A move to London...

[muscleboyil]

Hi Guys,
I'm going to be packing my bags (sorry, the pickup trucks and corn stalks have to stay) and jumping the pond for the summer, to fulfill a dream of working and living in the great city of London. I'm still not quite sure which neighborhood would suit me yet, but I know that I'll be working in central. I've never lived in a gay neighborhood, maybe I should give it a try? I want to get the scoop on any good gyms you guys may recommend, as I want to keep on my quest for growing bigger

Any advice would be really kick ass.

Brian

[markinlondon]

HI BRIAN,
YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GREAT GYM IN LONDON?
Soho Gyms are great and quite gay. Know the Covent Garden branch and could tell you stories about it...
Fitness First is a popular chain. The Covent Garden branch is close to Old Compton street and the gayest!!!
I personal prefer Jubilee Hall Gyms (Covent Garden branch - the area is quite popular as you can see!!). Spacious, good equipment and lots of natural light!
Hope I could help you! See you in London,

Tobi

[muscleboyil]

Great, im looking for more of a gay-but-not-so-gay type of gym. Someone recently told me that some Soho gyms can be seedy, you know, the kind where you have to wear rubber gloves when you lift But thanks for the suggestions!

In the running for places to live:
-Camden Town
-Brixton
-Vauxhall

[muscleboyil]

So I leave for London in 12 days, and I'm crazy excited! Still no place to live permanently, but I'm working on that diligently. Now that finals are over, and my neck has healed somewhat (neck tweaked out a month ago, so my heavier lifting routine that gave me some slight gains went out the window) so I am working out like a madman before I leave. I hope I find a gym, and oh, a place to stay near it.

Lots of adjusting to do, obviously, but who am I to bitch?

I hope to be able to meet some of you when I get there. And to get fleXodus drunk before I leave... \m/

[CelticMuscle]

Following the recent London Assembly elections, the BNP (British National Party) won a regional top up seat by polling 130,714 votes. The highest support for the BNP was in the City and East constituency where they polled 10% of the vote. When it comes to gays and lesbians the BNP do not mince their words:

BNP leader Nick Griffin has denounced homosexuality as a ?behavioural deviancy? and attacked gay people for ?flaunting their perversion.? He also ridiculed homosexuals as ?repulsive

Sexually-transmitted diseases are no joke. Thanks to them, the average life-expectancy of a gay man is now 40, compared to 71 for all men

Mark Collett, former chairman of the Young BNP and possibly the party?s future leader, described homosexuals as "AIDS Monkeys", "bum bandits" and "faggots" and said the idea of homosexuality was a "sickening thought"

(All quotes come from Peter Tatchell's Blog)

The areas within City and East with the highest BNP vote was as follows:

Albion (Barking and Dagenham)
Goresbrook (Barking and Dagenham)
Mayesbrook (Barking and Dagenham)
Parsoles (Barking and Dagenham)
Valence (Barking and Dagenham)

In simple terms I would avoid the eastern parts of London and aim for the south western parts (Sutton, Richmond and Kingston)

[jonorono]

Hey mate,

I agree, east london is a no. Also SE london is a waste of time if you are coming to london for the first time. I am surprised and not so surprised at your choices. Camden is 'cool' but the reality of living there is very different if you are thinking very centrally (ie Camden town) It's not very clean, always get approached by people selling drugs down th high street etc... it's really wither you or its not. I think it could become quite a tiresome place for you to live if you have never lived in london before.... Ideally (if you can afford it) you want to be in central london somewhere in WC or EC postcodes. WC is westminster - the west end, soho, etc = shopping, solcialising easy to get everywhere. EC is the fashionable alternative (lot of art students etc about) like Shoreditch, Aldgate, Brick Lane area basically. You will find gay places all over london but they are concentrated at their most in the west end, (esp. of course soho) If you are looking for gay but not toooo gay then go for somewhere like the previous poster said - SW london (Richmond/Kingston/Wimbledon in the outskirts of london = 20 odd minutes on train to waterloo, or Vauxhall, Clahpam , Wandsworth are also SW but quicker to centre of town [ wandsworth has cheapest council tax in uk!]

I would honestly say that where you live will not be decided by what is around convenience and socialising-wise, but the way in which you will get into work in the mornings.....london is a busy city and getting from one side of london to the other on London transport can often take longer than if you are catching a suburban train from the greater london areas. commmuting into work is also expensive and if you are going to be working centrally you want to really be right in the heart of london (soho) or right on the outskirts.

