why london?

contrary to what you may initially think, it's not because our objective is to pick up the uber-cool british accent. (we're actually secretly hoping we won't pick it up, because we don't want to be posers)

there are a few reasons why we chose london. first of all, there is the logistic ease. they speak english and so we don't have to overcome the added barrier of learning a new language, not just for day-to-day activities, but also to conduct business. although neither of us have actually spent any time in london, we imagine the culture is similar, but not too similar, and different, but not too different. also, we could get a working visa fairly easily through the youth mobility scheme. this is the current iteration of the working holidaymaker visa, and canada is one of the participating countries. this reduces the investment required from potential employers, since they will not have to process a visa for us. this way, potential employers can hire us and at least try us out without feeling like they have invested a considerable amount of resources, lowering their level of risk.

secondly, there is the culture itself. from an idea generation perspective, there seems to be something in the proverbial water in london that allows them to be thought leaders on a consistent basis. from music to entertainment concepts to advertising, great ideas seem to abound in the UK. caspian is particularly interested in advertising and UK agencies perennially rank among the world's elite when it comes to advertising awards and just brilliant ideas in general. many north american tv shows (usually the more successful ones) had their root in a british property. for example, trading spaces was based on a british show called changing rooms. american idol is a franchies of pop idol in the UK. and whose line is it anyway? was directly ported over from british television.

it's not just commercial ventures either. the alpha course is a simple enough concept: invite interested people over for dinner and, afterwards, watch a short video that gives a basic explanation of who Jesus Christ is and what He's all about. it's such a simple, obvious idea that seemingly anyone could have come up with it. but it was started by the church of england in london. today, it's a model that's used in 163 countries across the world.

we're immensely curious what it is about the environment in london that leads to the generation of such wide-reaching, powerful ideas. and obviously, it would be great if we can absorb some of that creative energy.

finally, there's the proximity to europe and the ease of travel (thank you, ryanair). north america is wonderful, and toronto in particular is an amazingly diverse city with many different cultures converging in one geographic space. but it's not the same as visiting a different country altogether, with a vastly different culture. and visiting niagara falls or wasaga beach just doesn't sound as exciting as visiting bulgaria, prague, or mallorca. a weekend in montreal or a weekend in paris? it just doesn't compare. we both love traveling, and being based in london makes it (somewhat) more cost-effective (hopefully). at least we don't have to incur the transatlantic price. and a friend once told me that as long as you're not picky, you can almost always go somewhere interesting on the cheap side. let's hope that still holds true. we love exploring different places and observing how other people live their daily lives. being in london gives us fairly good access to be able to do just that.

we're sure there are many other reasons to go to london. and God probably has a few more reasons that He'll show us once we're there. we're excited to see where this takes us and will let you know as it's revealed to us.