Leeds I

Some thoughts on Leeds so far, after having spent a little over 12 hours here:

• It’s cheaper than London, but still not cheap, especially not given it’s in the north of England.
• People are clearly much less concerned by the pandemic here than they are in London, I’m not sure I’ve seen a single person wearing a mask yet, and while walking through the city last night it was clear that the nightlife is already beginning to thrive again.
• It’s very pretty, in some senses much prettier than London. The canal is beautiful, and I feel a lot less likely to see a dead body floating along it than I do the Thames. Having no skyscrapers dwarfing everything is also quite a nice feeling, as Leeds’ skyline is altogether less intimidating - I think there is a lot to be said for a life lived closer to the ground than the one afforded by London.
• Considering people in the North have such a reputation for amicability, from my admittedly small sample size, the citizens of Leeds actually seem less friendly than their London counterparts.