Five brilliant things about living in East London.

Maybe a funny place to start, but in some ways, its a way of ending,

Shoreditch was my home for around 17 years; I moved there when I was 26 pretty much on a whim, and it was great fun. I am now 43 and leaving; we are different people, have serious jobs and have a baby. Soon we probably won't even be in central London. So I thought it would be good to remember some of the fun bits.

Also, it's a bit of an experiment to see if clickbait titles actually work.

I moved into Shoreditch around 2003, so the high point of the art scene had already moved on, but it was still cool; I then enjoyed watching it go through several cycles - it got a bit quiet, it got a bit serious, then a bit rowdy when the Essex contingent discovered it, then for a little while it seemed to be getting a bit foody. But there was always an air of fun; it was a place people come to have a break to let loose. But it's also a good place to live. So below - 5 (it was going to be 10, but it turns out writing is hard) brilliant things about the east, in no particular order, and some are clearly more profound than others:

1. It's always changing but with a core that stays the same
2. It's a weird vibrant mix of people
3. There is an amazing range of places to drink, on one night, you could start with a classy drink near the city, then a rowdy beer in Bar Kick, and end up at Dolphin
4. It's convenient, and people don't mind coming to see you. If you ask an old friend to come out for a drink, I bet it's easier in Shoreditch than Stoke Newington!
5. There is a buzz and an excitement about it, this in part because there are lots of young people. But also people seem excited about life and their work. Yes some of it is a bit silly (and Nathan Barley)

note: this is a pretty bad list I will need to update this.  I have not caught the true flavour of the area, at least as I knew it.