First Impressions

This is my third full day living in the lovely city of Leicester, so I thought it was about time to write down some of my first impressions of the city. I feel like I've been walking non-stop since I got here. Turns out it takes a lot of effort to move in to a new place on a different continent, especially when you don't really have any form of wheeled transportation. Or don't understand the bus system at all yet.

But anyway, since I've been walking so much I am getting to know the city fairly well. At least the area surrounding my flat, the city center, and the area around the university. I've only been on the campus once so far, so I'll save my first impressions of that for when I spend more time there.

I'm going to do my best to compare this city to some in the US, so if you haven't visited these places I apologize in advance. If we say London is like New York, so far I'd describe Leicester as an English Chicago. It feels like a fairly big city like Chicago, but size-wise I would say is probably close to a Grand Rapids, if Grand Rapids had no tall buildings and had a castle. As a side note, I don't know why I was surprised to find a castle in Leicester. They're everywhere in England.

All in all Leicester is a much bigger city than I had originally anticipated. To be honest, when I first got to my apartment complex I was a bit disappointed by the appearance. It didn't look "English-y", if you know what I'm getting at. There's quite a bit of trash on the street around my building, and some of the sidewalks that lead into the nearby park look particularly sketchy, and I definitely think I'll stay away from those at night.

But of course, first impressions are not always entirely accurate. The city center of Leicester, where I've spent the better part of the past two days, is wonderful. It's about a 20 minute walk from where I live, and as long as you don't get lost (like I did), the walk is really pleasant. Depending on the route I take, I can walk right by the castle! There's a huge shopping center called Highcross right smack dab in the middle of the city, where you can find anything you're looking for. The area surrounding the shopping center is filled with even more shops, along with plenty of pubs and restaurants, which I will look forward to exploring more when I find some friends to come with me! The city center was definitely "English-y" enough for my taste too!

Unfortunately, the city center is quite far. I'm hoping to find a bike in the near future, but for now I don't fancy walking a mile every time I want to go eat or I need something. So heading in the opposite direction, I found another busy street called Narborough, where you can also find anything you're looking for. While exploring, I stumbled upon a bargain shop, which is where I ended up buying most of my kitchen stuff for a very cheap price. It's also where I found a delicious Indian restaurant that you can be sure I'll be going back to quite often.

As if this street didn't have enough to offer, I found out that this year, it was named the most diverse street in Britain, with over 200 shops with owners from 23 different countries. Go figure.

That's pretty much what I've been doing over the past few days. Exploring a new city is always fun to me, especially when you can't completely rely on Google maps to get you anywhere. So far I'm impressed by what Leicester has to offer, and I can only imagine that I'll discover more as the weeks go by.