have lived and worked there and, who are offspring of people who were actually born and grew up inside the “square mile.”
The rich foreigners in London in my mother’s day were jews and, to be honest, the only reason my grandparents were able to stay inside the city was by virtue of a live-in job with a firm of importers, otherwise, even then, as ordinary people, they could not have afforded London prices.
Today these are prohibitive to all but the select few.
The article shows that there’s a price to pay for excluding the immigrants who are essential to a city’s growth.
But even that financial growth comes at a price.
As the article asks, “Just think what London could be without high taxation, terrible transport and even worse social services.” And what of the real heart of London, it’s people: The real Londoners, if there are any left at all?
PS: Does London really have it’s own “suppository” building now (it’s so long since I was there), or did that get Photshopped in from Barcelona?
If you found something you like here, why not subscribe?
Sponzurz
