My SCARY London experience | 5 WAYS to stay SAFE in London

Is London a safe city is a question that many visitors wonder, so here's my response as someone who's been living in London for 9 years. This video wasn't in my content calendar...but life happens and I was mugged on the way home after a show. It's important to discuss these aspects of living in London too, so in this video I share my experience and some considerations I will be taking every time I go to the theatre moving on. How do you make sure you stay safe? Let me know in the comments?

WATCH NEXT 👀

TIMESTAMPS 🕰️
0:00 - Is London SAFE?
2:17 - My scary experience
4:40 - Safety tip 1
5:53 - Safety tip 2
7:42 - Safety tip 3
9:01 - Safety tip 4
10:51 - Safety tip 5
11:58 - Bonus tip for tourists
12:50 - Silver lining

Follow my journey on

#london #londonlife #safety #westend #theatre #theater

[TheGadgetPanda]

That's really terrible. I'm so sorry you had to experience this. Like you I go to the theatre a lot and more often than not I go alone. I've never been mugged, but one thing I have noticed in the past year or so is that beggars have started to become more persistent and occasionally aggressive. Normally I just keep my AirPods in and barrel on through. But of course, as a man I'm aware that things are much tougher for women, That you have more things to worry about. It's really unfair. Anyhow, I'm glad to see this hasn't put you off going to the theatre, and putting together something like this to help keep others safe is a healthy and helpful way of dealing with the experiences. Inspirational.

[anneupton]

I'm so sorry to hear about your traumatic experience. I'm a 73 year old woman (although I don't feel that old) who visits London a lot for the theatre. Being an older woman I still wear a wrist watch so if someone asks me the time I can just look at that. I never have my phone out when I'm walking so that I can always be aware of what is going on around me. I always use Trip Advisor to plan my journeys in advance so that I know exactly where I'm going. If a theatre is not in he main theatre district I usually try to go to a matinee performance to avoid getting lost in the dark. I hope you soon recover and I look forward to seeing future videos of show reviews.

[jackwhite]

Sorry you had to go through this! I love you talking about your experience and making it into a positive experience to help others. I'm hoping you can heal okay :)

[rpperuk]

As a Londoner its standard to avoid dangerous areas late at night, but I guess it can happen to anyone at any point. I lived and worked in London for 35 years and never had any issues. I would avoid the night bus and get taxies when its very late. but i moved out 15 years ago so I guess its alot worse now.

[garglebargle-tzsy]

I’m sorry to hear this. Thanks for sharing! Stay safe!

[manuelitolevatardo]

I’m really sorry about what hapened to you and I hope you will recover soon. Sending you loads of positive vibes. Thanks a lot for the safety tips and looking forward to your next videos 😃

[richardmccarthy]

Hi….once again really sorry about your experience. Has it scared me off ….well no, was in London for 3 days last week (4 shows !) and back down there next Saturday for Hello Dolly with the family. Couple of other suggestions: Partly because I have often turned off my phone during show, knowing in advance route from theatre to underground/bus stop after show is helpful and avoids having to take phone out in very crowded areas….. also I generally wait for a short while after a show ….to hear the band but also let crowds reduce. Finally one tip from last Wednesday….arriving late at night at unfamiliar tube stop- be in middle of tube so always close-ish to the exit, then exit at the same time as other passengers. Ps one very nerdy tip ! I use City Thameslink station to get me quickly from Luton Parkway/M1 into city centre and close to theatres on Strand/Aldwych. Just be aware this station can close early (before 11pm) Thameslink trains still run but not stop at the station. Almost missed last train on recent trip

[nhorsch]

Hi Kristina, so sorry to hear about this. I hope you can process this experience and not let it get in the way of your plans. Stay safe!

[gin]

Thank god you are back. This sounds horrifying and yes I've been to London twice and looked exactly like a tourist 😱good to know that would turn me into a target easily...and glad both you and I are in one piece. Please take your time to recover from this horrendous experience

[Tomas-iphk]

So sorry to hear about your experience. A few days ago I was walking back to my hotel after seeing a West End show, I was about a minute or two from my hotel when a woman with one hand and a bad limp came asking for money from me and someone else who was walking near me. She came uncomfortably close, so I walked around her and suddenly she started chasing me, her eyes wide from drug use, she chased me all the way to the hotel, it was a crazy scary experience. That was the first time I had ever felt unsafe in London

[SamKent]

I am sorry you had such a frightening experience. and were hurt. I hope the police find the culprits but they probably won't even look for them and the girls who attacked you know there will be no consequences. Pretty depressing to think that is how they are choosing to live their lives at such a young age. I like matinee performances and they are often a little less expensive.. I hope you continue to enjoy the city.

[benedictlam]

Really sorry to hear about this experience - unfortunately in most major cities it will happen at some point. I had someone tried (but luckily failed) snatch my phone off me while riding on their bike...it wasn't until after they had zipped pass I realised what he was trying to do.

[hughmcneillie]

Sorry to hear about your experience. You gave out some good tips but perhaps it would also be a good idea to carry some kind of attack alarm as these kind of people don't want attention brought to the scene.

[Armadillo]

I saw you mentioned it in a post a couple of weeks ago. Sorry to hear that.

[AmiHoss]

up until 20 years ago this was the safest city on Earth.

[MrMarkhall]

You've got to be carefull, keep your jewelry covered up, keep your phone concealed. Walk strong.

[andrewstorm]

Another tip could be to see matinee performances but does involve taking time off work

[jonnycope]

Which part of London did this happen? Is it a known dangerous area?

[deputyVH]

Solution: get a taxi. Also, you said buses are less safe that the train. Why? At least you can talk to the driver on a bus.

[Kwippy]

Did you report this to the police? Tell me you did. Don't think they don't care or they can't do anything