I just got back from London where I had an amazing time! I had a chance to hang out. I worked with and coached a lot of great London blokes. I got to flirt and have fun meeting some London babes. I also learned some interesting slang.
I learned about interesting differences between England and the United States. One thing I learned about, for example, is the Decree Nisi. I found out that the divorce process in England is different than it is in the United States. They call it by a whole different name: a Decree Nisi.
In this system, once both parties have agreed to petition for a divorce (regardless of the grounds), then a Decree Nisi is pronounced in court at a hearing that neither party is required to attend. A copy of the Decree Nisi is posted to both parties. Six weeks and one day from the Decree Nisi being announced, the parties apply to have the Decree Nisi finalized into a Decree Absolute. Upon receipt of your Decree Absolute . . . you're legally free.
While learning stuff like that is great, the thing I really want to talk about in this blog is the difference between the style and culture of London and that of the United States.
First, let me say that British men hands down are far better dressers than their American counterparts. You will not see a British man out at night in an untucked dress shirt that looks like a dress on him.
It seemed like that in London there is a clothing store on every block that fits every budget. One of my favorite new finds is www.topman.com.
Also, regardless of whether you're out during the day or at night, British men just have an overall style and appearance about themselves that states "I care about the way I look." Men will go out wearing trainers (which by the way are sneakers), a pair of jeans and a jumper (which can be a sweater or a shirt) . . . all of which are the right size.
This is one thing about American men about which I've always had a problem. So many men in the United States wear jeans and shirts that are way too big. In London, you just don't find men like this who wear clothes that don't fit them correctly.
Ladies, I know we've talked about this a lot. You like men who have a neater overall appearance and not a sloppy look.
While British men do dress better than American men overall, they still have many of the same issues about approaching women that American men do. They have the same shyness. They have the same fears. They have the same insecurities.
For these reasons, working and coaching over there is very easy. I just didn't have to spend as much time on the art of style.
For the women in London, there is an array of stores where they can get really good but cheap fashions. As is always the case, Europe is about a year ahead of the United States when it comes to the latest trends.
Women in London also do not generally show as much skin as women do in the United States. I will grant that the weather was dreary and drizzly when I was there, but I hardly saw any women whose g-strings were visible over the top of their jeans when they bent over like I see everywhere I go in southern California.
I've never really liked the southern California style of dressing. I have always preferred the New York woman's style of dressing because I find it classier and sexier. I don't need to see all of your skin . . . it leaves more to the imagination.
London is a great city for me to coach in because it has nonstop energy and a ton of people to flirt with every day. I also find the British to be easy to talk to and quite friendly.
I will say that British folk can be a tad too drunk and loud at night. London is a trip . . . just step out onto the streets at midnight when the pubs close and the streets are full of drunken people. It is quite amusing to watch.
As for the sliding Dollar, let's just say I'm not surprised considering the state of politics here in the U.S. . . . so I really didn't think about it. It is a little disgraceful that we have to pay so much more to hang out in London, but it's also nice because the Brits get a discount on all my coaching and products.
By Wednesday I really didn't care about the doubling anymore, and had a lot of fun purchasing. It's really the same price if you think about it.
A nice hotel room in London will run about the same amount as an equivalently nice room in New York City after you double it. The only problem was that my fantastic egg sandwich that would run me $3.00 in New York City, ran me $5.00 in London.
Nevertheless, London is my favorite city and I am really looking forward to working with more clients there in 2012.
Now it's your turn. What is your favorite city in the world and why?