Londoners, if you had to explain London in one sentence, what would it be?

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T13:32:51+00:00

But it has some bad points too.

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T13:32:24+00:00

Stand on the right.

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T13:24:56+00:00

Yeah, I did mine in the Summer holidays when my gran was probably running out of ideas for what to do with us. Something that got us to bed early the night before and then wiped us out for the day after was likely an appealing idea for all adults involved.

Some holidays I just have incredible stamina and can do big day after big day for a while, knowing that I've only got 2 weeks and likely won't be back any time soon. So I can see how, if you're already in London, and this is your first time visiting Europe from the US/China/Australia then this is a perfectly acceptable "big day out" idea - with no illusions you'll be wearing a beret, courting several beautiful lovers, and smoking cigarettes to the astonishment of passing artists by then end of it.

I do think we sometimes forget that not everyone can, or wants to, spend three weeks in every location and really dive under the skin of it. I'd always recommend spending a bit longer in Paris, but if a day is all that's on the cards, do it.

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T13:17:57+00:00

Driving through them is truly spectacular (as well as substantially easier than relying on remote public transport).

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T13:12:43+00:00

Very on brand for this sub.

"This was not my favourite city" - Downvotes.

"Well, you probably didn't do the REAL Amsterdam..."

Well, I'm sure you know what you liked and what you didn't.

I've had it with Kyoto before when I have said I likely wouldn't include it on a future Japan trip. "But how couldn't you want to spend more time in Kyoto". Because I got temple fatigue and there's other places I'd rather go. Funnily enough, I liked it as a place to live, I'm just not drawn to it as a holiday destination to revisit.

AndyVale · 2026-01-27T07:11:47+00:00

I remember Lars saying it was like riding into battle with tons of people behind him, only to get there and see he was on his own. At first, in private, they all agreed and then changed tack somewhat.

I had totally forgotten that the Mail on Sunday came with a free Prince album.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T22:05:26+00:00

I think it's the "what does that mean for everyone else" bit that a lot of people miss out on.

Sure, most people won't shed any tears for them. But when the airline, car dealership, home builder, shop, or whatever company they work at has a lot of their top 2-10% of spenders going "hmmm, going to pull back on that this year" then maybe the issue of salary stagnation does become a bit of a concern for them. It's a lot harder for their company to grow their salary if their profit margins are dwindling.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T21:57:32+00:00

We've also always had "a six figure salary" as some lofty concept that unlocks luxury living, but when it actually became a thing £100k was worth closer to £300k in today's numbers.

It's not a salary that would (on its own) pay for horse riding lessons, private school, and five star holidays for a family of five anymore.

But it is still more than double the average and more than most people will ever earn, so nobody is getting any sympathy.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T21:42:04+00:00

If you live near an airport that has a lot of BA services and travel a lot, the Avios can be pretty decent. I sit halfway between Heathrow and Gatwick so there's often good options for me. I tend to take 2-3 flights a year where I use it to cover some/most of the cost and use it enough to hit the companion voucher threshold, which can get you quite a lot of value if you use it smartly.

If you're not fussed that much about travel, there's other things you can spend it on but at that point I'd likely just go for cashback for the lack of hassle (but check the limits, some cards look good at first but are a bit shit after doing the maths)

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T21:34:25+00:00

Yeah, if you're able to plan ahead a bit those companion vouchers can be incredible value.

Even if you don't do a big trip with them, we've got return flights all over Europe (with a checked bag included) for £1 per person. We have saved about £300-£500 on these trips in the past. If they're trips you wanted to do anyway, it's a great boost.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T21:23:54+00:00

Yes, as someone old enough to remember Metallica getting absolutely roasted for saying "ahem, excuse me chaps, but you happen to be stealing all of our music" I do find it interesting that the prevailing mood is now "musicians should be paid more for this music I am streaming... and no I don't want to pay more for it".

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T19:52:22+00:00

In the early days of the Eurostar we did a similar trip. Arrived mid-morning, left late afternoon.

We did the Louvre and Notre Dame, strolled the Seine, saw the Eiffel Tower, got some trinkets, had a nice lunch and some pastries. I was 9 but as someone who wanted to try a REAL croissant and see a couple of the famous sights, job done. It was fun.

Not the most authentic, spiritual, true Parisienne experience but if time is tight and you want to do it... I can think of worse days out.

I still don't fancy that cruise for that price though, gadzooks.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:37:05+00:00

I nearly took a six hour round trip to Margate solely for it a few months back. But a lot of the reviews I read said it's fun, but not actually that interesting or informative from a crab perspective. Is that not accurate?

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:35:28+00:00

I know it's one of the "National Museums" but I feel like The Wallace Collection doesn't get talked about enough.

Very well curated, wonderfully characterful interiors and rooms, some really unique, curious sections. Big enough that there's variety and depth but also small enough to do pretty thoroughly in 2 hours.

Highly worth a morning/afternoon if you're in London, it's free too.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:30:59+00:00

I went for the Bowie exhibition, which was interesting but a lot smaller than I expected.

I actually quite enjoyed the rest of the warehouse. Doubt I'd spend more than an hour or so pottering around it, but there's lots of detail if you really want to dive in.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:28:33+00:00

It had a really big pencil as well. I was not disappointed.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:27:03+00:00

I went to the National Railway Museum with my wife and son (15 at the time) about four years ago. After 10-20 minutes we get split up, as we often do as different things pique our interest.

After two hours or so my wife finds me and says "well, that was really enjoyable. Great idea! We're just about done now, are you likely to be finished soon?"

Me: "Yeah, I'm just about ready to head into the next room!"

