My friends never let me forget the first time I came to London. They couldn’t understand why I was so desperate to cross the city to meet them at London Bridge when I was coming into Paddington. The reason was simple: I thought London Bridge was actually Tower Bridge. I wanted to see this icon of the city for the first time. London left me sorely disappointed – and not for the last time.

London isn’t what it was: from the endless hate marches to the random violence; the sectarian clashes that flare up

After trying and failing to see Tower Bridge on that first visit, I subsequently moved to London in 2013. The first few years were wonderful: the city held promise, adventure, and a chance to spread my wings. ‘What it is to be twenty-four, and fairly new to London, and cutting your first little swath through town,’ Christopher Hitchens said. I knew how he felt.

How times change. Now, I’m tired of London. After 13 years of living in the capital, I’ve moved out to the countryside. I couldn’t be happier.

London isn’t what it was: from the endless hate marches to the random violence; the sectarian clashes that flare up whenever there is a conflict between two other countries thousands of miles away, to the khat-stained streets and mopeds with L plates and kids on stolen Lime bikes snatching phones on Oxford Street. I’ve had enough.

Fare dodging at Kilburn station, close to where I lived, was normal. The ticket barriers were often left open, which made things easier for those who didn’t buy a ticket. When the gates were shut, I once saw a father with his two primary school-aged boys show them how to get through without buying a ticket. Neither station staff, not the British Transport Police officers, did anything. They never........

© The Spectator