Moans about Zones

Why are all our students so obsessed with London's zones?

I have no idea about the different areas of Madrid, Rio or Seoul. I couldn't tell you which part of Tokyo is the best to live in or where I should stay in Berlin. Is it good to be in the north of Rome or the south? I haven't got a clue!

And yet our students are always asking us for accommodation which MUST be in zone 1 or 2. Do they really know London?

So, maybe what everyone needs is an explanation of the zones!

Firstly, I have never met a Londoner who has ever mentioned zones. Seriously, if you ask someone from London where they live the answer will be: Finchley or Ealing or Clapham or Hackney. Nobody will ever say, "I live in zone 3."

The zones are just concentric circles designed by London underground to make it easier to have different fares for the underground and buses. Nothing more and nothing less.

And yet our students are convinced that zone 1 is heaven and zone 5 is hell!!

London is an enormous city, the biggest in Europe, and it is not designed to be nice in the middle and worse the further out you move!

There are some lovely parts of zone 2 and some which you wouldn't want to stay in and I can say the same about zone 4 (where I live!).

I'm sure that what our students really mean is that they don't want a long journey or to use public transport... but that's part of the fun of being in such a big city. Or maybe they think that the "centre" of London is the only place to visit. Of course, London makes things even more confusing by having two centres; the City and the West End.

The best way of thinking of London is to imagine lots of little villages squashed together. Each village is self-contained and has its shops, pubs and restaurant... and each has its own very special atmosphere. So, Chelsea, Hoxton, Westminster, Hampstead, Brixton and Golders Green are all parts of London that you may or may not want to visit or stay in... but not because of the zone but because of what makes them interesting.

My advice... stop moaning about zones, stop thinking that London begins and ends at Piccadilly Circus and fall in love with this great big, messy, noisy, busy, wonderful city!!

Stuart Rubenstein
Principal