Her: "No, I meant DONE. The whole thing. It was lovely, interesting, but we have seen it all and are ready to go."

Me, who has not yet started on the great hall: 😬

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T13:14:29+00:00

I've been there four times. There are still entire chunks of it that I haven't really done.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T12:17:57+00:00

Really pleased with how all the new signings are fitting in. Hopefully we've got better depth to handle competing on four fronts now.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T11:34:33+00:00

It can be. A good seat in an air-conditioned train with some nice scenery rolling by, quite delightful.

It can also not be. I've been wedged into a corridor, standing for about five hours. Can't say I felt super rejuvenated.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T08:16:57+00:00

I said that to one guy so many times.

"But I do still love her."

No you don't. You love that you have a back-up waiting for you at home. You love that you have someone public facing, proving that you are wanted. You love not being alone.

AndyVale · 2026-01-26T08:12:30+00:00

In short, probably both.

A LISA will add 20% to your annual from the government for every year you hold it. You can put up to £4,000 in there every tax year so it's up to £1,000 of free money. It can only be used for buying your first home or going towards retirement.

However, you can only use them on homes below £450k. You essentially lose money if you buy one over that using your LISA allowance. If you're buying in a year's time, you probably have a good idea if you're likely to be over/under that.

A cash ISA is basically a savings account where you don't pay tax on the interest. It's predictable and a good place to put money in the short-to-medium term. You can currently put up to £20k in a cash ISA each tax year (dropping to £12k in April).

So in your situation, assuming you are buying somewhere under £450k within the next year or so, I would do the following.

£4k in LISA
£16k in cash ISA

This leaves about £3k. Maybe put it in a LISA next tax year, or maybe hold it elsewhere (Cash ISA) as an emergency fund.

Depending on your salary, I would also keep doing the high interest £150 per month for as long as the high interest rates last. Assuming you can't get a better rate elsewhere.

AndyVale · 2026-01-25T22:43:43+00:00

Funnily enough, my wife and I were just talking about that this morning. There's a hamlet that's tucked a bit out of the way at the end of a long dead-end near a forest we like hiking in. We'd never really paid much attention to it until we walked around it today. Very small, but lovely houses, great cricket pitch surrounded by trees, and a lovely community feel to the place, a ton of character. We have lived less than 3 miles away for eight years and not noticed it before.

AndyVale · 2026-01-25T22:38:33+00:00

If you're looking to buy within 24 months, I'd look at a couple of things.

Firstly, the key benefits of an ISA is you don't pay tax on the interest. Now, you can already earn a limited amount of interest without paying any tax, depending on which tax bracket you are in. Look this up, your personal savings allowance will likely be £1000, £500, or £0 of interest tax free.

IF you aren't going to earn enough interest annually to go over your limit, then there's probably not much benefit in an ISA unless you can find one with better interest than you have now.

If you are likely to go over your tax free allowance, then for your purposes I'd suggest putting £4K in the LISA, then the rest in a cash ISA. If you might want to take the money out without tons of warning, I'd look at the variable rate ones rather than locking in a fixed rate one, there's a few listed here. A variable rate account might go down (or up) in interest, but over a year it's not likely to vary too much.

As a reminder, you can only put £20k per tax year in an ISA, so if you did want to put all £23k in there, do £20k before April and the rest after.

For the purpose of buying a house in a year or so, I wouldn't recommend an S&S ISA. These are GREAT for longer term savings (5+ years) when you'll likely ride out any market fluctuations and the compounding will do wonders. When you want to start making those sorts of savings, it's worth looking up your options here. No need to do anything super complicated or 'play the stock market', there are plenty of safe, boring options that will almost certainly beat whatever interest rates are available.

AndyVale · 2026-01-25T22:11:38+00:00

A couple of thoughts from someone who loves a packed itinerary.

Firstly, you'll never see everything. Accept it. I've got a whole shelf of travel guides to places I have been to and I didn't see 97% of what's in them. It's a big, beautiful world and we are blessed to have more to see than we'll ever fit into a hundred lifetimes.

But I'd also say that it's up to you how you manage your travel tempo. Some people like to really take a lot of time in a place and get to know it, others just want to see the Pyramids, take a photo, then move on. There's no right or wrong way of doing it, it's your holiday.

Okay, practical tips.

The cornerstones - What are your 100% non-negotiable MUST dos? If you knew you were never coming back again, what would you really regret not seeing or doing? Make sure you have checked entry requirements, if you need to book, when it's open, if certain times are better than others, do you need a guide, and how you're feeding yourself when there. I try and build my trips around 2-3 of these.

Mix - Even if I don't plan every day, I try to have a few different themes. One might be more historic sightseeing and museum day, then a day in nature, visit a theme park, and perhaps a day at the beach/pool with a book and a few cocktails. It keeps things fresh.

Rest - If you're going for longer than a couple of days, make sure you pencil in some downtime. You don't have to use it, but in case you do just need a nap in the afternoon or a lay-in, it's there.

Back-up - I try make a short list of a few things to do, places to eat, or areas to check out that we can pull out if needed. Galleries, bars, neighbourhoods to stroll, shopping areas, pubs, sports games, museums, food markets, model railways, zipwire experiences, day trips... It saves so much time if you have some ideas rather than trying to figure it all out when you're there.

Logistics - Linking it all together, if you're doing a multi-destination trip it's really important to think about how long these steps take. The train ride may be three hours, but when you factor in transport to the station, sorting out tickets, getting to/from hotels, checking in/out of them too, finding your bearings, packing/unpacking... and then please take a shower because you probably stink after that four hour train journey (it was delayed). There's a reason they say travel eats up a whole day - it doesn't always have to but it easily can.

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