Welcome to the Neighbourhood

There are a lot of reasons I chose the residence I’m living in. It’s only a 20 minutes walk to school, and relatively cheap. It’s catered—a mostly fabulous dinner is included. And I have a single room. But a nice addition is the neighborhood.



My residence is located in the Bloomsbury area of London, a place that’s known to be home to artists, academics and yuppies. In the early 20th century it was home to the likes of John Maynard Keynes, Virginia Woolf and the many members of the Bloomsbury Group. In fact, you could say we’re neighbours now as their houses are on the next street from me.

Keynes' House

The proof

Meeting place of the Bloomsbury Group

the proof

A nice feature of the neighbourhood is the parks. There are no less than four parks within five minutes of my house: Russell Square, Gordon Square, Tavistock are just some. And Regent’s Park (link) is just a 10 minute walk and five minute run away (I know this because when it’s nice outside, Ericka and I would go for runs in it).

Tavistock Square

These parks are gorgeous, especially in the autumn with the leaves changing. They have fountains, statues (like one of Gandhi in Gordon Square) and plagues on the benches engraved with dedications, just like in the movie Notting Hill. They’re a nice detour from the mundane sidewalks on my walks to and from school.


I choose this place hoping that it’s chill, bohemian vibe would rub off on me and I’d learn to be relaxed, artsy and chill like them. So far, this hasn’t happened.