Why London is the greatest city in the world

I've always had such a deep love and fascination with the bright lights of London. At the tender age of four I insisted I wanted to go to London and see the dinosaurs for my birthday. At the age of 11, I was adamant that all I wanted to do was work in the city. At the age of 21, I interned at various publications soaking up everything the big smoke had to offer. Finally at the age of 23 I got a job in central London. After a little blip I'm back commuting every day from Essex and I honestly couldn't be happier. London is where I'm meant to be. It's the city that captured my imagination and nothing has ever quite lived up to it.

I've been lucky enough to travel and see so many cities. New York, Barcelona, Berlin and Chicago have all left a footprint on my heart. But nothing has fully captured it hook, line and sinker quite like London.

This city chews you up and spits you back out with a vengeance. The city is all-comsuming, exhausting, aggressive, unapologetic and fierce. The people are rude, the streets can be dirty, the weather is truly awful, the tube makes me want to bang my head against the wall repeatedly and tourists insist on not walking down the left side of the escalator. But it's also the most magical place in the world. I still feel awestruck as I wander through the winding streets, pride when I see the city put on a show, goosebumps as I soak up the the history of yesteryear and emotional looking out at the thames after a bottle of wine. It's got such a colourful past in every corner and such thirst for life. It's a place where you can be anyone you want to be and no one ever bats an eyelid. The world is your oyster. Communities from all over the world have come together and made it their own. The melting pot of cultures that bubbles on every street helps to make it wonderful. It's a city that always feel so alive, so eager and so vibrant.

There's nowhere else quite like it. London is quite simply the greatest city in the world.