I have rambled for too long. its difficult - there are lots of cool places around - you will soon know whether you like it or not! ;-p

Gym wise, i am not that sure but i have also heard very goo things about covent garden.... there is a 'soho gym' in camden. Oh by the way dobnt bother with brixton either, far too rough for your first time in london. it WILL put you off.

Good luck, all the best X

[jonorono]

Hey mate,

I agree, east london is a no. Also SE london is a waste of time if you are coming to london for the first time. I am surprised and not so surprised at your choices. Camden is 'cool' but the reality of living there is very different if you are thinking very centrally (ie Camden town) It's not very clean, always get approached by people selling drugs down th high street etc... it's really wither you or its not. I think it could become quite a tiresome place for you to live if you have never lived in london before.... Ideally (if you can afford it) you want to be in central london somewhere in WC or EC postcodes. WC is westminster - the west end, soho, etc = shopping, solcialising easy to get everywhere. EC is the fashionable alternative (lot of art students etc about) like Shoreditch, Aldgate, Brick Lane area basically. You will find gay places all over london but they are concentrated at their most in the west end, (esp. of course soho) If you are looking for gay but not toooo gay then go for somewhere like the previous poster said - SW london (Richmond/Kingston/Wimbledon in the outskirts of london = 20 odd minutes on train to waterloo, or Vauxhall, Clahpam , Wandsworth are also SW but quicker to centre of town [ wandsworth has cheapest council tax in uk!]

I would honestly say that where you live will not be decided by what is around convenience and socialising-wise, but the way in which you will get into work in the mornings.....london is a busy city and getting from one side of london to the other on London transport can often take longer than if you are catching a suburban train from the greater london areas. commmuting into work is also expensive and if you are going to be working centrally you want to really be right in the heart of london (soho) or right on the outskirts.

I have rambled for too long. its difficult - there are lots of cool places around - you will soon know whether you like it or not! ;-p

Gym wise, i am not that sure but i have also heard very goo things about covent garden.... there is a 'soho gym' in camden. Oh by the way dobnt bother with brixton either, far too rough for your first time in london. it WILL put you off.

Good luck, all the best X

[piotrpjs]

There's a great gym in Bethnal Green, Hague St, called Muscle Works Gym (on the central Line). Great equipment and lots of big muscle guys work out there.

Peter.

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by piotrpjs

There's a great gym in Bethnal Green, Hague St, called Muscle Works Gym (on the central Line). Great equipment and lots of big muscle guys work out there.Peter.

There are two downsides to Bethnal Green

1) George Galloway MP
and
2) George Galloway MP

[muscleboyil]

Thanks for the tips, and for putting up with my anxious hyper-babble! I leave the States after this weekend, and I've found a temporary stay near Hammersmith (with a gym and breakfast!) that is easy to get around on tube/bus. I am very excited and hopeful for new experiences, and who knows, maybe I'll run into one of ya.

[muscleboyil]

The move to London has been wild, and so far, it's been a nice little holiday. Thanks again for all your guys' advice. If there's anyone in/near the city that would be up for a chat, just use any one of my messenger handles. Take care all!

[Garfield11]

I live in central London and am a fan of bodybuilding but have'nt managed to get into it, there are several good bodybuilding gyms in London but you have to remember these guys are focused on getting big and would likely view anything gay themed as a distraction.

Soho is Londons main gay/sex district if you have'nt found out already.

Hope your settling in ok!

Steve.

[muscleboyil]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips on everything... I've ended up living in Hammersmith for my short stay and found a gym here that's really cheap (not equipped the best, but cheap) and have made some progress. I get polite stares an compliments now due to some changes in lifting and diet, and I'm happy that it's started to show. Coming from the states, I've dropped alot of bodyfat thanks to adapting to the walking lifestyle, and have kept my supplementation simple. The only thing that I have been lacking in is basic calorie intake, but I am happy with what I've got. Granted, I don't look anywhere near "huge", more so "fit" as they say, but I've found the simple loss of bodyfat all over has made my upper body look bigger.

I have a couple weeks left here, and have met a couple great people that I'm sure will remain lifelong friends from here on out- and I look forward to coming back for visits. I did a brief tour of the "gay" scenes in London, and even though there may be some glimpses of big muscly eye candy, I found nothing worth hanging around for there. The most interesting guys into muscle growth and bodybuilding are the ones that go about their lives off the big creepy gay radar, and have far more engaging things to talk about. So thanks to the few guys that were kind enough to chat, and hopefully I'll run into you soon enough.

Take care

B.

http://www.bigmuscle.com/~rock+icon