‘London is a labyrinth, half of stone and half of flesh.’
PETER ACKROYD, London: The Biography
Whether you are autistic or know someone who is autistic, at some point you will probably have wondered if an autistic person can live independently and what would be an ideal location for an autistic person to live. It’s a question I found myself asking over the last year and, after considering which city I would be least overwhelmed, isolated and stressed in, I packed my bags, travelled halfway across the country and set up camp in London… wait, what?
London can be a difficult place for anyone to navigate, let alone someone with autism, which is why it’s not unfair to say that, after announcing my move, many of family and friends expected the worst. However, whilst many of my early misadventures here have done nothing but proved these opinions right, I believe that London has also given me an unparalleled opportunity to learn about me, myself and my autism. So with the aim of sharing these life lessons and providing everyone with some sort of life update, today I wanted to share my personal pitfalls of being autistic and living independently in England’s capital city.
1. London is new
Since arriving in London, it’s safe to say that nearly all of my troubles can be put down to how new everything is. From the number of people who refuse to understand how traffic lights work, right down to the taste of the water, it’s actually astonishing how much difference a few miles has made. However, whilst these easy to name changes have often left me feeling uncomfortable at worst, it’s the knowledge that I’m surrounded by a city of new experiences that really gets to me, as it has thrown any sense of a routine out of the window.
That being said, one strangely reassuring thing I have found since coming to London is how well I can cope with city life… so long as I can see some resemblance of my old routine. A particularly peculiar example of this is how calming I have found the presence of my kettle from home being in my kitchen. A device which somehow has the magic power to convince my brain that, no matter what surprises I face in a day, it can’t be that bad as I am still able to come home and make a cup of tea exactly how I did in Manchester (how very British!).
2. London is expensive
Maybe it’s because of my very literal (geeky) way of thinking, or maybe it is something deeper, but I have always viewed money and time as a graph – as this allows me to make sense of value. For example, a comic which is usually around £3.75 can be read and enjoyed in about 15 minutes, whereas a game is £40 and offers around 12 hours of enjoyment. From this, it can be seen that for longer periods of enjoyment you have to pay a much larger sum of money (something which explains why holidays and experiences are saved for special occasions – as they would be unreasonable and inefficient to do all the time). In London, however, this graph does not follow.
This unfortunate inconsistency is caused by many things, but the most stressful example is how, in London, I can still get my expensive things online at the same cost but prices for food (which give at best a few minutes of enjoyment) are now just as pricey as a new book (which give about 6 hours of enjoyment). I know this sounds like I am blowing this out of proportion but with things not following the graph I have mentally created over the years, I have found it next to impossible to rationalize my purchasing.
3. London is unpredictable
(Photo Credit: James Vincent)
From protests constantly cutting off my path home to the street performer who dresses up as Pikachu regularly taking weeks and days off, it seems that the only thing which is consistent in London is that nothing is consistent. This is a problem as it means that even when I start to get over the fact that everything is new (as mentioned in point one), it seems that I am confronted with the certainty that the surprises are going to keep coming as long as I live here.
For me, the worst example of this was when it was decided that Trafalgar Square (where I work) would introduce a bright, red lion next to Nelson’s column earlier last month. This decision meant that I was unable to hold a conversation without complaining about its alarming colour for 7 days straight (not to mention how I was constantly distracted by its presence during this time, which ultimately led to infuriation, at the situation, at myself, and then at that big, stupid, feline). Luckily, I have the opportunity to work from home some days (an opportunity I took full use of during that week) – but hiding from your problems is never the right solution.
4. London is loud
It goes without saying that the capital city is one of the loudest places I have ever been, but it seems that, in London, even in the quiet zones people have had their volume turned up to 11. People openly gossip in cinemas, mopeds screech down streets in the dead of night and public libraries are filled to the brim with crying children. It says something that I have begun walking down the street with my earphones in (even when they’re not playing any music), but even this hasn’t been enough to silence the fact that there seems to be an emergency services vehicle screaming down every other road.
Granted, this is something which has been made much more manageable by the beauty which is online shopping and the various autism hours, but for someone who’s sensory issues aren’t linked to loud noises (but being overwhelmed by distinct sounds at alarming levels) it seems that by placing myself in a situation where there are more noises than ever before, I have certainly increased my odds that I will be coming back, after a long day, in desperate need of a warm bubble bath.
5. London has The Tube (and it’s not that bad)
Okay, so hands up if you saw this one coming. Whether it’s the never-ending tube cancellations, the grinding of brakes as it arrives, the loud, warm and claustrophobic conditions of the carriages or just the fact I have no idea where to place my eyes once I’m on board, the tube, in no slight exaggeration, the worst thing about being autistic and living in London. But, whilst I could spend all day crafting a list of all the thing I hate about the tube, I feel it should be said that I am also thankful for it: as although it sucks to be on it or anywhere near it, avoiding it has given me a greater appreciation for our capital city.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of walking past the houses of parliament when I get off the tube early to head to work, I don’t think I’m ever going to stop smiling when a bunch of parakeets zoom past my peripheral during the extra early mornings when I get up to miss the hectic AM rush hour. I like that when it gets cold that doesn’t immediately mean rain (sorry Manchester) and I love that bookshops down south seem to be anything but the dead, empty buildings that they often are up north. Yes, these things hardly make up for the rubbish stuff. However, being in London has really made me understand that sometimes the sweet must come with the sour and, as such, whilst you will find me often complaining, I really am beginning to love city which is fast becoming my home.
Carry on the Conversation:
So maybe my experience in London hasn’t been that bad after all, what do you think? Has being autistic ever meant that you have struggled in busy cities? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. If you would like to hear more about how I coped entering this new city, then make sure to check out my article: 5 Tips to Avoid Overloading/Autistic Meltdown
As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.
If you like what you have seen on the site today, then show your support by liking the Autistic & Unapologetic Facebook page. Also, don’t forget to sign up to the Autistic & Unapologetic newsletter (found on the sidebar on laptops and underneath if you are reading this via mobile) where I share weekly updates as well as a fascinating fact I have found throughout the week.
Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
