notes from underground

In comparison to the New York subway, London's Underground has many obvious advantages:

• Regular service
• Clear signage and pre-recorded announcements
• Good integration with overground rail
  
• A generally polite ridership

All of these qualities ought to combine to offer a pleasant and effective commuting experience, so why is it that I find riding the Tube to be utterly exhausting??

For starters, I think it has to do with the layout of the system itself. Have a look at the NYC subway map:

Because of the shape of the island of Manhattan the lines are predominantly vertical, thus the effectiveness of the express train (a concept unknown in London), which allows you to travel long distances quickly. Coming in to Manhattan from the outer boroughs you might ride for a long time, but you're likely to be on the same train for a while, which allows for enjoyable experiences like long, uninterrupted reading.

So far, traveling a comparable distance in the London Underground has generally meant switching lines two or more times. If you look at the map of the Tube you'll see that the amorphous, un-planned layout of London requires a much more intricate system of interlocking lines:

Furthermore, switching from one line to another doesn't simply mean stepping off the platform and waiting for another train to come along -- it has generally meant exiting the train and entering a labyrinthine series of tunnels, passageways, stairs and escalators before one gets to the other line, then riding for three stops and doing it all over again. Some of the lines feel so far underground that I wouldn't be surprised to end up in Fraggle Rock!
The Tube website says that there is one continuous length of tunnels that goes on for 17.25 miles!!! On several of my journeys, I've felt that I've spent more time walking through these underground passages than I have on the train itself.

Other unpleasant features:

• The trains are not air conditioned
  
• The ceilings of cars on the Tube slope in, increasing one's sense of claustrophobia
• They are upholstered with tacky fabric that looks like something off of the Fung Wah bus
  
• The cars seem to be narrower, meaning that two people cannot stand abreast in the aisle between the seated passengers
• There is virtually no noise or conversation EVER on the train or platform

For some, that last quality might be seen as an advantage, since New York trains can often be so noisy that one finds it impossible to concentrate on anything. In my experience, however, the crush of people and sounds -- the chaotic rhythm of the New York subway system -- tends to have a propulsive effect. It hurtles you forward, sending you out into the streets with with a driving momentum that helps you get where you need to go.

By contrast, the experience of riding the Tube seems to consist mostly of people walking through corridors or riding on escalators in orderly lines. Despite the overall cleanliness of these passageways (or perhaps because of it??), there's something creepily Orwellian about the experience. On me it produces a draining effect, a sapping of energy.
My commute from Brooklyn used to be a good 45-60 minutes into the city, but I always looked forward to it. The Tube website estimates that my new commute from the apartment to my school will take only 28 minutes - but with two transfers. What kind of effect this journey will have on me when completed two times a day remains to be seen....

In a New York state of mind

A particular ad (or, rather, "advert") for Tropicana orange juice has been on the telly quite a bit since we arrived. Over a montage of iconic New York images (including one of a Hasidic man buying bagels...) it advertises Tropicana as "New York's favorite juice."



In the States, I doubt Tropicana would make any such claims. If any geographical association is pushed, it would probably be with Florida, land of sun and citrus. But I guess Brits just love the Big Apple (even when it comes to oranges). There's something there which draws them in, perhaps because it seems so different from the rest of the country? This also explains the UK popularity of such shows as "Friends" and "Sex and the City." (But not, curiously, "Seinfeld" -- is it TOO steeped in New York minutiae so as to be thoroughly incomprehensible?)

For a recently transplanted New Yorker such as myself, the ad has an almost Pavlovian effect, making me long for the glistening sophistication of the city I used to call home. A similar thing happened on the flight to Heathrow as I was watching "Fighting," an otherwise forgettable Channing Tatum/Terrence Howard movie about bare-knuckle boxing. The film is notable for its highly specific location shooting. I was practically flipping out to see scenes in recognizable New York locations like the Elk Hotel on 42nd St. or the Empire Diner in Chelsea. (If memory serves, the Elk was also featured in Jonathan Demme's remake of "The Manchurian Candidate.")

When you're far away, it's not the big things you miss, but rather the tiny details that you barely noticed...

translations

One of the interesting things so far in our stay here is that we've spent nearly all of our time South of the river Thames. Having come to London before, primarily as tourists, we've been familiar with spots in the center of the city -- Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Squre, the West End, etc. -- and we've ventured onto the South Bank to see shows at the National or exhibits at the Tate Modern.

But now, we're really living in residential London neighborhoods. We've probably taken buses and "overground" trains more often than we have the more familiar London Underground (i.e. the Tube). We'd previously determined that living somewhere in South London would probably be the most convenient for the two of us to get to our respective schools, so it was entirely in the South that we looked for flats.

As recent New York transplants, we were able to process these new and unfamiliar neighborhoods by comparing them to comparable areas in NYC. For instance, we're currently staying with friends near Peckham, and we walk to the train through a bustling market street crowded with a mix of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants. Signs line the street declaring "I Love Peckham" in various international languages. Sounds a lot like... Jackson Heights?? You be the judge:





Meanwhile, upon visiting Brian's school, Goldsmiths, which has a very artsy focus and is somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city, being located at New Cross in the city's southeast corner, it felt a bit like visiting Pratt in Clinton Hill.

Here are a few other equivalencies. Maybe some people familiar with both cities could weigh in on the accuracy?

London Bridge/Borough - Financial District/Tribeca
Bermondsey - DUMBO
Vauxhall - Chelsea
Kennington/Oval - Hell's Kitchen
Camberwell/Denmark Hill - Park Slope
Brixton - Bed-Stuy
East London - Williamsburg

These are just preliminary impressions, of course, and not completely accurate, but they're helpin us get our bearings!

All we knew about London before Wednesday...

Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, NYC